Video Game Review: Despite Obvious Inspirations, ‘Singularity’ Delivers Original Thrills

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – With echoes of “Bioshock,” “Resistance,” and a number of shooter hits as diverse as “F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin” and “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” “Singularity” embraces its derivative nature but transcends it to become one of the more surprisingly enjoyable single-player campaigns of the year. The multiplayer is a bit underdeveloped (and as yet woefully underpopulated) but this is the rare title that comes out of nowhere to deliver a solidly entertaining FPS experience.

Video Game Rating: 4.0/5.0

“Singularity” is undeniably familiar. The opening act of the game, in which you arrive at a rundown experimental Russian station in the middle of nowhere only to be suddenly transported back in time with a blinding explosion plays distinctly like both installments of the incredible “Bioshock” franchise. With audio recordings placed around the station, scribblings on the wall, and creepy, ghost-like flashbacks, you learn that something revolutionary and terrifying went down on Katorga-12. Anyone who’s spent limited time with “Bioshock” will have echoes of the similar time-bending tale of science and development gone awry.

Singularity
Photo credit: Activision

But “Singularity” is a more aggressive shooter than “Bioshock” and, before long, the game starts to feel a bit more like “Resistance,” as time-shifting creatures start attacking around every corner. And then there’s an echo of “Killzone” with masked soldiers with their increasingly impressive firepower for you to steal for yourself. Every time the game starts to feel a bit too obviously cribbed from a beloved title, it shifts gears a little bit and keeps itself fresh. By throwing so many styles into one melting pot of an FPS, “Singularity” merely reminds the viewer of games they love instead of feeling like a rip-off of them.

Singularity Photo credit: Activision

One of the truly rare effective elements of “Singularity” is strength of storytelling. I found myself eagerly pushing forward not just to give my newly upgraded Volk shotgun a workout on some poor Russian soldiers but because I wanted to see what happens next. The final act features a pretty funny easter egg nod to “Lost” that hints at a development team that knew that storytelling would be an essential part of the experience.

So what is that story? Well, it’s complicated. The title refers to an event that changes the time-space continuum. And your player gets directly caught up in the mess, jumping back and forth between the ’50s and now with a lovely mix of Russian soldiers and terrifying creatures with which to contend. Imagine the bad guys from a “COD” game living in the same game space as the creatures from “Resistance” (and often fighting each other while you sneak by).

Of course, you get to literally play a part in the time-bending fun after you acquire the “TMD,” a device that you wear on your left hand to manipulate the continuum on an on-the-ground level. Sometimes the TMD is used in a puzzle-solving sense — for example, if a set of stairs have been worn down over time, point the TMD at them to bring them back to life for you to continue — but it can also be used as a weapon, turning soldiers into dust by aging them or slowing down terrifying creatures. As the game progresses, the TMD becomes more powerful, allowing you to grab items from across the room and hurl them with the force of gravity while also using it to essentially create time bubbles that can be used to protect you or solve a puzzle to move the story along.

Singularity Photo credit: Activision

By the end, you’ll be launching rockets with your right hand and shooting waves of bad-ass time juice with your left — not unlike the dual attack of being a Big Daddy in “Bioshock 2” and the final act has a distinctly similar onslaught of ass-kicking as you’ve upgraded your TMD and weapons to unstoppable levels. The constantly increasing power of your character is one of the title’s more addictive qualities. It’s hard for boredom to sink in when the developers have created this clever a rising arc of new weapons, TMD upgrades, and general ass-kicking. It does make for a title that actually ends with less difficulty than it begins but it also makes for one that’s incredibly consistently entertaining and never slides into the boredom so common with the FPS.

Ultimately, “Singularity” is proof that action games don’t need to be distinctly original as much as they need to be entertaining. Keep the pace going — “Singularity” is one of the most well-paced games of the year — and provide enough variety and audiences are unlikely to care if your title reminds them a bit too much of an already-beloved game. A great action movie doesn’t necessarily need to break the mold to be entertaining and I was entertained through every minute of “Singularity.” It looks amazing, plays very smoothly, and ends with at least one satisfyingly clever ending. What more do you want from a shooter?

Well, most of you want multiplayer and the MP in “Singularity” is a bit hit-and-miss. I do think it’s a cool idea to have a multi-player function that allows you to play the creatures that have been tormenting you during the entire single-player campaign but it’s a clever concept not too well-executed. Most multi-player arenas take the skills learned in the campaign and apply them to a MP environment. If you end up a creature, you’ll have to learn a whole new set of controls, immediately putting you at a distinct disadvantage. I ended up a creature more than once in multiplayer and consistently got my ass kicked.

The MP arenas also seem woefully undermanned nowadays but that could just be the times I was trying to find someone with which to play. Perhaps that will change as word-of-mouth increases the popularity of this excellent single-player campaign, one of the most surprisingly enjoyable of 2010.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com