Time travel is a tricky business. There are many variables one has to keep in mind when constructing a good time travel story. Many have tried in the past and only a handful has been able to pull it off successfully. Not to be dissuaded by the challenge, publisher Activision and developer Raven Software give it a go with their sci-fi first person shooter, Singularity. Singularity weaves the convoluted story of a military man, Captain Nathaniel Ranko, who winds up being thrown back into 1955 era Soviet Union and because of certain circumstances, ends up altering the course of the world for the worse. Ranko is, of course, the only person alive who possesses the power to set things right, and so begins your journey into the past… then the future… then back again… and so on.
The best thing that Singularity has going for it is its story. I am admittedly not a big FPS fan and the biggest reason is that many times the focus of these games is frantic gunplay and not story. I like to feel involved in the world I’m playing in and I find that a good storyline is the best way to become immersed. In the case of Singularity though, the story was fleshed out well enough to keep me intrigued. The influences of storytelling mechanics in Bioshock are felt almost immediately and stay prominent throughout the entire game as you will find voice recorded messages strewn about the world detailing events of the past. You will also find cryptic messages written on the walls, notes left behind from a mysterious source and chalkboards detailing cryptic bits of information that only want to make you press on to experience the final act. It’s a difficult thing to balance the trappings of time travel while weaving a cohesive yarn but Singularity handles it well.
Gunplay is a pretty standard affair as long as you stick to the typical shotguns and assault rifles, but developer Raven Software had no intention of you limiting yourself to such banal fare. The TMD is a device you get early on in the game to help turn back the cruel hands of time; it’s also your best source of combat. It works a lot like Iron Man’s pulse weapon in his suit’s palms. A good shot to your enemies and you can send them flying across the map, or more importantly, rip them to pieces. The most intriguing aspect of this weapon, however, is it’s time altering abilities. With this weapon on hand you can age your enemies to the point that they turn to dust with just the press of a button. The effects of this weapon vary depending on what kind of enemy you use it on, and you’ll see your share of interesting foes. You’ll be up against anything from the typical communist militant to ghost like mutants to large scale enemies that are reminiscent of the boss battles from Lost Planet. I had a lot of fun trying out the TMD weapon on all types of creatures to see what kind of affects it would have on them. It’s a satisfying combat mechanic that I used extensively. The downside of this is that the weapon is strapped with the obligatory cool down timer which makes your use of it more limited than I would like. Near the end of the game you become empowered enough to constantly blast your enemies away with it without any penalty but this section only lasts about twenty minutes and it left me wishing that I could have utilized the weapon this way more often.
The TMD is not only used for combat, it’s also handy for uncovering the many secrets on the mysterious island. While playing through the sections that take place in 2010 you come across many items like ammo boxes and chalkboards that have withered away over time. One blast of the TMD and these items are as good as new and ready to use for whatever purpose they may serve. You will also happen upon several puzzles throughout the world that require you to age or ripen certain objects in order to utilize them and continue. These sections, however, become old very quickly as they lack any real variety. It took me several minutes to figure out the first one but after that I barely had to think about another puzzle as they all follow the same blueprint.
The time manipulation mechanic is what really sets Singularity apart from the jam packed first person shooter market but outside of that one novel addition, Singularity is pretty much your average shooter. There are some cool set pieces and the enemy design is nice and varied but many of the textures are ugly and look unfinished. The whole package works just like it’s supposed to but in the end there’s just nothing about this game that really stuck with me. FPS fans should definitely check this one out as it does pull off all the standard shooter requirements and even adds a little sci-fi twist to the mix; just don’t expect it to change your life.