Something I have found interesting since I have joined Media Cows is the opportunity to play games I would have never played otherwise. Singularity is one of these games. From frightening pop out moments, to the time controlled game play, Singularity surprises me in many different ways.
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Right away you notice the scenery of the game and the detail the developer, Raven Software, put into the game. The details of the waves crashing onto the shores to the EMP blast that crashes your helicopter are remarkable. There are times where you feel like you are back in the midst of the cold war. You find audio clippings of survivors, giving a back-story to the destruction of the island and old movie reels that teach the inhabitance of the island the reason for them being there.
Much like other games the beginning is meant to give a feel for the game and learn the controls. There are a few different types of abilities in the game. An aging system that allows one to turn very old objects into brand new medical or ammo boxes or turn an enemy solider into a zombie like creature, allows for a creative and fun game play. There are two different groups of enemies in Singularity, traditional “bad” Russian human solider to the creepy mutated creatures. The Russian soldiers have the basic layout for a enemy troop, the light, medium, and heavy trooper. The creatures can vary from basic zombie like creature that will come at you even without legs to the teleporting gorilla ones that don’t want to die. The enemy variation can is great with the monsters however, the soldiers lack the variation of the creatures and there were many times where you feel like you were fighting the same enemy in a different location.
In order to combat these enemies, Singularity gives you a few different weapons. Pistols, Shotguns, and a rifle are the standard weapons. As you progress through the game you unlock more weapons including, a sniper rifle and a grenade launcher. In addition to the aging ability, you have the ability to have time control, create your own shock blast, and alter gravity. Similar to RPGs you are allowed to upgrade your weapons and abilities. Scattered throughout the game were “use until you run out of ammo” weapons. For example, one of the weapons allowed you to control your bullet in slow motion until it ran into something. This allowed you to not only kill enemies from very far away but also to scout very far in the map without endangering your character.
Probably the most impressive part of this game was the audio and visual combination. The beginning of this was a very frightening experience for me. I started playing this game late at night, all alone, with all the lights out. And I was scared. The creature’s sounds and the game’s soundtrack just added to the freakiness of the game. I joy I felt when I finally met up with my AI bud, is hard to explain. However, as the game progressed I became more accustomed to the sound and began to expect where scary sequences to occur.
One of the reasons for the game getting less scary later in the game was due to the main character being overpowered. It seemed that your character was always one step ahead of the enemies. I constantly found myself battling enemies that I should have faced two levels earlier. Although creepy, the AI was fairly easy to beat and a simple “run around in circles” strategy would work most of the time. Also coming into the game I had expected a little more interaction with the environment. The interactions that are available are very entertaining and fun, but the game could do with some more.
Along with the scary aspects of game the developers did a very good job to add some comical efforts in the game. Some of the things they did in the game would scare the crap out of me, but at the same time I was able to realize how awesome it was. For example, as I was exploring a room for more ammo and health I came to a old camera. I fixed it up with my aging ability and took the picture. A blinding white light took over the screen for a few seconds and then the pictures came out of the camera. Upon looking closer to the picture you notice a monster many rounds from the shotgun.
Overall the game deserves to be looked at and is a good game. If you are looking for a horror game with some very fun game aspect I can confidently recommend this game for you.
82/100
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