Singularity

by ACTIVISION

Product Features

• Multiplayer gameplay options.
• An engrossing storyline blending Cold War history and science fiction elements.
• An arsenal of first-person shooter weapons, including conventional firearms and upgradeable, time altering gadgets.
• Mission progressing puzzle-solving gameplay.
• Advanced graphics built on the Unreal 3 game engine.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001UWGDPS
• Item Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Release Date: June 29, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,817 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Singularity is a first-person shooter developed by the legendary Raven Software and utilizing the power and flexibility of the Unreal 3 game engine. Set in an alternate present of 2010, players take on the role of a US Air Force pilot who while investigating an extreme radiation signature, stumbles upon a top secret Cold War era Soviet program, run amok which not only causes monstrous mutations, but also threatens to alter nature of time itself. Speed up time to reduce enemies to dust. View larger. Or gain from turning back the clock. View larger. Classic FPS gameplay. View larger. A revisionist Cold War storyline. View larger. Story In the dark, Cold War winter of 1949-50 Stalin, the brutal leader of the Soviet Union, had two super weapons: long range missiles and the atomic bomb. But even if his teams of forced labor managed to build a missile powerful enough to carry an atomic payload, Stalin still faced encirclement by the United States and the Strategic Air Command. He knew that he needed another advantage over the United States, one that would ensure Soviet security and superiority. Then came the chance discovery on the remote island of Katorga-12 off the wild Kamchatka peninsula, of a previously unknown material, Element 99 (E99). E99 became the new source of Stalin's hope: a new energy source of unparalleled power. Unfortunately, the new element also yielded a new kind of contamination risk. But these were acceptable risks to Stalin - anything for the advancement of the Soviet people. Even so, on September 21, 1950, driven to complete the project, and in violation of the safety protocols, a Russian scientist, Viktor Barisov, personally triggered a device powered by E99 that caused a catastrophic event that affected the entire island. What happened next is unclear. However, there are reports that Stalin's final dying order was a handwritten scrawl to quarantine Katorga-12. And so the knowledge of the island remained buried...until 2010, when intelligence reports in the west confirm activity on a remote atoll in the Russian Federation's shadow. The world has no memory of Katorga-12. No concept of what may be on the island off the southeast coast of Russia. It is deemed that the world can't afford another Chernobyl - or worse. America's answer is to scramble a stealth flyby of the area. They need recon - and they need it now. Gameplay and Weapons Action in Singularity is a mix of combat mission gameplay and puzzle-solving. Combat is against both modern and 50s era Russian forces, as well enemies mutated through exposure to E99. In this players have their choice of conventional weapons including: pistols, shotguns, machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, etc., as well as as few Sci-fi weapons very specific to the game. These include the TMD (Time Manipulation Device) and the E99 pistol. The TMD is a gauntlet, which players acquire early in the game that can be integrated with conventional weapons. Its main function though relates it its ability to alter time within a small specific area. The major examples of this are: Reversion - The ability to alter encounters by rewinding the history of an item or entity to the time of your choosing. This can be used to repair broken items, render enemies harmlessly embryonic, etc. Aging - The ability to alter encounters by fast-forwarding the history of objects or entities, rendering the former rusted and worn and the latter decrepit with age or simply dust. Stasis - The ability to freeze time and thus dangerous situations in order to gain an advantage. Impulse - The ability to propel objects frozen in time in a targeted direction. Chronolite - Functionality that allows the player to look back to a time associated with a place, person or object. Players can also utilize the TMD in conjunction with the E99 pistol, a gun that shoots bullets infused with Element 99, to hit targets unreachable due to distance and otherwise indestructible cover. In addition, to the TMD's combat uses, it is also indispensable as a tool for solving the spatial-oriented and other types of puzzles that players will face on the island of Katorga-12. Multiplayer Singularity contains multiplayer gameplay options, that just as in its single player campaign, integrate conventional combat tactics and weapons with the time manipulation elements. Key Features An engrossing storyline blending Cold War history and science fiction elements. An arsenal of first-person weapons, including conventional firearms and upgradeable, time altering gadgets. Mission progressing puzzle-solving gameplay. Advanced graphics built on the Unreal 3 game engine. Multiplayer gameplay options.

Product Description

Fight your way through an ever-shifting environment haunted with time ravaged creatures, while sudden time wave hurl you back and forth between 1950 and the present day. Use your wits and the perfect weapon - the Time Manipulation Device - to unravel the conspiracy on the remote island of Katorga-12

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creepy Fun, July 9, 2010

By 

Eli Oliver - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Singularity (DVD-ROM)

I had a lot of fun with this game. Many people compared it with Bioshock. While the color pallet and some of the graphics look similar in style, for me the game felt completely different in atmosphere. It's very difficult nowadays to find a first person shooter that's totally original because they are so well established. So Singularity does seem to borrow elements from past shooters, but it does have it's own feel and style as well.

The ambient sounds were creepy and had me constantly looking over my shoulder. Monsters were interesting and the phasing back and forth between the present and the past added some tense moments. There's nothing like walking into a room full of soldiers frozen in the 50's then finding them phasing into the present and opening fire on you to test your skill.

I also like the fact that there was minimal cussing in this game. I'm not a big fan of games that over use foul language. For me a lot of cursing adds nothing to a game.

I do not like the current trend of the auto save versus being able to save when you want in PC games, so that was a big negative for me. It seems that everyone is going that route now though. Another negative for me was that the game was too short, another recent trend. Just when I was really getting into it, I was done. I guess it does say something positive for a game when you are disappointed that it's over. It does have some interesting multiplayer to extend your play time though. Those two cons kept this from being a 5 star game for me.

Overall I had a great time with this game and was glad I bought it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Singularity"...a Time manipulating FPS., July 5, 2010

By 

R. Nicholson - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Singularity (DVD-ROM)

I purchased this game through 'Steam'; the download took about 18 hours.

"Singularity" is a FPS computer game that features both single and multi-player action. It not only uses traditional guns (pistol, automatic machine gun, sniper rifles, shot guns etc.) but also features a new item that has several uses, one of which will allow the user to manipulate time.

The Story:

The old Soviet Union, in their ongoing paranoia to beat the west, has come across a new element that seems to hold the potential to give them the edge in the arms race. However, experimentation went wrong and instead of breakthrough advances in arms technology, the fast and reckless development (pushed ahead by Moscow) has caused an apocalyptic event...resulting in a wasteland being created on the island where research was taking place.

Your job is to go back in time, using this new equipment and change certain events, thus preventing the devastation from occurring.

The game...the positive

Fabulous graphics struck me right from the start...the audio was also well done.
The atmosphere reminded me of 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R Shadow of Chernobyl'...the time warp features had flashes of 'Timeshift' coming to mind...and some weaponry was a little reminiscent of 'Half Life'

There is a multiplayer and the ability to use a 'friend(s)' option...you have a choice between 'soldiers vs creatures' or a 3 on 3 versus mode. You need to have six players for the game to start.

To add to the regular features of the weapons there are an assortment of rare upgrades available...giving you choices between such things as bigger clips, faster reloads and more damage and some interesting additions to the 'special' weapons that you'll encounter throughout the game.

The negatives: (minor to more important)

1.)The game, not surprisingly, appears very linear. Other than the occasional side room or hall, you can't wander off the main path very far.

2.)Up to this time, no manual was found either on the game-site or on Steam...not absolutely necessary, but would have be helpful early on.

3.)Your only able to equip (carry) two REGULAR weapons at a time.

4.)There does not appear to be any player generated game saves. Only checkpoint saves AND more importantly, it is only the very last checkpoint you went through that is save...all previous saves are ERASED. And the implications are this...

a.) there is no going back and restarting a previous level other that the one your on (unless you restart a new game).
b.) if you've made a poor choice of upgrades to a weapon OR just want to experiment with a different upgrade, your stuck with it once you've reached the next checkpoint.
c.) some doors MAY lock behind you...so make sure you explore an area fully before you go through, because you'll never be able to assess that area again once a new checkpoint is reached.

5.)Once you figure out the 'game-play', the best weapons etc. the game tends to become somewhat repetitive after a while.

Conclusion:

A FPS which uses time manipulation as a way to accomplish the game objective.

It has fabulous graphics that flowed smoothly with my machine (P5K mother board and nVidia GT8800 video card).

The ability to save anywhere with F5 or at least have a choice of reload from any previous game-save checkpoint would have been really nice.

Replay value (single player)...near zero, mainly because of the lack of the ability to load in a particular game-save. Really, who's want to spend all that time just to get far enough into the game to try out some different weapons or upgrades.

Ultimately, the game became somewhat tedious due to its repetitive nature. Honestly, I was glad to be finished.

The ending was 'anticlimactic' to say the least.

Multiplayer is available, but requires six players to begin.

Overall... 3 1/2

Ray Nicholson (cujo)

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Singularity: A Golden Time Rift of Fun, July 19, 2010

By 

Brian W. (Mission, KS, USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Singularity (DVD-ROM)

I've got to give props to Raven for making such a great game! Singularity is a whole lot of fun and I had a blast playing it. From the moment you start the game and see the Raven logo being affected by a Singularity time wave, to seeing distortions occur while navigating the main menus, this game simply breathes awesomeness. The story is good and always keeps you engaged and wanting to find out what happens next, and the atmosphere and set pieces are fantastic! I also felt that the music was exceptionally well done and added so much more to the experience.

This is a game that never forgets it's a shooter. It always retains its focus and I never felt like I was doing a task for no reason. The weapons are solid and I especially liked the special purpose Seeker rifle, which lets you fire special E99 bullets you can guide around corners. It definitely added some extra flare to the game.

With that said, I do have a few (very) minor gripes and a couple of wishes....

You can't control the refresh rate from within the game. I had to use an external program to lock the refresh rate of my monitor while playing as it kept defaulting to a lower refresh rate. I wish Raven would have put just a little more effort into putting an option in the game to control this.

While the single-player mode is excellent, the multi-player mode does feel a little like an afterthought. It's still fun to play but there are only two game modes. It also lacks dedicated servers so you're forced to wait quite a while at times before being able to begin a match. It's too bad because dedicated servers could really help this game live on for years and years. I could even see some modders making some fantastic new game modes.

I wanted more boss fights! You only get to fight two actual boss enemies with a few other mini-bosses. There's a certain point in the game when you see how E99 has affected some plant life, with one of the mutations looking like a Venus flytrap. The specimen is small but I have to admit I kind of wanted to fight a giant "boss" version of the plant.

I also wish there was some kind of "super-crazy-hard" mode that tripled the amount of enemies and made you fight two bosses at the same time. My first play-through was on Normal difficulty, and while challenging enough for the first run, I found the Hard difficulty to actually be a little too easy for my second play-through. The only difference between normal and hard is that the enemies hit a little harder and take slightly more ammo to kill.

But other than that, this game is great! Raven made a rock-solid shooter that's a whole lot of fun to play and I definitely recommend it. My only hope is that Raven makes a sequel. Even after winning the game there are still unanswered questions, and I'd love to have more adventures with the Time Manipulation Device!

DRM (Digital Rights Management) INFO: This game uses SecuROM but only for a disc check. There are no online activation requirements.