Title: Singularity
Maker: Raven Soft
Publisher: Activision
System: PS3
Cost: $9 Used – Gamestop
So close, but so far…
Positives: The game for the most part feels good. There aren’t a lot of guns, but what they do have feels a hell of a lot better than anything in a game like Killzone. And on top of that you get some superhero powers that aren’t really necessary, but add to the overall appeal. It also does small thing right, like automatically putting you into a crouch when you walk into a vent. Crouching in general is handled well in the game (I actually never realized how much I hate most crouching mechanisms until playing Singularity).
Negatives: This is the small stuff, but it’s on the big stuff that Singularity gets absurd. First, it can’t make up it’s mind if it’s scary or camp. The first area has some legitimate ambiance and unease to it, but this is completely unsettled by the character models and the gung-ho gameplay that eventually replaces it. In this change, the resource management that exists at the beginning is also thrown out (naturally, as run and gun gameplay doesn’t lend itself well to ammo conservation).
There are multiple endings to Singularity, and together they sum up all the problems of the game. They run the gambit from darkly logical and intriguing to stupid and hole-ridden (oh, the main one is so bad). It’s a two that I want to be a three, but it’s still a two.
Review: 2 stars (out of 5)
Memory: The Soviets speak to each other in English (with obligatory horrible Russian accents).