The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

I am always in search of awesome weekend games, the sort where you just play through them all quick-style. Then they’re done, and you feel satisfied, but finished. Singularity is one of those games. It’s a pretty neat little shooter that could have done a lot better for itself had it been marketed well. As is, though, you probably missed it. Luckily, I’m here to tell you about it.

The premise of Singularity is that the U.S.S.R., during the cold war, found something called E99. This element enabled MAGICAL POWERS of time travel. You stumble across the island where the research on this element first began, and then accidentally change the past, changing the future to one of EVIL. The rest of the game is a quest to fix that, while shooting many dudes in the head.

Singularity wants to be Bioshock so damn badly. Even the life and magic meters look exactly the same. It manages to pull off the facsimile for awhile, especially in the beginning, as you stumble upon audio diaries and propaganda films and such, kind of learning about the world in the same naturalistic way that Bioshock does. However, eventually more people get involved, and it kind of breaks down. Still, it’s certainly the best attempt I’ve played at attempting to do a similar thing, so that should be applauded.

The main mechanics of the game wrap around something called the TMD, or Time Manipulation Device. This lets you magic things up. You can rewind or fast-forward time on specific objects, make time-slowing bubbles, and do Half-Life 2 gravity gun shit. These mechanics do provide some variety, but since you can only interact with certain things in certain ways, it does seem a little gimmicky. “Oh look, here’s another old, rusted crate! Guess I better rewind it, durr.” Still, there’s enough there that it works.

Having that variety helps, too, since most of the guns in the game kind of suck. There’s little reason not to use the assault rifle 90% of the time. If there hadn’t been achievements for using certain weapons, I probably would have used it that much. They try some neat guns, like a rolling mine launcher and a gun that impales people with explosives, but they’re finicky and way less effective than just using the assault rifle. The coolest weapon is probably the Seeker, which is a sniper rifle that lets you guide the bullets after you fire them. However, it’s a “rare occasion” weapon which they don’t let you keep. You get it several times in the game, but have to throw it away soon after. A shame.

The developers tried to do something with the story, too. It’s commendable, but it doesn’t completely work. There are some time travel logic issues if you think about the plot too much. The one thing I do have to applaud the game for is its endings. None of them are good. There are benefits to each, of course, but there’s no “perfect” ending. They all kind of suck. I think that’s neat, especially since the main message of the game seems to be “doing the right thing doesn’t always work out.” That’s just not a message you get in video games.

I really enjoyed Singularity. It’s an experience I can recommend. If you see it in a bargain bin, or can Gamefly it like I did, go for it. It’ll be an enjoyable weekend.