I probably wouldn't be the first to say that Singularity sort of got swept under the boat. Coming out days before the wasteland that is July in gaming, nobody really gave it a chance, whether people were talking about how bad Naughty Bear was or getting over the hype that was E3 2010. But ever since I read the cover story on Singularity in Gameinformer's February 2009 issue, I've been intrigued by the whole premise of the game. And, honestly, the time manipulation wasn't really as intense as I thought it was going to be, but Singularity captured many in many other ways.
The story of Singularity focuses on the mysterious island of Katorga 12, that, in the present day, is a barren wasteland filled with mutant creatures and Russian soldiers. After crash landing on the island you take control of Captain Nate Renko. Soon after, he realizes that the island constantly changes between the years 1955 and 2010 (present day), 1955 being the year that a huge blast (singularity) demolished the island from dangerous experiments with the mysterious element E-99. What happens after he receives the TMD (time manipulation device), leads to a change in world history, with their being multiple endings based on your actions. While the story of Singularity isn't told particularly well, I was interested in the characters and what was happening on the island, once I understood just exactly was going on. The single player campaign only spans across 6 main levels, and chances are you could finish it in a day or two, but I felt that while I would have loved more action, it was just enough to tie up all the loose ends in the story and come to a satisfying conclusion.
Like a lot of recently released games, Singularity has a great, signature atmosphere that is full of creepy creatures and dark rooms. The game has an eerily similar vibe as Bioshock, with danger lurking at every corner, and you will always be guessing what's just around the corner. While Singularity has some Bioshock vibes to it, it is an FPS first and foremost, and graphically, it can't compete with likes of Killzone or even Call of Duty. While it may not be completely up to par, I was able to enjoy it, and the slightly lower quality fit actually fit well into the game. Every level is completely different, and all the exotic sounds will keep you on the edge of your seat. The gritty graphical style, and the eerie sound effects put you in the center of the action. The few people that are in the game are not as detailed as other objects in the game, and the voice acting is just so-so, but I was having too much fun killing and time manipulating to really care to much.
And that is where Singularity shines the most, by putting you in the center of the action, fighting off mutants and soldiers from the past and present. The gunplay is incredibly smooth and felt good as I destroyed enemies left and right. Once you pick up the time manipulation device (TMD), a whole new different view of the game is introduced and it's what sets Singularity apart from other uninspired shooters that come out regularly. Whether you're using your telekinesis to reflect incoming rockets, or aging and renewing staircases and rusted old weapons, as well as traveling through time rifts back to 1955, before the island was blasted into oblivion, the game always feels new and almost never gets old.
Singularity does include an online component consisting of two game modes, Extermination and Creatures Vs. Soldiers, which to say the least are lacking. CvS is your standard team deathmatch with the twist being one team is soldiers and the other team can be four different types of mutants found in the single player game. Extermination is almost the same, but the difference being one team (soldiers) has to defend 3 beacons while the other team (creatures) has to destroy them. Extermination lacks structure and often ends up being a deathmatch, while CvS gets boring after you get over using the four creatures and using the four different upgrades that the soldiers have. You can level up to 40, but other than that (besides getting trophies/achievements), there is no real point to playing multiplayer at all.
Singularity has one thing going for it: that being the chance to play around with the TMD and getting to go back in time. For me, that, along with solid, smooth FPS controls and an engaging story made for a great game that you should definitely take a weekend to experience. It might not be the most polished game ever, and chances are you'll finish it in mere hours, but for what Singularity is, it's good at what it does.
As the world reels from the shockwaves of the seismic news that Microsoft is acquiring the proverbial swamp of the video-game landscape, Activision Blizzard King, it only seems natural that our minds should now shift towards what the fallout will be for presumably years if not decades to come.
Another Prototype would be awesome.
As for Singularity, I don't necessarily need a sequel, I just want to see Raven be able to flex their creative muscle again; not just be relegated to assisting with CoD. A lot of the old guard is still with the company.
That's part of what I'm hoping to see come from this acquisition. Revive teams like Vicarious Visions and Ravem to actually allow them to work on their own new projects again.
As great as that would be the deal wont finalize until end of fiscal year 2023. Until after that date MS wont really have a say as to where resources will be spent. So we wont realistically see anything until perhaps 2026 or later.
I think that’s a point that so many people are missing. Things will not change this year or next year at all. Maybe some changes might be apparent in 2024 but 2025/2026 is a good estimate of when things will really start happening. And I don’t think we will see as big a set of changes as some are suggesting.
Those teams having not worked on anything, the employees find jobs at other companies, they don't just remain unemployed till someone at the publisher decides to revive the team, they need to eat lol
That said, this list of games makes me unexcited for anything outside of CoD that Activision has to offer. All games are in stale genres, like Guitar Hero, Simpsons Hit and Run, these are long surpassed genres that are going to be difficult to revive.
@gamer75 if it is a combination it has to have my seal of approval. Such as a new Warcraft game or a new Warcraft mmo, or an action game based off the night elves orcs and humans if it’s a new IP. I’ll let you know after I talk with Microsoft
Man I’ve been waiting for Protoype since the last one. Protoype could seriously be MS’ answer to Infamous (freaking loved that game as well, hope Sony make a new one soon).
That's one I see being tossed around a lot to bring back, even if not from Raven themselves.
Put so many hours into those games over the years.
I'd like to see Activision get the Transformers license again and continue the War and Fall of Cybertron games. the movie games were crap and the game that combined both movie and Fall and War of Cybertron sucked a new Prototype would also be good as well.
You deserve a 1000 likes haha 😂. It’s a shame High Moon didn’t get to continue making Transformers. If they got a decent budget i think most of us TF fans would be excited.
Ms bought Activision and everybody dancing for what? For cod? Ms want to atleast earn some money Back from those 70 billion dollars.... The only thing they count on is more gamepass subscribers via Activision cod, diablo and over watch 2 1st Day free at gamepass. If they decide to make them exclusive to xbox they Will lose profit from ps4 and 5 sales. As For a New ip or an existing ip like over watch 3,diablo 5 or anything else like a New transformers Dont you think that developers need at least 3 years to Do something decent?
Anyway my opinion is that ms want to make videogaming Just a subscription a la netflix and that ps5 will beat xboxsx in sales like ps4 beat xbox and xbox one x..... All the money ms spending It Will defentily make more gamepass subscribers as for games we all must wait at least 3 more years... And thats why ps5 will get ahead in sales they have more AAA in the pipeline already plus lets see their answer for gamepass... P. S i Dont support subscriptions from neither company and i didnt buy switch plus for n64. If they give me the option to buy n64 games then yes i Will buy them but i am not paying for a rental.
Re-imagining of River Raid and the original adventurer Pitfall. Oh Zork is also a great game.
You may remember Singularity as the game Activision wanted to forget. Developed by Raven Software - formerly the creators of Heretic and Soldier of Fortune.
It was a truly bizarre sequences of events, almost as if Activision wanted the game to do badly. The tragic irony is that Singularity is a more interesting singleplayer FPS than every Call of Duty Activision has released since Modern Warfare, combining a high-concept, time-hopping story with oodles of clever mechanics, and a weapon-roster to rival Bulletstorm and Titanfall 2. | Rick Lane
This game was fantastic and it was the only Activision published game last gen I really enjoyed.
I loved the TMD gameplay as it reminded me of the Gravity Gun in Half Life, if they did a sequel they could have really added onto the game. I loved how despite being scripted the time era would change and you'd suddenly be in the past, if they did a sequel they could have tried to do these non scripted so they could happen at any time while you were walking around.
This game received little to no love. I enjoyed it and recommend if tour looking for a solid fps for probably dirt cheap that dared to be different by tying together a lot of ideas.
One of my favorite first person shooters. I wish Activision would finally allow them to make the sequel we've all been waiting for!
loved this game. rented it on a whim at blockbuster, and had way too much with it. A pleasant, self-contained title, no massive franchise, just a nice little story and interesting gameplay. Definitely a hidden gem from lest gen.
This week on Digital Fiasco: Capcom’s response to Dead Rising 4 reviews, Microsoft’s E3 presentation, Sony guts Playstation Now, Do we still care about Crash Bandicoot? We’ll also talk about Pewdiepie’s sense of humor and the resulting fallout, but first we’ll talk about Breath of the Wild’s Expansion pass and the disappointment it brings.
Pewdiepie has received overwhelming support from his fans and the youtube community as a whole. Whereas the Wall Street Journal hit piece has been received with universal condemnation, their youtube video currently has 267 Upvotes and 48,000 Downvotes. It completely backfired on the media, and rightfully so. People don't trust the media anymore, and things like this are not helping them at all.
Please don't repeat what "someones" dumb president repeated. Like it or not you NEED the media to fact check what people say. Especially a president that has violated 5 constitutional laws within a months time, is hated worldwide and is "trying" to become a dictator.
He's also soft on his friends and tries to gag anything unfavourable.
Also, tax payers are paying over 30 million dollars a month to protect his dumb wife and big ass kids cause they choose not to move into the white house. Besides directing our neighbouring nations, the man, his comments and his whole life is an insult to anyone, including Gesrago W Bush Jr. that has ever held that seat.
So no, the media is needed, and its never going away. It's not perfect because human beings are not. But it is necessary and always relevant.
