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Singularity with Bonus Exclusive Graphic Novel |  | From: Activision Inc.
Category: Video Games
List Price: $59.99
Buy New: $46.50
as of 9/10/2010 13:32 EDT details
You Save: $13.49 (22%)
New (3) Used (1) from $38.06
Seller: A1 Games
Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 6294
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: shooter_action_games
ESRB: Mature
Media: Video Game
Edition: Game with free Graphic Novel
Age: 17 - 20 years
Operating System: Xbox 360
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 13.4 x 8.6 x 0.9
Model: 84029
UPC: 047875840294
EAN: 0047875840294
ASIN: B003M2V2KA
Release Date: June 29, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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.
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Or gain from turning back the clock.
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Classic FPS gameplay.
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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.
- Xbox LIVE support including LIVE Achievements.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 29
 IT'S NO BIOSHOCK September 3, 2010
Francisco A. Garcia (Fullerton, Ca)
I got this game for my brother as a birthday gift. Everyone kept ranting and raving about how it was like bioshock. It's not. There's no other way to describe this game other than just bad. He couldn't stomach it for more than an hour, i stopped watching after 15 minutes. just awful, bad graphics, bad camera, GOD AWFUL accents. Do yourself a favor and skip this game.
An overlooked gem which deserves your attention September 2, 2010
Dan LaValley (Madison, WI United States)
When I read about the setting for game and saw the visuals, it looked like the game was custom made for me - Cold War era Russians, abandoned, decrepit buildings, time travel and manipulation mixed with great FPS action. I love the art direction, time-manipulation device, and alternate world weapons used to battle the mutated creatures of Katorga-12. For me the downside was the ending - the action felt a bit anticlimactic after some of the great previous action sequences. It didn't ruin the experience for me however - the game definitely deserves a playthrough!
Fairly Solid Game August 30, 2010
Fabio
Singularity was a surprisingly good game. It was a fairly straightforward first person shooter sort of similar to Timeshift in terms of powers. The pacing was well done in terms of story and leveling up. All in all a good buy,
Give it a shot, just don't expect Bioshock August 29, 2010
Blobcat (El Segundo, CA)
First off let me just say that if you're expecting Bioshock then stop it! Bioshock was perfect and nothing can measure up to perfection now can it?
Ok now with that out of the way I can get on with the review. Singularity is a solid, if not a bit silly, first person shooter. Ok the story is dumb and the plot has more holes than Swiss cheese, but really since when does a game need story to be fun? What this game does have is tons of fun in the form of action. The game is full of cool weapons, interesting time-based special abilities, and PLENTY of over the top violence. How can you go wrong with that?
Now the primary reason I'm writing this review is that I have the feeling that alot of people will be giving up on this game way too soon. The reason I say this is because I almost did myself. The first level that introduces you to the game world is TERRIBLE! I was actually in disbelief at how bad the game looked compared to other 360 games. It felt like I was playing a pc game from like 2001. I was ready to eject the disc and throw it in my hall of shame next to nightmare creatures 2 for dreamcast (yes I have a place for such rubbish). The enemies and items (or lack thereof) were similarly disappointing. But I decided to give it a chance and kept on playing, and I was rewarded.
After you get out of the awful intro level it's like NIGHT AND DAY! Suddenly this pile of trash looks like Bioshock graphics-wise and there is some real action happening here! I could not believe it. Felt like a totally different game. Now instead of no gameplay I had plenty to shoot, puzzles to solve, and lots of items to find. Then you find the time manipulation device (which is basically just like plasmids in bioshock) and the game really picks up steam. I found myself unable to put the controller down.
Really my only other complaints besides the slow start is with the difficulty and the inability to reassign the controls. I was playing on normal like I usually do with games like this and I was finding the game much harder than I was accustomed to. There were a couple times I had to take a break because I got too frustrated. So my advice to you is to play one level lower than you're used to. Also there are a few escort missions which I found annoying.
But really in the end I still enjoyed the game overall and I think most fans of the genre will as well as long as they give it a shot.
To sum up:
Pros
* Lots of action and violence
* Extremely cool weapons
* Interesting special abilities
* Everything is upgradeable
* Fun but not overly taxing puzzles
* Good atmosphere
* Doesn't take itself too seriously
* Nice graphics (after first level)
Cons
* Shameful intro level
* Difficulty is a bit higher than expected
* Can't customize controls at all
* Story is ridiculous (but as I said this game doesn't take itself seriously)
 fairly standard FPS with a quirky physics gimmick August 17, 2010
Lisa Shea
On paper, "Singularity" is a fairly standard FPS with a quirky physics gimmick. However, the actual game is a little more interesting than that. The game is decent and reasonably fun, but not anything particularly outstanding.
In a lot of ways, Singularity is a normal First-Person Shooter. There's the standard assortment of FPS guns (pistol, assault rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle) and for the most part the combat is fairly standard. Singularity's specific gimmick is time control. In addition to a bunch of other powers, the protagonist has the power (imbued by a super-powerful techno-glove) to age or revert objects and people. Objects aged by this power become weakened and rusted; people affected by it instantly skeletonize as hundreds of years wash over their body.
This power can also be used to repair, as well - twisted, rusted old objects can be made new and useful again. Things like staircases, power boxes, and even ammo or supply boxes can be restored to working condition with this power. As the game goes along, new powers are unlocked like creating a time-slowing bubble to navigate dangerous obstacles. The logic of the power system is a little questionable sometimes - one puzzle in particular stands out, when time powers didn't work on a semi-closed shutter but did work on a box that was slid underneath said shutter, causing the box to pop up to a reconstructed state and open the shutter. This is the kind of reality the game is working with, so most of the puzzles are some level of "what am I allowed to affect and how can I use it".
The game also boasts a fairly in-depth upgrade system. Upgrades come in two varieties: weapon upgrades (increasing damage, reload speed, and so on) and personal/power upgrades (affecting the character's special abilities and statistics). Exploration is rewarded by blueprints, which are used to develop new upgrades, and "E-99", the mysterious element used to purchase those upgrades. In addition, hidden notes and messages provide further incentive for players to go off the beaten path whenever they can.
The game's enemies include monsters, soldiers, and mutants. The monsters and mutants are reasonably fun, and have their own power-based weaknesses and gimmicks. The soldiers, on the other hand, are kind of boring - gunfights are not the game's strong point. Still, there are a few cool scenes where you can use some new power or weapon to carve through an army of enemy soldiers that make it worth the trouble.
Singularity's graphics and design are acceptable, but largely forgettable. It's the same stream of generic monsters and ruined laboratories and faceless soldiers that populate every single FPS. It doesn't look bad, but it's hardly inspired, either. This defines a lot of Singularity's message - it's not unique, but it's not bad either. It's a safe game to pick up and assume you'll have fun with it, but you're not likely to be blown away by its quality, either. It's worth getting, at the very least, but there's not much more to say about it than that.
rating: 6/10
Showing reviews 1-5 of 29
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