Singularity

**DickDalewood** · 06-30-2010, 07:03 PM

Re: Singularity

This does look pretty cool Val... did you pick it up?

**Vast** · 06-30-2010, 08:02 PM

Re: Singularity

This game is made by Raven. These guys have a kick *** FPS track record. This game should be sweet.

**rock85** · 06-30-2010, 11:35 PM

Re: Singularity

I had this game for about a week now, and i am digging it. It's reminds of Bioshock Dead Space and maybe little like Fallout. Anyone who likes FPS with a mix of powers would not be disappointed.

**Flawless** · 06-30-2010, 11:52 PM

Re: Singularity

Giant Bomb: Quick Look

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**Valdarez** · 07-01-2010, 02:17 AM

Re: Singularity

Originally posted by DickDalewood

This does look pretty cool Val... did you pick it up?

Yeah, I preOrdered it, which is something I rarely do for video games (only God of War, Red Dead, and Transformers this year so far, with Mafia II, StarCraft this summer). I didn't pay for same day shipping so it's not here yet. Hopefully it'll be here tomorrow.

**DickDalewood** · 07-04-2010, 11:41 AM

Re: Singularity

Originally posted by Valdarez

Yeah, I preOrdered it, which is something I rarely do for video games (only God of War, Red Dead, and Transformers this year so far, with Mafia II, StarCraft this summer). I didn't pay for same day shipping so it's not here yet. Hopefully it'll be here tomorrow.

Sweet. Leave some impressions if you get a chance, I'm curious about this one.

**Valdarez** · 07-04-2010, 04:44 PM

Re: Singularity

Originally posted by DickDalewood

Sweet. Leave some impressions if you get a chance, I'm curious about this one.

Will do, I got it in, with a comic of some sort too. Must of been part of the Amazon preOrder deal. Not playing until tomorrow though. Transformers: War of Cybertron is playing all weekend for me in MP, as they are giving experience bonuses away, and I want to hit the achievements (got roughly 60 of the necessary 100 levels now). Though I did have to take some time out to try NFL Fever '04 (yeah, I never played it!) today.

I'll pop in Singularity early tomorrow and post some feedback on it. It's killing me not to play it right now, but gotta take advantage of tthe T:WfC MP E B this weekend.

Checked Metacritic on it, and it's 8.1 so far. It's no Red Dead Redemption (by which all games will be measured for awhile), but the time aspect appeals to me.

**canes21** · 07-04-2010, 10:39 PM

Re: Singularity

Off topic a little, but how did you like NFL Fever? I loved the series and think had it, 2k, and EA all been competing that it would be a heck of game. I bought NFL Fever over 2k4 and Madden 04. Sadly it was the last.

**Valdarez** · 07-05-2010, 08:39 AM

Re: Singularity

Originally posted by canes21

Off topic a little, but how did you like NFL Fever? I loved the series and think had it, 2k, and EA all been competing that it would be a heck of game. I bought NFL Fever over 2k4 and Madden 04. Sadly it was the last.

Considering it was 2004, it's quite impressive. I can't believe I never bought it, but 2 football games was enough back then considering my work schedule (2k / Madden). The game renders well, the running animations are smooth, the players have more pivot points than Madden or 2K's models, and the game has multiple impact tackles something Madden to this day doesn't have in it's game. The passing mechanics are different (select the receiver with a button, then use RT to pass). They are probably more realistic, but I don't prefer them over APF2K8's so far in my limited testing. I still need to try the read and lead feature in the game. I primarily bought it to test out the passing game.

On the topic of Singularity, if you like Bioshock & DeadSpace, you're gonna like Singularity. I didn't realize it when I bought it, but the game is creepy. Granted, I had been up nearly 24 hours when I plugged it in to play it, but it genuinely creeped me out. Here's what happens. You'll see a flashback, with people doing something that leads to their death, and then it shows you the dead bodies. Really creepy. Or, it will show you a dead body, then you'll enter a 'event horizon', which basically time warps you to the period, and you'll do something that basically results in the persons death! Very deja vu'ish with a heavy helping of creep factor added on.

Only 4 hours into Single player, but the game is a definite play right now for me. Will report more after I play today.

**Valdarez** · 07-08-2010, 09:31 AM

Re: Singularity

I think I'm getting towards the end now. I've been splitting time with this and Transformers: War for Cybertron MultiPlayer.

Buy/Rent (Buy)
I reserve 'must buy's for games like God of War III, Red Dead Redmeption, etc. This game is a must buy at the $40 price range, and a weak buy at the $60 range. It's definitely a must play game on the 360, especially for fans of the BioShock and DeadSpace games.

Who Should Play
This game is a good game, and just shy of great. If there was no BioShock, and no Dead Space, people would be talking about this game in their place. If you are fan of FPS games, sci-fi games, BioShock, or DeadSpace, then you owe it to yourself to play the game. You won't be disappointed. If you are a fan of quality voice over work, strong storylines, and well executed gameplay mechanics, then you will enjoy the game.

Story (9/10)
The story is very well written. It involves a deviated time-line that the russian's caused after they found a new element called e99. With the new element they developed all kinds of new technologies, and new weapons. America developed a bomb that could take out a city. Russia developed a bomb that took out half of america in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately e99 was unstable, and caused strange electro-magnetic pulses in higher quantities, resulting in an explosion at the main island where it was being harvested, and creating a 'event horizon', basically a point in space where time was constantly shifting. This is where you come in as your coptor is shot down while investigating the island.

As you play, the story begins to unfold. You learn of e99, discover their new weapons, and obtain the power to manipulate time on objects, people, and time holes. You also begin going back and forth between 1940/1950 and 2010, and the things you do begin to alter the time line, which is very, very cool, because they are not minor alterations, and they happen in real time. I so wish I could tell more, but I believe I'd be giving the story away if I did so. Let me just say that I really appreciate the ability to alter something in the past and see the effect in the future. That is not easily done, yet they managed to do it in a way that works, makes sense, and in a way that executes very well with the game.

GamePlay (8/10)
GamePlay is pretty solid. Shooting is pretty easy, so you might want to play on the Hard level. I'm playing on Normal, and it's a little too easy for me personally. I'm always sitting at max health and max e99 cells. The AI isn't all that smart. They don't take cover well when you shoot them, and if they do, you can always age their cover, and make it turn to ashes/disintegrate (w00t!) so they are left in the open and an easy target.

On that note, what does the e99 allow you to do? See a lock on a locker? Then make it age so it corrodes before your eyes, and BAM you can open the locker. See a russian army man running at you, then use e99 aging on him, and he'll age, wither, and turn to ash before your eyes (my personal favorite). You'll also use your power to enlarge the time holes so you can walk through them effectively going back in time to 1955 (maybe sooner, I can remember exact dates right now), and back to 2010.

There's an ability called DeadLock that allows you to freeze things in a little Time bubble. You'll use this to solve puzzles (walk through fans, keep doors open, etc), and you'll also use it to freeze some of the monsters who phase in and out of time, so you can shoot/kill them.

You get a 'force push' ability that is VERY good against the exploding spiders. What's weird is I had to die like 5 times before I figured this out. The game never suggested it to me until like 3 levels later when they swarm on you again, and after I had already figured out it was the mechanic to use against them. Great helper suggestion, just a little too late. heh

One nice they they provide is a 'next step help' of sorts, basically you press down with the D-Pad and it sends out a Sonar wave showing the steps you need to take to get to the next objective. Definitely helps a couple of times when you get turned around, or are being rushed in an area you have not yet explored.

Voice Over Work (9/10)
The voice over work is top notch. I can't think of anything that was done poorly, or felt out of place. Even the work on the films was done well.

Sound (9/10)
Great use of sound in the game. They have some amazingly creepy moments, several of which involve the sound of little children (no idea why that creeps me out, but it does). The 9/10 is probably a little high, but I'm giving it to them because they made the best use of my 400w subwoofer of ANY game on the XBox 360. When something creepy is happening, and the floor is literally rumbling, it adds a huge effect to being in the moment. The musical score is always appropriate, fitting the mood of the scene you are playing out.

Art (7/10)
This is easily the game's weakest point. The special effects are top notch, but the monster art, and the environements could have been better. There's only a couple of things which I found impressive. The rest of it felt appropriate, but could have been more detailed.

Environments (8/10)
The environments will remind you of Fallout 3, only in color. The area has been ravaged with a bomb from 50+ years earlier, with the entire area having fallen into disrepair, rusted, or destroyed to one extent or another. The game really shines when you go back in time, as the areas look new/pristine, and there are some pretty neat things back then that affect the environment in your time of 2010.

**rock85** · 07-08-2010, 01:49 PM

Re: Singularity

Nice write up Val. I finished the game i liked the game a lot. You are pretty much right on with your review

**Valdarez** · 07-09-2010, 09:38 AM

Re: Singularity

Originally posted by rock85

Nice write up Val. I finished the game i liked the game a lot. You are pretty much right on with your review

It's sad to see a quality game garner so little interest. People seem more interested in Naughty Bear, which from all reviews I have read is a bad, bad game (though I haven't played it myself).

**Valdarez** · 07-10-2010, 11:16 PM

Re: Singularity

Just finished the game, and sat here on the comp while the credits ran. If you play the game, let the credits roll. There's a cut scene at the end that explains what happened to a key individual in the storyline, and possibly feeds into the next game.

**canes21** · 07-11-2010, 02:23 AM

Re: Singularity

Originally posted by Valdarez

Just finished the game, and sat here on the comp while the credits ran. If you play the game, let the credits roll. There's a cut scene at the end that explains what happened to a key individual in the storyline, and possibly feeds into the next game.

Can you post it under a spoiler tag? I watched the credits, but don't remember this at all.

Never mind, thought I was in the Red Dead topic. My mistake.

Singularity

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