"Singularity" Review (PS3)

Russian mutants are a current and "totally in right now" fashion statement in video games. If you don't believe it, look at the "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." series, the awesome "Metro 2033," the upcoming budget title "MorphX," and, of course, "Singularity." Strangely, both "Singularity" and "Metro 2033" are my current favorites in 2010 -- although there's a lot out there that I've yet to play, I strongly suspect they will remain very near the top of that list. Sadly, both FPS games seem to have fallen by the wayside in the wake of powerhouse releases in the "Halo," "Modern Warfare," "Bioshock," and "Battlefield: Bad Company" franchises. This is probably to be expected of any new I.P., and it's too damn bad, because these are some damn fine games that I'll remember for a very long time.

In "Singularity," forged by a little known company called Raven Software (sarcasm), you are an elite U.S. soldier named Nate Renko who, like most FPS leads never speaks even when being directly spoken to, making him seem either deaf, moronic, pricky, or all of the above. "Hey, buddy, I just asked you a question!" Still, he's got a slight problem because his chopper just crashed on Katorga-12, a former Soviet facility during the Cold War that pulled a "Wolfenstein" with the Reds taking over for the Nazis by dabbling in some seriously forbidden science. This resulted in a "Half-Life" Black Mesa-sized "Oops!," unleashing hideous mutant freaks with a taste for flesh and all kinds of time and space craziness -- that, naturally, you'll get to dabble in yourself.

Well, I don't know what it is about Russian mutants, but they're starting to look a whole lot scarier than the rest of the world's mutants, because even the first of them that you'll face in "Singularity" might have you tinkling in your pants just a wee bit (no pun intended). Some scripted moments, in particular, made the first "F.E.A.R." look like amateur hour in terms of startling the shit out of me -- and many of these were in the first twenty minutes of gameplay. In fact, the earliest creatures you'll face are perhaps the scariest in the entire game, if not the most challenging. But one thing is certain -- there are some memorable baddies in "Singularity." Not "Metro 2033" memorable, but memorable all the same. (One blind creature with exceptional hearing is worth mentioning.) And "Singularity" has something "Metro" certainly does not -- this is an old school shooter and a damn good one. Despite a few jolts, it's not a survival horror game, but a straightforward actioner where even battling non-mutated foes is good, gory fun. In fact, it's gernerally preferable, which one might say makes it the polar opposite of the aforementioned title.

Your arsenal of weaponry is one of the best in recent years, delivering the down and dirty goods. The FPS action just feels right. The guns bark in mostly the right ways, and enemies react with gushing blood and sometimes severed limbs. One prototype weapon even allows you to follow your bullets into their targets as they explode into satisfying dismembered chunks. Raven proves yet again it can deliver in the action department here, and this is only aided by your ability to upgrade your weapons and make them steadily more potent, much like in 2009's "Wolfenstein" (no coincidence since Raven also developed that gem as well).

Also like that "Wolfenstein" redux, your ability to cause destruction is not limited to your firearms. As the game progresses, you will be able to manipulate time in ways that may age your human enemies to the point where you literally watch them turn to dust before your very eyes, or slow down time to give you a leg up on the competition. When it comes to the game's environmental puzzles, these abilities (also upgradable, btw) can sometimes come across as gimmicky, but there are clever moments too. One just wishes that the game allowed you to think outside the box a little. You are too limited to what the game wants you to do, meaning to progress you might not be able to turn that locked metal door in front of you into a rusted pile of debris, but that other one to your left that the game has designated sure as hell can be.

So, yes, the game is very, very linear. But this gives it a brisk, action-packed pace that scarcely ever relents, unlike its cousin "Wolfenstein." It also packs in some challenge, even on its easier settings. Its environments look suitably desolate and bleak in the present, but reflect an entirely different atmosphere in the past (which you visit frequently). The graphics, overall, are quite good, the frame rate is liquid smooth, and the soundtrack befitting the tone of the material. Complete with a decent storyline and several endings -- one which resulted in some delicious moral ambiguity -- this results in a great single player package. (Multiplayer is said to be good too, but I wouldn't know.)

In closing, "Singularity" is another awesome notch in Raven Software's belt that goes all the way back to its "Doom" engine antics with "Heretic." Russian mutants sure are fun to kill, and I recommend any FPS fan who has had his fill of "Halo" and "Modern Warfare" to give this new I.P. a look see. You won't regret it.

Final Score: 8.8 (Exceptional)