Singularity
By Raven Software
Genre: First-person shooter with Time Control
Rating: Mature for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
In this game seemingly inspired by BioShock, you play a Marine, Nathan Renko, sent to the Russian island of Katorga-12 on a reconnaissance mission. Back in 1950, strange experiments were run here concerning a newly discovered element, E99, and its possible applications to warfare. Things got… a little out of hand, and the end result is a massive ball of displaced time floating ominously above the island.
Well, it seems that one of the survivors of the catastrophe, a Dr. Barisov, has attempted to resume the deadly experiments; it’s up to you to determine what the threat to the world is, and if necessary eliminate the doctor…
Well, it would be like that, if not for the fact that the titular Singularity pulses every once in a while, and sends you back in time to a fateful day in which you unwittingly rescue the REAL villain of the game, Dr. Demichev. A new timeline is established, one in which Demichev has furthered the horrific experiments that Barisov started, and made monsters from his work; humans and animals who had become twisted and mutilated, unprotected from the ravages of pure time…
This is the world in which Renko now finds himself; the island, in 2010, is merged with its 1955 equivalent. Those pulses from the Singularity occur every so often, sending you back to pristine 1955 where Demichev’s soldiers are at the ready, guarding against any intrusion. There are also some pretty nasty beasts, as mentioned earlier, which seek to kill you and any other survivors of the present.
Fortunately, you have the power of time in your hands, literally; Dr. Barisov, now wanting to see Demichev stopped, lets you have his TMD, or Temporal Manipulation Device, which is basically a technological glove that lets you pick up and throw objects, age or de-age them (or your enemies, in a somewhat disturbing twist), or trap them in a Timelock sphere, in which time stands still.
As you go through the levels, you find other people who wish to see Demichev fail as well; but there are notes written on the walls that you can read by de-aging them, that may foreshadow major betrayal or failure of Barisov’s plans to use a massive E99 bomb to close the Singularity. But you really have no choice but to continue with the story, just like most of these types of storylines go.
Multiplayer follows the persistent ranking system seen in most modern shooters, and starts out with two modes: Extermination, which is similar to the Control Point mode found in other shooters (creatures guard beacons, soldiers try to capture them, sides switch at the end of the round), and Creatures vs. Soldiers, which is more or less just the popular team deathmatch mode (two teams compete to see which team can kill more of the other). Not TOO exciting, but the single-player game is the main draw anyway.
For an excellent time-travel adventure with lots of twists along the way, try out Singularity! Five out of five!