QnD Quick Review: Singularity (PS3)

"How come you haven't aged a day, captain Rambo. Err, I mean Dumbo? Uhh, Renko"? The Russian officer said.

"I don't know, but after an hour it sure feels like I've been playing this game for days!" Nathaniel Renko answered, tight in the grips of two Russian special forces soldiers.

"If you don't tell me the truth, I will make you play Singularity for another two hours!" Yelled back the officer. 

"No! Remember the Geneva Convention! Anything but that! Noooooo!!!!"

That's pretty much how I picture my first hour and half playing Singularity.

Ok, I knew the game was cheap. And flopped. And it looked like a standard 3rd person shooter. But...

I thought it would have a "time gimmick", like TimeShift. Or it didn't resort to "spawn behind you" mutant-zombie-teleport-horror-monsters like Wolfenstein did, 10-or so years ago. Maybe it would have new interesting weapons? A good post-apocalyptic wibe, like Metro 2033?

Bulls*it!

Every minute playing Singularity just reinforces the feeling that "some other game has done this better". Usually a lot better.

The graphics aren't bad, just uninspired and sometimes bland. The monster design is "so-so" and you spend the first hour shooting at the same model until you get an upgrade and spend the next hour shooting at that one - with the welcome exception of shooting some human-Russians in the meanwhile (that makes the model count... 3.).

Then there's the absolute glass-pipe game play; no freedom of choosing your paths.

And the gameplay in general; Even when it comes to weapon choices the game throws it in your face; you're offered a "pistol - assault rifle - shotgun" upgrade path while you play through the early game, and for GODS SAKE - take the shotgun even if you feel like you prefer the rifle.

Why? I'll tell you why - the game stops giving you rifle ammo in the next game section, instead of lavishly giving you shotgun ammo. So if you forgot to upgrade before the one-way door you just passed closes behind you, you're in for a fist fight after you run out of rifle and pistol ammo (and you will run out, as the tough buggers will take around a clip of pistol ammo before they drop).


Oh, and when the game wants you to do something "The Way It Is Meant To Be Played", it REALLY wants you to do something. As in spawning monsters until you run out of ammo and health, while figuring what the hell it wants you to do, or go. Like in one instance where your entrance and supposed-to-be exit are both blocked and you should find an "alternative route". Err, what f*cking route? Argh! Oh I died - rewind back few minutes, rince and repeat (ie. die again), until you Google search what the heck the game designers were thinking at that particular moment (I guess it depends on if they were on uppers or downers... ;P ).

All in all, Singularity is average, uneven and uninteresting. There are better games out there waiting to be played.


Score: 6/10