| Singularity First-look
Time-travelling weaponry, Godzilla-sized boss encounters and more revealed.
Australia, February 15, 2009 - Raven Software is really bringing out its 'A-game' in 2009, with three heavy hitters in development: X-Men Origins: Wolverine; Wolfenstein and Singularity. During a recent studio visit to Raven's Wisconsin studio we got a detailed first-peak at its mysterious time-travelling shooter, Singularity. The basic premise of the game is a twist on the normal FPS conventions by giving you a gun that can distort the time period of its targets. It's an intriguing concept, but before we delve into the specifics, let's give you a bit of background on the project.
Singularity began when Raven's designers were mixing around a handful of unrelated topics, including the 1950s Cold War between Russia and the USA, urban explorers (action junkies who mount expeditions into abandoned tunnels and factories) and time travel. Curiosity about the amazing stories some abandoned locations could tell ultimately weaved these concepts together into Singularity's current plot. You play Nate Ranco, an American test pilot who crashes on a Russian island where a science experiment gone wrong has resulted in a time anomaly that sees the island fluctuating between the realities of 1950 and 2010. In 1950 the island is a thriving military research facility, packed with scientists, soldiers and pristine equipment. The island hasn't aged well though (mostly due to a cataclysmic disaster). By 2010 it's a dilapidated wasteland, where a few bored soldiers guard the post-apocalyptic remains. And just to add a little more spice into the mix, there's also a range of weird alien flora and fauna invading the 2010 landscape. Singularity – is there anything it doesn't have?
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/954/954397/alienplants_1234765843.jpg)
"Wacky translucent orange grass, what'll they come up with next?"
The Singularity presentation opened with Nate regaining consciousness in a run-down industrial alley. As the screen slowly comes into focus we see heavy rain cascading down rusted metal buildings and spilling onto the cracked concrete ground. In stark contrast to the shabby surroundings, the water effects, lighting and textures look stunning. The only thing in the alley that doesn't look at least 50 years-old is an odd alien plant growing up the side of the building. Before we can puzzle too much at this, Nate rounds the corner and is blocked by a padlocked gate.
Negotiating locked doors is often far from our favourite gameplay gimmick but at least Singularity tackles it in a fresh way. Nate equips his TMD (Time Manipulation Device), a rocket launcher-sized device that can manipulate objects and time periods. On the other side of the gate are the rusted remnants of a metal barrel. By locking onto the remnants the TMD can lift them into the air and place them beside the gate. Now the time-travelling feature of the TMD can be used to restore the barrel to its pristine 1950 version. Flicking to a regular gun and shooting the barrel causes it to explode and blow the gate off its hinges.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/954/954397/timedude_1234766143.jpg)
"Wait. No. I'm too young to decompose...."
Now that we'd gotten our heads around the TMD it was time to unleash serious destruction in far cooler scenarios. A couple of soldiers firing at you from an overhead catwalk were dealt with quick-smart by aiming the TMD at the catwalk, causing it to rust and crumple away under their feet and send them plunging to their deaths. Another few soldiers who were dug in well behind cover were obliterated when the TMD was used to age and collapse a huge metal sign onto their heads. Our favourite was the direct approach, where the TMD was aimed at soldiers themselves, advancing them to old age, then to skeletons, then to dust - all in a split-second.
While the TMD can advance or rewind time at will on any smaller objects, more powerful machinery is needed for larger sections of the environment. By using the TMD to repair various broken pieces of an old time machine, Nate was able to use it to resurrect a sunken ship. It sure looked cool seeing a huge tanker ship materialize out of thin air, then crash back into the water beside the dock, driving up waves of water that left startled fish flapping around on the ground.
As Nate began exploring the tanker ship we heard the deep, booming sounds of tonnes of metal twisting and contorting. It turns out that large objects like this ship refuse to stay in artificial time periods and begin reverting to their decayed state. What this translates into in gameplay terms is an environment that's exploding and collapsing around you. And just to freak you out even more, Nate starts being seeing ghosts (or "echo events"). These echoes are glimpses into past events. In one corridor you'll see a translucent person screaming as he claws at the floor while being dragged to his death and around the next corner there'll be an echo ghost hammering at a locked door, demanding to be freed.
Okay, so Singularity's already sounding like the twisted lovechild of The X-Files and The Twilight Zone but brace yourselves because it gets weirder. A little further on Nate discovers a gaping hole the size of a truck carved through the ship, leaving a wild mess of torn metal and gory body parts in its wake. It turns out that you've teleported yourself to the moment before this tanker was sunk, and whatever did the sinking is bigger than Godzilla and twice as pissed off.
Also, it turns out Godzilla left behind some of his buddies. Attached to walls of the ship are pockets of barnacle-like life-forms. Apparently they're called Phase Ticks and these bright yellow oddities are living proximity mines. Walk too close to one and they'll spray you with a sort of time-travelling venom that turns a healthy person into a wrinkly, mutated corpse. You can even use the TMD to get creative and pull one off a wall while it's frozen in time, then shoot it into a wall behind some enemies and have it explode in their faces.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/954/954397/phaseticks_1234766495.jpg)
"Don't worry, Bob. I'm sure these are harmle... Arrggghhh!"
Next up we saw an interesting twist on the bubble shield grenades Master Chief used in Halo 3. In Singularity you've got time shields that can be dropped, sending out a forcefield time bubble that you can move about in freely while you're protected from bullets and enemies. These shields can turn the tide in desperate firefights and it also looks great as the bullets thud into the invisible barrier, sending out rippling shockwaves of energy.
After being taunted by him in the tanker ship level, we got a chance to confront the Godzilla-sized monster during an epic boss fight on a moving train. As Nate is running between carriages we see crab-like arms the size of busses tearing sections out of the train. After ripping the roof off one carriage we got a good look at his silver, eyeball-covered monstrosity-of-a-head before we riddled it with bullets. As the battle raged the monster's attacks were collapsing entire sections of the bridge under the train, leaving half the carriages hanging into the abyss. When it was clear Nate was fighting a losing battle against this monster, he decided to take his chance to use the TMD on one of the couplings between carriages and send the beast and half the train to its doom. Whammy.
The TMD weapon definitely adds a very fresh gimmick to the usual FPS conventions. However, when we asked about the TMD were a little disappointed to find out that it can't be used to age or renew any object in the game. How well Raven Software will be able to design the gameplay so it doesn't seem wildly inconsistent that you can use the TMD to disintegrate one door but not the one next to it remains to be seen.
So there you have it; time travelling weaponry, FPS blasting, ghosts, Cold War science experiments gone wrong and skyscraper-sized mutant aliens. Singularity? More like 'Everythingularity' - (sorry, we couldn't resist). Raven Software's shooter is overflowing ideas and ambition, so much so that at times it felt like it was at risk of losing the plot, but the setting was backed with enough detail and character that it held together. 'Gritty insanity' is how we'd describe its atmosphere. Stay tuned to IGN because we'll be heading back to the future for a hands-on with Singularity soon. |
