video game review

‘SINGULARITY’

Grade: B

Details: by Activision, for Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 and PC; $59.99 ($49.99 for PC); rated Mature

An investigation of a mysterious island leads to the breaking of our timeline and the rise of a worldwide Soviet Empire in “Singularity.” The island in question is Katorga-12, a base dedicated to researching the powerful Element 99. Not only can it be used for weapons — it also powers a Time Manipulation Device that provides the player’s powers.

It’s not available from the start, though, and until it is found, the game plays like an atmospheric but otherwise ho-hum shooter. The first hour or two is a bit of a slog through zombielike enemies and crumbling halls.

A past catastrophe on the island has filled it with mutants and time anomalies linking the present and the year 1955. Some anomalies manifest as innocuous flashbacks; others are rifts in time that transport the player to the past, generally to complete some time-line-altering event (the one that changes our history is accidental).

But the present is home to the TMD, a gauntlet that acts as an all-in-one magic hand. It can pulverize enemies with a close-range impulse, age them into dust, be used to pick up and throw heavy objects, stop time in a spherical area and reveal the right path to follow. It can also age and renew many inorganic objects, rebuilding broken staircases, power boxes and crates to open new paths, or breaking down locked safes into rust to allow access to the items inside.

More interesting guns, such as a rifle whose bullets can be controlled manually, turn up later, and upgrade packs allow players to increase their standard weapons’ effectiveness in several areas.

The game features a couple online modes as well as numerous audio logs and written notes, dilapidated surroundings, mutant enemies, upgradeable weapons and the TMD’s various powers combine to create a feel not unlike “BioShock,” though “Singularity” isn’t its equal.

—Justin Hoeger, Sacramento Bee