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Singularity |OT| - Anyone? No?

C

Corky

Nine out of ten orphans can't tell the difference.
mescalineeyes said:
what the fuck? :lol
Click to expand...

hence the " almost " sign :p
I very much agree that bioshock 1 is better than singularity but they're very similar in many aspects both features and quality.

Furthermore I'm certain that if singularity got the money and time it needed ( judging by activisions marketing for the game, or lack thereof ) it would remind me even more of bio 1
 
T

TheFLYINGManga_Ka

Member
nolookjones said:
other people have mentioned around 7 hrs

so far im enjoying this game more than bioshock 2 (not 1) and my only complaint is the use of too many low-res textures....
Click to expand...
Wow, that's it?

I'm going to wait and pick it up later when the price drops. 7 hrs isn't enough for a $60 game, IMO.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
I've pretty much played and enjoyed all of Raven's games. I really liked their recent revival of Wolfenstein. I'll probably pick this up whenever it gets released on Steam... or I might wait until it gets a discount since it's already obvious that it's being sent to die.
 
N

Naeblish

Member
This game is awesome. It is imho definitely on par with games like Bioshock and Dead Space. It might be mediocre on some points, but it's just pure fun. The gun play is very good, so good that i am considering playing it again after i've finished it. Bioshock was an awesome experience but i never touched that game again. I just don't get why this game didn't get more (or any) marketing.

Also a tip, play on hard. I don't know how normal is but hard is already easy most of the time.

K' Dash said:
Does anyone know how to deal with the little spiders? they were fucking killing me in seconds when I was in the
sewers
and I know they'll show up later and I don't want to split the disc in two.
Click to expand...
They are annoying but easy once you know how, i'll spoiler this because it includes some powers to use:
When you see the spiders coming, use the power that creates a globe in which time slows down. Stay inside and when most of the spiders are on the edge of the globe, use your melee attack. It destroys them all and you get no damage :).
 
C

Corky

Nine out of ten orphans can't tell the difference.
Naeblish said:
This game is awesome. It is imho definitely on par with games like Bioshock and Dead Space. It might be mediocre on some points, but it's just pure fun. The gun play is very good, so good that i am considering playing it again after i've finished it. Bioshock was an awesome experience but i never touched that game again. I just don't get why this game didn't get more (or any) marketing.

Also a tip, play on hard. I don't know how normal is but hard is already easy most of the time.


They are annoying but easy once you know how, i'll spoiler this because it includes some powers to use:
When you see the spiders coming, use the power that creates a globe in which time slows down. Stay inside and when most of the spiders are on the edge of the globe, use your melee attack. It destroys them all and you get no damage :).
Click to expand...

ever since I got the TMD I've forgotten how the fuck I used to meleeattack >_<! And that part you mentioned really left a bad taste in my mouth
 
N

Ninja Moomin

Banned
Naeblish said:
This game is awesome. It is imho definitely on par with games like Bioshock and Dead Space. It might be mediocre on some points, but it's just pure fun. The gun play is very good, so good that i am considering playing it again after i've finished it. Bioshock was an awesome experience but i never touched that game again. I just don't get why this game didn't get more (or any) marketing.

Also a tip, play on hard. I don't know how normal is but hard is already easy most of the time.


They are annoying but easy once you know how, i'll spoiler this because it includes some powers to use:
When you see the spiders coming, use the power that creates a globe in which time slows down. Stay inside and when most of the spiders are on the edge of the globe, use your melee attack. It destroys them all and you get no damage :).
Click to expand...

I am loving it and agree 100% with your statements
 
N

Naeblish

Member
Corky said:
ever since I got the TMD I've forgotten how the fuck I used to meleeattack >_<! And that part you mentioned really left a bad taste in my mouth
Click to expand...
Yeah, i even had to reload a checkpoint 1 or 2 times because i didn't have enough time to read some of the interface messages. I had the same issue with RDR, but at least there i could reread them in the message screen.
There were even some times where storytelling was taking place during the action, since it is impossible to follow both it becomes very annoying, i sure hope that doesn't become a trend.

On pc it's MB3 btw.
 
S

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
What is going on with the steam release of this?

There is no purchase option and the coming soon stuff is gone, but the store page itself is still there.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/42670/

I hear the PC version has some kind of bug with texture streaming not working, maybe they are holding off until they fix that?
 
R

ram

Member
just played a bit - reminds me a little bit to much of bioshock. also, the enemies take to much ammo.
 
N

Ninja Moomin

Banned
RiotPelaaja said:
Sorry for so many posts today, I'm just so excited about this game, which is a big deal since I've been playing games for over 25 years.

Anyway...the Borat note was funny, but there's more...

Lost_wheel.jpg


lost_trophy.jpg
Click to expand...



where was that?


Also.... damn it... i'm in a square room, there's a flashback to some guys headed for a train, then this teleporting THING attacks.... how do i defeat it? it's driving me mad...

it's just after a bit where you get carried by a crane and then go indoors... and you have to stop a fan, carry a crate to jump on, then stop another fan.


how the F do i kill it....? playing on hard
 
T

The Interrobanger

Member
Ok, got it for 360 and played for a bit.

The game completely sucks until you get the TMD. Graphics are typical UE3 stuff with some shitty textures thrown in for good measure. Gunplay is like Fallout 3 without the VATS system. Enemies are generic rejects from Dead Space.

Then things get much, much better.

Game starts to feels fresh rather than just a Bioshock/Fallout 3 lovechild. You've gotta use strategy otherwise you'll get creamed in firefights (I'm playing on hard). Perks/upgrades start making your character a badass. Aging/reversing the items is so fucking cool! Level design gets a lot more varied and interesting (some stuff feels like Metroid Prime). A couple puzzles make you stop and think for a second.

This is definitely one of the most unoriginal games I've ever played, but it's still a blast once you get past the really, really slow start.

So, imagine the following games all rolled up into one and you've got an near exact recipe for Singularity.

Bioshock (visuals, plot elements, audio logs, TMD is like a couple plasmids in one, similar sense of humor, similar in-game "propaganda"/videos)
Fallout 3 (gunplay, plot elements, similar sense of humor, similar in-game "propaganda"/videos)
Dead Space (enemies, level design, upgrade system, can blow off specific limbs)
Half Life 2 (gravity gun)
Metro 2033 (gunplay, post apocalyptic level design, fucking russians)
Timeshift (time manipulation)

I just beat the first boss, so I'm not too far in I don't think. I'm going really slow because I know it's a shorter game and I want to explore everything. There's definitely enough chances to explore for extra ammo/upgrade points to make the OCD gamers happy.

A couple more things that really piss me off:
- I want to be able to scavenge dead bodies! It feels weird that I can't because most of the games it draws from let you do this.
- Guns sound really weak. In fact, the audio design is sub par in general I'd say.
- Audio logs: Why do I have to stand around and listen to them? Why isn't there a subtitle option? Why is the game music so loud that I can't hear the audio logs? Why is this both such a complete ripoff and downgrade from Bioshock's system? Why are they not saved/cataloged in your inventory?
- Notes/written logs: Why are they not narrated? Why is there black text over dark lines that makes them so impossible to read without squinting? Why can't I take them with me to read through again later in my journey?
- Controls...meh, kinda confusing. I wish I could customize them. TMD function is set to the left bumper when it should be left trigger. Zoom should be right stick click.
- Only 2 guns at once. :(

A couple more things I really like:
- AI seems great all around
- Animations are really fluid. Great mix of ragdoll and defined animations.
- Gore is extreme. Heads/limbs are blown off and blood is everywhere.
- Humor is entertaining throughout. Especially on the typed notes you find.
- Fixing/destroying crates/stairs/control panels never gets old. Looks really awesome.
- Explosions/fire effects are surprisingly visceral.
- Lots of secrets areas to find/explore, but unfortunately there's not many collectibles so you usually just get extra upgrade points.

7.5/10 thus far, but I have a feeling things are just going to ramp up from here.
 
R

rainking187

Member
Wish Amazon would ship my game already. I ordered a couple of instock games yesterday and they haven't shipped those yet either. Anyone pick up the PS3 version and can tell me if there's a mandatory install and if so how big?
 
S

scitek

Member
I'm gonna delve into the multiplayer for a bit and then review it altogether, but as far as the single player campaign goes, I give it a B. It's really fun and the only lackluster elements are the Resident Evil 5-level puzzles and the lackluster story. I had a blast with the gameplay, though. So much so that I beat it in a day. It's ~7-8 hours long, which is exactly as long as it took me to beat both Bioshocks.
 
N

Naeblish

Member
Sinatar said:
http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/5...agued-By-Texture-Streaming-Problems-Fix-Found
Click to expand...
Thnx for the link, that was very annoying.

NinjaFusion said:
Also.... damn it... i'm in a square room, there's a flashback to some guys headed for a train, then this teleporting THING attacks.... how do i defeat it? it's driving me mad...

it's just after a bit where you get carried by a crane and then go indoors... and you have to stop a fan, carry a crate to jump on, then stop another fan.

how the F do i kill it....? playing on hard
Click to expand...

Not sure where this is, could you post a screenshot?
 
N

Naeblish

Member
ram said:
just played a bit - reminds me a little bit to much of bioshock. also, the enemies take to much ammo.
Click to expand...
Still playing with the pistol i bet? Yeah that weapon sucks. When you get the assault rifle, fairly quickly, you kill 10 times faster.
 
G

Gileadxv

Banned
I both rented and completed the single player game today on Normal (360). I have to reiterate what some of the other posts said, the game starts off horribly. I actually had to restart the game from scratch when I made the mistake of not realizing you could equip a new weapon from a weapon locker (as opposed to just modifying it) and was stuck having to try and knife my way through the next half a dozen fights :D (I laugh now -- not so much then).

Where many games tend to fall apart the longer they go on, Singularity does the complete opposite and starts to pull its weight about a third of the way in and then continues to pick up momentum. My first instinct is to label Singularity as a generic shooter that never veers far from the conventional gaming path. And while this is true, it doesn't accurately paint the whole picture. Later level designs and impact moments can be very entertaining, and Raven demonstrates they haven't forgotten their gore filled roots from their earlier games like Solider of Fortune and Wolverine, as headshots make for a satisfyingly wet experience.

+/-

+ Visceral gun play against humans. In addition to the brutal carnage you will wreak, the npc's had some of the best death animations I've seen in a game

+The Seeker - This weapon reminded me of the film Wanted. While I didn't care for the film, this weapon stands out as one of the highlights of the game

+ Raven really impressed me with their self discipline in refraining from over using specific moments in the game. Unlike games like Modern Warfare 2, where they beat into the ground a successful gimmick from the first game, Raven surprised me by showing restraint in not trying to over use the shocks and scares Singularity occassionally produces. This not only helps keep the game from feeling stale as the levels wear on, but also keeps the tension from being ruined

- The silent protagonist. Between this and the woman who befriends you early in the game, it just reeks of wanting to compare itself to Half Life 2. The attempt fails miserably. Not only do you fail to utter a single word or demonstrate an iota of personality, there are often times when logic and common sense dictate a response would required from your character -- but it's not to be. Instead, I felt like I had the Ramirez syndrome from Modern Warfare 2 where everyone is barking orders at me, and despite the fact I'm supposed to be a bad ass Force Recon Marine, I am apparently incapable of processing an independent thought as I allow these complete strangers to order me around and treat me like the tool that I apparently am.

- Welcome to Russia - sort of. Within the first 5 minutes of arriving on the russian island the game takes place on, you will notice that 75% of the signs are written in English. It's like they were expecting to be invaded by the Americans at any given moment and wanted to eliminate any possible confusion this invading force may have had upon arriving on the island. Oh, and nearly everyone speaks English, which I suppose is pretty considerate of them.

- Graphics seems to suffer from a bi-polar disorder. Some of the levels have a very Unreal/Gears of War aesthetic vibe to them. And while for the most part the layouts are competently done, there are minor inconsistencies that other recent releases seem to avoid that cause Singularity's inattention to detail to stand out. For instance, walking in front of a film projector doesn't create a shadow or an intense concentration of light on the character. Rain never falls on your weapon or on your screen/eyes when looking up at the sky. The sky also tends to be a static image, which really stands out when they decide to only have portions of it moving. I'm typically not a graphics whore, and none of these things are deal breakers, but they tend to pull you out of the experience and remind you that you're just playing a game.

- It's just a game. In what reminded me of a throw back to Resident Evil, doors open slowly and without the use of your hand. The effect leaves you feeling detached and removed from your character. For the first 20 minutes of the game I didn't feel like the main character, so much as a floating camera. Also, a personal pet peeve of mine -- invisible walls! All of this ties in with the pervasive issue that you never feel connected with your character and this contributes towards creating a significant barrier for the player in investing in the storyline.


I haven't tried multi-player yet, but judging solely from the single player perspective, I would rate Singularity as a solid rental. It's a short game with a somewhat incomprehensible storyline (I often had trouble distinguishing the various scientists from one another), and the game comes across as a smorsborg of numerous shooters that have come before it (though Raven seems to take this in stride, as some early dialogue seems to poke a friendly jab at another Activsion shooter). Production values are decent, and it's obvious Raven invested some time in the game, but the private notes you find (which are physically difficult to read in the game) and the myriad of tape reels scattered throughout every level (these machines are beastly! How did everyone manage to carry one with them everywhere they went?!) are rarely captivating enough to generate enthusiasm for finding them. Ultimately, Singularity is a competent "me too" shooter that dwells on time worn gaming conventions, while ceasing to make a significant footprint of its own.
 
N

Naeblish

Member
Gileadxv said:
Ultimately, Singularity is a competent "me too" shooter that dwells on time worn gaming conventions, while ceasing to make a significant footprint of its own.
Click to expand...
Why is this such an issue when the game is incredibly fun? So many games try to make there own unique footprint but at the cost of the gameplay being fun.
 
R

ram

Member
Naeblish said:
Still playing with the pistol i bet? Yeah that weapon sucks. When you get the assault rifle, fairly quickly, you kill 10 times faster.
Click to expand...

ha yeah - that was just the start. got the valkyrie rifle and that was a lot easier. but then i ran out of ammo fopr both weapons - argh. and i dont like the fact, that you can only carry two weapons at once.

Why is this such an issue when the game is incredibly fun? So many games try to make there own unique footprint but at the cost of the gameplay being fun.
Click to expand...

its okayisch, but it would be better if it wasnt bioshock in russia and had some more original design.

- Welcome to Russia - sort of. Within the first 5 minutes of arriving on the russian island the game takes place on, you will notice that 75% of the signs are written in English. It's like they were expecting to be invaded by the Americans at any given moment and wanted to eliminate any possible confusion this invading force may have had upon arriving on the island. Oh, and nearly everyone speaks English, which I suppose is pretty considerate of them.
Click to expand...

haha loled about that too - especially at the stupid image movies. thats soooo american...
 
N

Naeblish

Member
ram said:
ha yeah - that was just the start. got the valkyrie rifle and that was a lot easier. but then i ran out of ammo fopr both weapons - argh. and i dont like the fact, that you can only carry two weapons at once.
Click to expand...
You can swap weapons and buy ammo for the weapons you carry at the weapon lockers, which i believe is never explained.
 
eXistor

eXistor

Member
I've played it for about an hour at work just to see what the game was like. There's some obvious Bioshock influences, but it feels a lot more like the latest Wolfenstein game, only with a different gimmick. It's not bad from what I've played, but it seemed like an utterly mediocre game that does nothing to differentiate itself from the rest. The boring leveldesigns were the main problem so far (I've played up to where you get the TMD and played around with that a bit). Still , when it hits bargain bins you'll get a decent game out of it.
 
E

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
You guys keep comparing it to BioShock, but please tell me the gunplay is better. I loved Wolfenstein, and enjoyed BioShock, but the latter had shitty gunplay compared to the former.

If its a nice blend of the two I'll probably really like this.
 
S

S1kkZ

Member
EatChildren said:
You guys keep comparing it to BioShock, but please tell me the gunplay is better. I loved Wolfenstein, and enjoyed BioShock, but the latter had shitty gunplay compared to the former.

If its a nice blend of the two I'll probably really like this.
Click to expand...
the gunplay is much better here.
 
T

TTP

Have a fun! Enjoy!
Is there an official Raven/Activision forum where I can bitch about the shitty matchmaking? It takes ages to find a match (on PS3).

Too bad the online is so structurally limited cos once it clicks (ie. you learn how to properly use all the Soldiers/Creatures classes) it's great fun despite the issues. I'm loving it.

One thing I don't understand is this:

In Extermination matches, there are two turns, one as Creature defending beacons a la BFBC2 Rush and one as Soldiers trying to capture those beacons.

Attackers have 5 minutes to capture each beacon.
Defenders have to avoid that.
5 minutes expire or 3rd beacon activated = next turn (teams switch sides)

Now, if in both turns both team manage to capture all the 3 beacons, the winner is decided based on the amount of time it took to activate those beacons. And this is fine.

But when, say, the attacking team doesn't manage to get past the 1st beacon, when switching sides, if the new attacking team manages to get past the 1st beacon there is no point in going on capturing the other 2 beacons as you already won cos you did better than the other team on attack! But yet your are forced to play the whole game.

Anyways, please someone tell me where I can bitch about this.
 
N

Ninja Moomin

Banned
NinjaFusion said:
Also.... damn it... i'm in a square room, there's a flashback to some guys headed for a train, then this teleporting THING attacks.... how do i defeat it? it's driving me mad...

it's just after a bit where you get carried by a crane and then go indoors... and you have to stop a fan, carry a crate to jump on, then stop another fan.


how the F do i kill it....? playing on hard
Click to expand...



Can anyone help with this?
 
T

TheApatheticOne

Member
Played up to a bit past when you get the TMD, but I was hooked. I too ran into the running out of ammo issue. Found the beginners pistol weak, so I thought Id spend two weapon upgrades on it, which was INCREDIBLY STUPID, its still horrible. I died to those blue midgets with big heads a bunch of times very early on - Im assuming I had more difficulty with them than I should have.

While I definitely understand why a lot of people are comparing this to Bioshock, Im very hooked into this game.

So far, so good.
 
D

Dyno

Member
Gileadxv said:
- Welcome to Russia - sort of. Within the first 5 minutes of arriving on the russian island the game takes place on, you will notice that 75% of the signs are written in English. It's like they were expecting to be invaded by the Americans at any given moment and wanted to eliminate any possible confusion this invading force may have had upon arriving on the island. Oh, and nearly everyone speaks English, which I suppose is pretty considerate of them.
Click to expand...

The signs have Russian at the top and at the bottom, with the English being in the middle. I took this to be a 'Red October' kind of tactic. The signs are all in Russian but the character speaks Russian so the English is put in for your understanding. You understand the other people for the same reason.

Put the game in for an hour yesterday night and it blew me away. I didn't think it started slow, just incredibly atmospheric . One thought came to me though. What games with audio logs and notes need to do is cut out the activation. When I step into an area the logs just need to start playing. Sure you lose the collectable aspect but that's just busywork and not real gaming anyway. The Suffering did this best. I want the audiologs and notes but as pure atmosphere.
 
D

Drinking Hatorade

Neo Member
sounds awesome, i'm waiting to see if gamefly will send it my way. i had a feeling this game would be pretty good considering it's from raven.

can someone explain how the time-reversal, etc. works during combat. i'm interested to hear about those elements.
 
R

RedStep

Member
NinjaFusion said:
Can anyone help with this?
Click to expand...

It'll teleport around the walls, then drop. Use Deadzone immediately when it drops to the floor and go nuts with an AR / Shotgun. The cryo tanks may help as well, but they take too long for me.
 
G

Gileadxv

Banned
Dyno said:
The signs have Russian at the top and at the bottom, with the English being in the middle. I took this to be a 'Red October' kind of tactic. The signs are all in Russian but the character speaks Russian so the English is put in for your understanding. You understand the other people for the same reason.

Put the game in for an hour yesterday night and it blew me away. I didn't think it started slow, just incredibly atmospheric . One thought came to me though. What games with audio logs and notes need to do is cut out the activation. When I step into an area the logs just need to start playing. Sure you lose the collectable aspect but that's just busywork and not real gaming anyway. The Suffering did this best. I want the audiologs and notes but as pure atmosphere.
Click to expand...

I had considered that as well, but then you will run into signs that are completely in Russian without any translation. The same is true with many of the guards/troops who will scream at you in their native tongue, as opposed to hearing them in English.
 
R

RS4-

Member
About the teleporting fucker in the room, I just stood on top of te gurney since he doesn't tp there, threw the bubble down when comes towards me then I just go off with a whole clip or two from the assault rifle, wen down in no time.

As for the wheel
There's a duct in the same room you get your final TMD power (unlimited), just shoot the grate and go down
at least that's where I think it was.
 
X

Xater

Member
I watche dthe Ginat Bomb Quicklook earlier and this seems to be Raven's best effort in years, but still nothing that blows me away. Maybe I'll rent it or get it for bomba price which it will probably hit fast.
 
N

netguy503

Member
Xater said:
I watche dthe Ginat Bomb Quicklook earlier and this seems to be Raven's best effort in years, but still nothing that blows me away. Maybe I'll rent it or get it for bomba price which it will probably hit fast.
Click to expand...

Better than Wolverine? No.
 
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