Singularity
So, after having played through Metro 2033 Redux, I saw Singularity on sale on Steam. A little research made it out to be a good, storied FPS that was generally under-played. For less than $8, that seemed like an okay ride.
And it is. It's a reasonably good shooter with a time travel plotline that bounces back and forth to a degree between a 1955 where the Soviet Union is on the verge of breakthrough with a fictional super-element, E99, and a present-ish day that is influenced by what happens back then. Things start out with a pretty familiar-seeming modern day, but a change to the timeline sends the "present" off the rails and sets the player character on a quest to fix it. Maybe. Somehow.
It's not revolutionary for a time travel story, but it's a decent example. The TMD, which lets you age/revert some things in the game is a neat mechanic. It's mostly used in some light puzzles to get through areas, but also gets some major combat application along the way, especially being able to set up bubbles of radically-slowed time. The Seeker rifle, while only available occasionally, is also a blast - you fire and then follow the round through the air in slow motion, able to steer it to some degree. In the latter third or so of the game, some of this gets fairly overpowered, but it's also fun.
The only real down side is one that strikes me as very, very common in the genre now that I think about it - the game is very, very linear. You've got a few choices that determine an ending, but if there's ever any freedom to explore, it's just going down a short tunnel for a little extra ammo/upgrade points/etc., then you're back on the main path where enemies are laid out precisely here and there. Playing these two games has made me long for something more like the original Deus Ex, where you had multiple paths to your goal. That's harder to do, especially when presenting a strong story, but I think being driven from one shooting gallery to a puzzle and on to the next is one thing that detracts from my enjoyment of most "typical" FPS games.
Still, Singularity gets a better than average FPS rating from me. It's enjoyable, the time travel plot raises all the right questions (though there isn't much freedom into dealing with that), and it was generally pretty fun to play.
And it is. It's a reasonably good shooter with a time travel plotline that bounces back and forth to a degree between a 1955 where the Soviet Union is on the verge of breakthrough with a fictional super-element, E99, and a present-ish day that is influenced by what happens back then. Things start out with a pretty familiar-seeming modern day, but a change to the timeline sends the "present" off the rails and sets the player character on a quest to fix it. Maybe. Somehow.
It's not revolutionary for a time travel story, but it's a decent example. The TMD, which lets you age/revert some things in the game is a neat mechanic. It's mostly used in some light puzzles to get through areas, but also gets some major combat application along the way, especially being able to set up bubbles of radically-slowed time. The Seeker rifle, while only available occasionally, is also a blast - you fire and then follow the round through the air in slow motion, able to steer it to some degree. In the latter third or so of the game, some of this gets fairly overpowered, but it's also fun.
The only real down side is one that strikes me as very, very common in the genre now that I think about it - the game is very, very linear. You've got a few choices that determine an ending, but if there's ever any freedom to explore, it's just going down a short tunnel for a little extra ammo/upgrade points/etc., then you're back on the main path where enemies are laid out precisely here and there. Playing these two games has made me long for something more like the original Deus Ex, where you had multiple paths to your goal. That's harder to do, especially when presenting a strong story, but I think being driven from one shooting gallery to a puzzle and on to the next is one thing that detracts from my enjoyment of most "typical" FPS games.
Still, Singularity gets a better than average FPS rating from me. It's enjoyable, the time travel plot raises all the right questions (though there isn't much freedom into dealing with that), and it was generally pretty fun to play.
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