I am not a big Activision Blizzard fan at the moment, but even I am willing to admit that Raven Software’s Singularity is looking pretty sexy. If it were a female, I would take her out for a nice dinner at Olive Garden, and then woo her with talk of “Transformers” and “Star Wars.” Nothing melts a woman’s heart like endless salad and Mace Windu.

The game is a first-person shooter set on an island where time shifts between two periods, thanks to some strange Russian experiments in the 1950s. Some parts of the game are set in the present day, while others take place in the 1950s. Early on you gain a Time Manipulation Device, a neat little gadget that can be used to solve puzzles and dispatch enemies. You can actually age foes, which sounds absolutely wicked.

Singularity was originally scheduled to ship this September, but following a date change by online retailer Amazon, an Activision Blizzard representative confirmed to IGN that the game has been moved to Q1 2010.

According to the statement provided, Modern Warfare 2 is expected to be a hot holiday item, so the company sees no reason to rush Singularity to retail. In mid-June, Gamasutra reported that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare had sold 13 million units worldwide, a fact that surely contributed to Activision Blizzard’s confidence.

While I am certainly disappointed that the game won’t be released this year, I can’t really argue against the move. Last year, Electronic Arts watched as Dead Space and Mirror’s Edge – two new IPs – stumbled out of the gate, so perhaps it’s best that Singularity is kept away from the crowded holiday season.

Dead Space has since accumulated impressive sales numbers, but Mirror’s Edge has yet to shake the stigma of being a commercial disappointment. Assassin’s Creed proved that a new IP can excel during the holidays, but why would Activision Blizzard want to have Singularity compete against Modern Warfare 2, as well as Tony Hawk: Ride and its bevy of upcoming music games? Guitar Hero 5 is currently slated to release on Sept. 1.

The move will also allow Raven to add some extra polish to the game, which will hopefully produce a better overall experience. Raven – the studio responsible for Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and the X-Men Legends games – generally does pretty solid work, but it never hurts to let a game bake a bit longer. Surely the developers aren’t planning to finish the game this summer, only to sit on their hands until its release.

I know that I will catch some shit for supporting an Activision Blizzard game, but Singularity is a new IP, not another Guitar Hero sequel. Perhaps if enough people buy it, the company will do this sort of thing more often. Certainly not likely, but it never hurts to hope.

If you have never seen or heard of Singularity, then I highly suggest that you head over to Gametrailers and check out some footage. Look for Singularity to hit the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC next year.

Thanks to GameSpot for the pic used to make the banner.

Sources: IGN, Gamasutra

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