When I visited Activision’s massive demo area at E3, I asked my guide if there were any games she thought weren’t getting the attention they deserved. “Well, I think Singularity is going to be a sleeper hit,” she said. “OK,” I nodded. “Show me that.” She led me to a small room with a gigantic screen, cushy chairs and gloriously cold air conditioning. I relaxed into my seat as they turned the lights down low and began to show the demo.

During the Cold War, Russia began conducting secret experiments on a remote island in an attempt to exploit the properties of a newly discovered element, Element 99. Also known as E99, this element could be used as both a power energy source or a time manipulation device. Apply it to a dilapidated staircase, and the staircase can be restored it to its former glory. Place it on a vicious animal, and the animal can be aged so far forward in time that they disintegrate into nothing more than a pile of dust. One can age virtually anything they can think of, forward or backward. Unfortunately, as is the case with highly ambitious Cold War experiments conducted by the Russians, disaster inevitably struck. Things went terribly, terribly wrong, and great efforts were made to cover up the aftermath. By the time 2010 rolled around, it was as though the island had never existed. That is, of course, until an American Air Force pilot accidentally crash lands on it. The pilot, Nate Renko, discovers the secret Russian lab, battles horrific flora and fauna that were mutated in the Cold War disaster, and learns to manipulate time in his favor while searching for his co-pilot.

The time manipulation elements look particularly fun — there are boundless ways in which E99 can be applied. By essentially rewinding objects or people in time, empty oil barrels are refilled and living beings are reverted to a fleshy mass. Fast-forwarding objects disintegrates enemy shields and reduces creatures to nothing more than bones and dust. E99 also freezes or slows objects in time. This becomes especially handy when guiding the trajectory of bullets or timing grenade explosions. Later in the game, an item called a “Chronolight” is introduced. It allows Nate Renko to view objects from time periods other than the present. If he sees a chair from the 1950s with the Chronolight, he can actually pull it forward into 2010 and then interact with it. E99 and the Chronolight allow for the possibility of some fascinating puzzles.

Thus far the major story elements seem to revolve around Nate Renko’s desire to find his co-pilot, determination to discover what exactly happened on the island and drive to prevent a disaster of even greater proportions from happening in the future. The story is revealed in several ways. This includes standard, present-day character interactions, but there are also time loops and time shifts. Time loops are similar to ghosts — they are moments in time that repeat endlessly. Observing these loops give insight into what happened during the disaster. Time shifts occur when parts of the island literally shift between decades. One moment, Nate Renko is standing in the middle of a crumbling cave full of junk. The next moment, he is in a spotless room surrounded by gleaming, humming machinery and brightly colored furniture. Seconds later, it all crumbles back down into a dull, dirty pile.

Full disclosure: I suck at first-person shooters. For some reason, I always end up flailing about, struggling with the camera angles, and inevitably, dying over and over again while screaming obscenities. It is far from pretty. Some say that the definition of insanity is repeating the same action ad infinitum while expecting different results. I may be a little nutty, but I know my limitations. I don’t anticipate ever developing the skills necessary to get through one of these games relying on my skills alone. Eventually friends with a little more talent than myself are recruited/coerced to play while I watch. This way, I get to enjoy the storylines, graphics and big freakin’ guns, sans giving myself an aneurysm.

Despite my skill deficit, this game will be on my must-play list when it finally hits stores. I look forward to finding out what exactly happened on the island, what disaster Nate Renko is trying to prevent and especially what I’ll find exploring the immense potential of time manipulation in both puzzles and combat. Overall it looks gritty, intriguing and, best of all, well-written. A strong combination of fighting, puzzle-solving and story elements, Singularity may just be, as my lovely guide suggested, a sleeper hit. Look for it in stores sometime this fall.