After playing through this game, i just had to review it. It's definitely one of the more slept on games of this year in my opinion. And of course its is the PC version that i'm reviewing.
Metro 2033 is 4A's second entry into the post-nuclear/apocalyptic setting (the first being the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series, which i'd also reccomend), which is based on the book by Dmitry Glukhovsky. Set in the year 2033, 20 years after a nuclear war and inevitable fallout. The population of Moscow has escaped into the subways and are living their lives out at the stations. As you play the game, you follow the role of Artyom - a 20 year old who was born days before the nuclear missiles launched. The population have managed over the past few years, even with the constant threat of the mutated nosalises. However a new threat has unearthed and it is up to Artyom to find a solution.
The biggest plus point about this game is the atmosphere, the graphics on top of the mechanics absolutely make it. Being one of the most graphically demanding games of this year, it is bound to be somewhat pretty. Here's a video of it on what it looks like on Very High
Other than the graphics, the main reason this game is so immersive is because of the environment. You're playing in a post-apocalyptic environment, having bags full of ammo doesn't really make sense now does it? In game there are two types of ammunition, Military grade and common use. Common use is your typical bullets you'd find around, Military grade is what you'd find on a persons, its used as currency however can be used in your weapons - it will deal more damage than the common use. Not to mention Ammo is actually somewhat hard to come by and you never seem to have enough when you acutally need it. Another great mechanic is the use the gasmask, In areas above ground or areas with potentialy toxic air you need to put your gasmask on. Every 5 minutes or so you need to change the filter. Whats great about this is the sounds the game plays, as you near the 5 minute mark, you hear Artyom begin to suck air in harder and eventually sound like he is struggling to breath. Also, in colder regions, the mask will also begin to frost up. If you do get attacked, and damaged enough the mask will crack, this will make it harder for Artyom to move around and in most cases, more annoying than actually dying.
As for the gameplay, its actually a fairly straightforward first person shooter, nothing too different from your standard fps in terms of shooting. Though the main thing i've found disappointing by way of gameplay is your selections of weapons, a fair few are absolutely useless and you'll find yourself sticking to one type when you can. As you progress, you can definitely tell the game was based off a book, its just the progression of things. You go through sections where its nothing but shoot anything that moves, other sections are completely stealth only sections. And most of it is done quite well in my opinion. Stealth sections are actually somewhat challenging, you mess up, the surrounding enemies are alerted by another enemy who'se sole purpose seems to be ringing the alarm bell. Metro 2033 also gives you a list of monsters as well, from exploding amoeba's to nazi's and communists to terrifying Librarians.
nothing is spoiled, except maybe just how annoying librarians get.
Being a survival horror, one would expect the sounds to be fantastic, and Metro 2033 is no exception. Scenes against mutants give just the right amount of tension. Scenes against other humans give the right amount of urgency. Which leads to another point, while the story is seemingly straight forward, there are actual moral choices you can make in game, which leads to two different endings.
All in all, put plainly, Metro 2033 is a excellent game and is another solid title by 4A. It's a game i'd recommend to anyone who has a 360 or a computer capable enough to play it.
