Metro 2033

A game set in post apocalyptic Russia has an excellent single player campaign but features no multiplayer or co-operative. The game also also is only about six hours in length and is linear. The game being linear isn't a bad thing but I'm just letting other people know that this isn't a game for everyone and if you are expecting to hundreds of hours out of it you are gonna be very Disappointed! Here's my Pros and Cons for the game:

Pros:

Excellent atmosphere!

The attention detail is stagerring - Seeing large groups of refugees in the tunnels talking, eating etc is just brilliantly done

Fantastic soundtrack and Good voice acting

Interesting story (based on the novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky) Though you do have to pay attention as you can easily miss some important plot developments

Great graphics though you will need a high end system to play this game!

Excellent set pieces such as riding on a pump train or defending a position with other soldiers against the monsters

The idea of using bullets as currency (to other other/upgraded guns) is an excellent idea and searching areas/scavenging for ammo is addictive!

Two endings which are both satisfying - You achieve the good ending by gaining moral points (such as giving a starving bum a bullet so he can buy food)

It's not a horror game but it does have a couple of scary/creepy moments which are brilliantly done!

Very quick loading time! like two seconds!

Cons:

The monsters are quite annoying at times since they alway attack you in the same way (runstraight toward you and bite you)and them attacking you in numbers can be frustating

The guns are little underpowered (for example it shouldn't take three shotgun shells to a nazi!) which make the combat a little harder considering you have to save your bullets for trading

The moral system is never explained within the game! So if you didn't work it out and didn't gain enough moral points you will get the bad ending!

Overall despite a few minor flaws I really enjoyed this game and I look forward to the dlc ranger pack and the sequel Metro 2034 :)

Storywise, I think it was original enough but if I were to point out some negative points there would be only a few to mention. Sometimes, when you get to explore out in the open, it's difficult where to go despite having a journal who guides you. It's misguiding and I fell into death a couple of times while jumping down from some building or platform.

Another thing is the chapter's length. Some of them would get me hours to finish up and some others were finished in five minutes, literally.

Perhaps there was a little trial-and-error in some scenarios. That got me playing the same thing again and again until I was lucky enough to figure it all out.

They happened to mention the autosave feature. It saves where I don't want it and I can't go back and restart my initial strategy. You have to adapt yourself to your mistakes; this game doesn't forgive you.

Metro 2033 was a torturing experience. Walking through tunnels and subway stations always get creepy because of the horrible sound monsters make when they stalk you. On the top of that the survival in this game is very strict, every bullet counts and if you're gonna run out of them, you will pretty much hate yourself for it. I would love that ammo survival idea only if the monsters weren't such big bullet sponge magnets. I found myself stuck in many situations where I had to run and avoid enemies, it felt like speedrunning the new record but honestly I just ran out of ammo.

The story is better than the gameplay, it basically introduces you to the world of the underground. It shows horrors and sadness but it also has its humorous moments. It would probably be a better idea to pick Russian VA since English VA is horrendous, that way you can experience the true Metro 2033.

The team behind Metro 2033, Ukraine studio 4A Games - formed by ex GSC Game World programmers who had previously worked on S.T.A.L.K.E.R before leaving in 2004 to pursue the project in question.

In terms of Metro's literary effort, the writers did a fairly admirable job. The story core concept loosely adapted from the novel of the same name is definitely intriguing and interesting - nuclear war decimates the world, strange mutants emerged in the aftermath, in Moscow surviving human inhabitants forced to the underground tunnels due to the radioactive conditions above.

The story exposition segments in Metro 2033 are done during the loading screens, where Artyom (the protagonist) tells of events unfolding, and his feelings thereof - but also he meets key characters along the way where more is revealed through in-game conversations. Yeah, the voice acting is good - it was wise to use actual Russian speakers rather than some Bollywood bozos . . . it really goes a long way with keeping you tuned in to the highly distinctive and unique atmosphere. That last word of the previous sentence is probably Metro's primary strength - the foreboding tunnels, dark, mysterious . . . you're not quite sure what lurks around the next corner.

The meat action presented in Metro 2033 is undeniably fun, and in ways retroactively akin to Stalker as you are pitted against familiar foes in mutants and bandits. The AI scripts are quite honest, when facing the human opponents it is darn near as exhilarating as Monolith's horror opus F.E.A.R. The enemies show some similar belief of life preservation as you, by means of hanging back in the shadows, often shooting from cover, forcing you into making the first move. Again, much like the Stalker games the bandits taunt you with comical 'colourful' phrases, but amicably it does get a little repetitive over time. As for the mutants, they weren't as cunning as I was expecting. Much like Dead Space they suddenly (yet sneakily) emerge from all over the shop, but unlike the kind of calculated deliberation of offensive attacks needed to survive in the aforesaid game, in Metro 2033 the only genuine prerequisite to success is not to stand still. I guess some minor gripes concerning the AI scripts are the enemies awareness of your presence can be noticeably questionable at times. The mutants killer instincts here seemed to have needed to be tightened up.

The weapons you get to play around with are a bit on the orthodox side. We have a few pistols, machine guns, shotguns (Cool Bayonet!) And sticks of dynamite. Oh, I almost forgot, there is a pneumatic gun you have to pump for increased damage & accuracy - Very Cool! Metro 2033 eludes a little to stealth, here with silencers, throwing knives, night-vision goggles etc. but honestly, by & large this is a served-straight- up shooter.

In terms of some game mechanics, It is interesting to note for all you 'old timers' the game-play inspiration roots conceivably go all the way back to the original Doom if you think about it - Remember the radioactive pools which demanded the use of radiation protection suits that would only hold out for a limited time before the mad dash to find the next one? Same deal in Metro. But instead here you collect Gas masks and oxygen filters from dead people in order to safely negotiate such toxic zones. One cool touch in particular is your Gas mask can get cracked open by mutant claws for instance, necessitating the need to seek out a new one. Admittedly, the frantic scurry to find oxygen filters in the wild frozen landscape topside provide some of the most exciting and memorable parts of the whole game.

I really enjoyed the strong focus on exploration in Metro - seeking out the illustrious shiny golden military-grade bullets gives you something else to think about while gazing about the tunnels by the illuminating hue of your torch light. Keeping your weapons stocked isn't too much of a daunting task - you can spend a great deal of time meticulously looting all the corpses dotted around, whereby you take ammo and equipment directly off the unfortunate fellow's person - this kind of realistic detail is welcome.

The chief purpose of collecting the golden bullets is they can be used as legitimate tender at the checkpoint stations and markets you will inevitably pass through. For example, you can exchange these rare bullets for more standard ammo, or even trade them in for special weapons and other useful equipment. On a side note, It is interesting listening to civilian conversations at the checkpoints, where peoples stories of topside outings goes to lengths in giving the world you are in some genuine sense of reality.

From a visual standpoint, Metro is impressive. The perpetual dark tunnel's shows off the great light sourcing effects complete with sparkling dust drifting through the air, and you will see many a headlamp swaying aglow in the dark. The character models look quite similar to the ones in Stalker not surprisingly, sporting the traditional heavy Specnaz armour and helmets - sometimes it is hard to believe there aren't some legacy materials at work from the old Stalker betas though. The mutants themselves look suitably creepy, gnarled and interesting. All in all the game engine technology pulls everything off quite admirably, even if your rig isn't at the bleeding edge of tech. The optimization was definitely better than I was expecting.

In sum, Metro 2033 is a very accomplished and atmospheric story-driven shooter, though was a little disappointing for me since I was hoping on a bigger world with some greater opportunities for the player-authored experience 'ala Stalker. As it stands though, it is a well-thought out game with the presentation being very polished. So I think you would be doing yourself great disservice not to explore the gloomy depths of this post apocalyptic Moscow.

#Metro2033 Rating: 8.5/10 Review : Metro 2033 is truly great game. Good plot ,excellent visuals, exciting gameplay and graphics. Survival mode really does make you think hard about your weapon setups which adds a whole new level of tension. Out of ammo = run and hope u can get to the next objective which happened to me frequently LOL. It was a great experience and i cant wait until i can play the sequal and then exodus. #4AGames