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Categories: Review
Tags: metro 2033, postapocalyptic, xbox 360
Metro 2033
Developer: 4A Games
Publisher: THQ
Platform: Xbox 360 (also PC)
Released: March 16, 2010
Test Freaks’ Freak Score: 8.0/10Nuclear war has driven Moscow’s citizens beneath the earth. Now the Metro is their home. Each metro station is its own kingdom; some are run merely by those seeking to survive while others have modeled themselves after Communist or Nazi systems of government. But fellow humans are the least of their worries.
The Metro is also home to the Dark Ones – monsters that could either be mutants created by radiation, the Metro’s original inhabitants or something worse. They’ve gotten bolder in their attacks and Artyom, the player character, must travel to the main station at Polis to petition for help. Doing so means crossing enemy lines and traversing areas overrun with Dark Ones. His journey will also take him to the ruined surface, where a working gas mask is all that stands between him and radioactive death.
Metro 2033 is a first-person shooter, but don’t approach it with a run and gun mindset. If you’re looking for a straight up shooter, there are better options out there, but if you’re looking for an immersive experience played out over the barrel of a gun, this might be the game for you. I say this as someone who felt like they were playing the game wrong for the majority of it.
To get the most out of Metro 2033 – to really appreciate it – you have to take on the role of Artyom. This means exploring areas, talking to people, and paying attention to the various tour guides you encounter in the Metro. My second tip is to consider whether violence is the necessary answer. Artyom has a very deliberate character arc which is easy to miss if you treat the game as a standard FPS.
But this is complicated by several factors. Metro’s morality system (it does have one) is hidden from the player so it’s not always easy to understand the results of your actions. And while many levels have a stealth option, Metro’s stealth mechanics are poorly implemented – one false step and suddenly every enemy in the area knows exactly where you are. Pure rage-quit material.
This doesn’t mean that there aren’t times to simply open fire and Metro has a full arsenal ranging from slapped together assault rifles to silenced pneumatic spear guns. You’ll spend a lot of time scrounging for guns and ammunition, but dealers in the Metro station have better equipment if you’re willing to part with high-quality bullets, the game’s currency. And you’ll definitely want to have spare health kits and filters for your gas mask.
The art design in Metro 2033 shows a lot of thought put into what such a subterranean existence would look like. The various stations look appropriately ramshackle and they are populated with characters who aren’t clones. Level design is similarly impressive ranging from series of twisty passages to the ruined city above. There’s even nice differentiation between types of Dark Ones. My only complaint would be how dark some of the levels are, even with my fully-charged flashlight.
Audio is similarly impressive. Ambient music is haunting and in-game effects, like the howls of the nosalis or the sudden spray of gunfire are chilling. Best is the voice acting which is Russian accented without sounding like Chekov impressions.
To its detriment, Metro 2033 requires a lot from its players. As mentioned above, stealthy approaches can be infuriating and even basic combat can be frustrating. It didn’t take long for me to kick the difficulty down to easy and – even then – I saw my share of reload screens. However, playing through the game and replaying specific levels led me to truly appreciate what 4A Games has done here. In the end, I’d rather tough out an original game than play through a highly polished retread.
And I fell in love with the setting so much that I imported the original book by Dmitry Glukhovsky (translated). So look for that review next month.
ElaineDeleon23:
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