Metro 2033
Score: 89% ESRB: Mature Publisher: THQ Developer: 4A Games Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: First Person Shooter/ Survival Horror
Graphics & Sound: There are a lot of shooter games available right now, but none of them are quite like Metro 2033. Set in a not too distant future where the world has been devastated by nuclear war, Metro 2033 takes you through a very gritty, very real world where nothing is as it seems. Graphically, Metro 2033 is very well done. The level of detail on everything is simply amazing. Zoom into objects and you'll see little things like buttons that have replaced a child's teddy bear's eyes or a detailed postcard of the world before the war. Metro 2033 takes place in the subway tunnels below Moscow and sometimes on the war-ravaged surface. Before this game, I didn't realize that the Moscow subway system really was built for people to evacuate to in case of war, so the whole concept of the game is very sound and carefully constructed. The voicework in Metro 2033 is superbly done. The accents are all Russian, but not so thick that you can't understand things. You can talk to people around you just by walking up to them, if they want to talk to you. You'll also hear a lot of background chatter when you're in the stations, exactly as you would expect to hear when you're underground in a tunnel. When you're on the surface though, the background music is very much changed! You can hear your own breathing thanks to the gas mask that you have to wear to be able to breathe. You can hear the silence of the dead world complete with the screams of the monsters that now inhabit the surface. It's altogether creepy, creepier than the underground tunnels for sure!
Gameplay: Metro 2033 is based on a Russian novel of the same name by Dmitry Glukhovsky. This means that instead of just having a loose plot that was created just for a game, Metro 2033 has a very in-depth plot with complex characters. Your hero is Artyom. He has lived his life in the subway tunnels, in a single station. But due to an ever-increasing danger, he has to take on a journey that unbeknownst to him may decide the fate of the human race. Along the way, Artyom is going to have to deal with quite a few different enemies. Starting underground, each station functions as its own complete city, with different governments and controlling factions. Not all of them are friendly either. Before he can even get to the next station to find out though, Artyom is going to have to survive the subway tunnels. There are a lot of different mutants running around between the stations. Some of them are just physically dangerous. They are huge beasts that take a lot of firepower to bring down. Others are even more dangerous as they kill with the mind. There's no way to protect against them, unless you're Artyom. For some reason, Artyom is immune to the effects of these mutants called the Dark Ones. Other major enemies that you'll have to fight are your fellow humans. The bandits and other bad people control various stations and areas in between the stations. Just because they're still human doesn't mean they're easier to kill than the monsters. The good thing about them is that they drop ammo, guns, and other very useful equipment. Bullets are also used as currency in Metro 2033, so you're going to want to search everywhere you can to get as many as you can, especially topside. Pre-war equipment functions a lot better than post-war goods, so things that you find on the surface are very valuable! Of course, there are even more enemies up there than they are down below, so you'll have to be very careful while you're searching. But you'll have to go topside to get where you're going, so just get used to it!
Difficulty: Metro 2033 provides three different difficulty levels so that you can play the game no matter how good or bad you are at shooters. I must say that I am very impressed with the change in ammo available from the preview that I played. Now there is sufficient ammo if you look around, but not so much extra that the game is too easy. Several times, I would run out of one type of ammo and have to switch weapons until I found more of that type. They have also made the melee knife that you always have more effective, so if you run out of ammo, you should still be able to survive now. Several places in the game offer you several ways to get through. There's always the option to shoot your way out, but sometimes you're going to want to try the sneak attack method. It's not always easy to kill enemies silently, but there are benefits to not making your presence known. You definitely need to try using stealth. Throughout the game, you have to make choices to help people, like giving beggars a bullet. If you do enough of these, there is the possibility to change the outcome of the game. You have to work very hard throughout the entire game to achieve a different outcome though, so if you want to make that happen, you'll have to work extra hard!
Game Mechanics: There are a lot of different controls to play Metro 2033, but they're actually quite easy to get used to and make a lot of sense. I found that they were very responsive and I really couldn't get the character stuck in places. If you need to go up ladders and such, you simply walk forward on them, that is, if you can climb them. The one thing that you really need to get the hang of is jumping. Jumping is very important in some places. You'll need to make sure you get all the way across dangerous spot because if you fall, you'll have to load to the last checkpoint. Ducking will also help you get into tight spots to find that hidden path that you need to take. Metro 2033 is a very creative shooter that you're going to want to play through at least twice. The game should only take you 10-15 hours to beat on a single play through. But once you've beaten it, I recommend going back and playing through again to pick up on those little things that you missed. I know that the second play through, I noticed little things that I missed at first and managed to get past places a lot better. If you like shooters and/or survival horror, I highly recommend that you go pick up Metro 2033 today!
-Cyn, GameVortex Communications AKA Sara Earl
Related Links: Metro 2033 Official Game Site
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