“Fear the Future”

That tag line stuck with me after seeing the trailer for the then called “Metro 2033: The Last Refuge.” Metro’s trailers peaked my interest the moment I first saw them, primarily because it was based off a Russian novel. While the post-apocalyptic world has been covered many times before, this looked to be a fresh take on the genre.

When I saw the “Launch” trailer for Metro, using the “In a Heartbeat” track from 28 Weeks Later I found myself craving the game, so I went out and got it. Jumping into the game, my first impression was a bit mixed. At first the game seemed good but not groundbreaking or anything. As I played deeper into the story and looked around this dark and eerie world, I became more and more drawn into the characters and the events.

You play the role as Artyom, a young man who is tasked by his friend Hunter to find a way to stop the “Dark Ones” – mysterious beings thought by some to be the future of evolution in a world ravaged by radiation and toxic air.

Loved:

• Eye of the Beholder – Possibly one my favorite things about the game is that as much as people fear and want to destroy the “Dark Ones,” the player is never directly told or even understands what a “Dark One” is. You get a glimpse through mental hallucinations, and if you move quickly you can even spot some when roaming the surface of Moscow, but it’s up to the player to really determine what they are or if they are really even a threat.
• “Welcome Home, Artyom” – The surface levels are about twenty-five or so percent of the game, but they are a great example of survival horror done right. Players must do their best to conserve ammo as best they can and try to survive traps, beasts, and the air itself. The gas mask mechanic can take getting used to, but when you figure out how to scrounge for items and check your watch, it can be really entertaining.
• Silent Observer – For a few levels, there are “present day” communists warring for turf in the Metro tunnels and surface against the “Fourth Reich.” While the presence of Nazi’s and Reds is an important part of your journey, it never explains why they are there in the first place. It’s not bad that things in the world happen without you being directly involved however. There are achievements for not interfering in their little “war,” and it’s only a small illustration of how you do not decide how the world turns. There are other cases as well, but this is one of the more obvious examples that you will not be rescuing princesses or signing treaties.
• Storyline – I have read a lot about the novel, but not the actual novel itself. From what I can tell, the game is rich with story, and I’m sure the novel is as well. Something about being in the universe as these characters and walking with them made me feel more like there is a purpose to the story, as opposed to just reading it. I felt like there is more going on than I was even aware of, which tells me a sequel is possible. Characters felt human, and the events in the story did carry a certain moral that speaks a good truth. You may not need a game to tell you that, but it does have impact.
• Rambo/Splinter Cell – You are given the tools you need from the beginning to either blast or sneak your way through. While the game can be very exciting, Ramboing, I found myself doing a number of missions repeatedly until I could perfectly sneak through them.

Hated:

• The controls – At least on 360, they start out terrible. If you have an Xbox LIVE connection, you will immediately be given an Auto-update that allows for a more console-suited control system, but this is something that should have been there out of the box. Without being changed, the controls took a lot of getting used to. There was also no quick way to equip melee weapon, which lead to a lot of deaths.
• Bugs – The game, while good, did have a good number of bugs. I found myself stuck between walls/doors, and occasionally killed when I should not have been. There were also some scenery pop-ups in Moscow that soured things.
• QuickTime – There were a few QuickTime events in the game where you are knocked to the ground and told to “Press ‘X’ to not die” (quoted from a highly respected fellow reviewer) so you can stab whatever put you on your back. These moments were gripping in the right scenarios, but just annoying when they kept happening.
• Enemy Spam – There are a few “hold the fort” moments which weren’t that bad, and were actually pretty tense on certain difficulties, but when you constantly have five enemies just running forward biting and clawing into you or a comrade, it got a little boring.
• “We’ve got hostiles up in here!” – Get used to hearing that. A LOT. Enemies constantly shouted the same lines repeatedly until my gun shut them up. While interesting one-time pieces of dialogue are present, it became annoying hearing “Look, my money’s running around” while sneaking and trying not to kill everything.
• Red Screen – The screen turning red while getting wounded is nothing new to FPS’s, the red blotches on my screen annoyed me and sometimes covered portions of my vision on the wrong side instead of telling me where I was being hurt. Med kits were present to fix this, but it was still annoying and almost as bad as Modern Warfare’s jam-blood screen.
• Trading – It worked well when you get used to it, but it did get tedious managing bullets.

Honestly, there’s a lot more good than bad here, it’s just that this is a game not everyone will appreciate. If you liked Half-Life or maybe Prey – FPS’s that had the nuts to walk in other directions than some others in the genre – I highly recommend this game to you. It was sad to see how under-promoted it was, as it was so fun and beautiful in many ways. From what’s been said on other websites, it was also one of the best games to own if you are getting one of those fancy new 3D TVs. In bang for your buck, I got my copy with my GameStop machine-gun shotgun DLC and had a good time. This was worth the sixty-five, but then again, I am a huge fan of games like this. So if you’re into CO-OP, multiplayer, hardcore first person experiences, don’t get this game, it is not for you. Rent it maybe, but don’t buy. But for those who enjoy games like Dead Space or Bioshock for the narrative and story, you will love the atmosphere and story of Metro and I advise you to borrow, rent or buy it (well maybe used).

Metro 2033 is available on Xbox 360 console and PC
AMMIH Rating: 4/5 (higher is better)
SMS Rating: 4/5 (lower is better)