- Jan 12, 2004
- 11,078
- 11
- 81
After playing this game for roughly 3 hours I've come to the conclusion that Metro 2033 is both impressively rad and fun despite its shortcomings (more on that in a minute).
See, I assumed this game would be a spiritual successor to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and more open-world considering the team working on it is comprised of people who worked on the original game, but to my surprise it's actually turning out to be a well crafted, linear S.T.A.L.K.E.R. type FPS that's been well steeped in a Valve-like design philosophy. I dont mean to imply that it's anywhere near the likes of Half-Life 2, but it does seem to borrow the heavily scripted first-person sequences rather than play CGI cutscenes or pull the camera out to show a 3rd-person cutscene. It consistently stays in the same perspective, at least so far it has. These sequences are top notch and usually take place in action sequences.
Initially the shooting in the game felt a little off, or perhaps 'floaty' in some cases. I suppose I havent determined if this is the direct cause of the Metro underground's makeshift weaponry system or if it's just lame game design by the developers. I'm leaning more towards intentional design since it does seem to fit well with the narrative and serves a purpose for immersion. When pulling the trigger the guns (that I have) do pull a lot to the sides, but I do always seem to be able to eventually hit the things that are trying to kill me. Also, there are a host of upgrades and weapons that I have yet to try so things will probably change in this regard with the better weapons. It's worth mentioning that there is no inventory management.
The graphics and atmosphere are fittingly melancholy, disparaging and filthy. It's very well suited for a decrepit Metro system which hosts the lives of 40,000 people who migrated there after the bomb dropped. Easily--for me that is--the weakest parts of the graphics came front-and-center when the game began--the mediocre facial constructions. Though they're not necessarily horrible, they just look slightly out of place from the otherwise well constructed surrounds and characters in the game. Plus the animations can be, at times, a little stiff. Some of the creatures in the game are more in line with the mediocre faces than the rest of the game and just come across as generic monster A from a build-your-own-game construction set. Surprisingly theyre not annoyingly bad, but you wont stop to look at them either.
There doesnt seem to be any 'save anywhere' save system in place as it just lies heavily on a fairly solid checkpoint system. To be clear, you actually can save anywhere, but it will start you back at a checkpoint (with your gear) which never seems to be too far away.
Something I wasnt suspecting--this game can be really creepy and at times! At the risk of mildly spoiling something for you guys about the game--there are ghosts! Last night I was slowly working my way through a creaky old building. The howling of mutated creatures from outside echoed the halls along with my breathing (you must wear a mask when you go outside), totally putting me on edge. Suddenly the room I was in got a little warmer in color and something quickly moved in the darkness. I looked around and wasnt sure if I was seeing smoke, or a ghost or something else when suddenly something whispered in my ear, "save us" and I flipped the F out! I ran ran ran towards the nearest door, turn a corner, bolted down a nearby stairway that lead me down stairs. At the bottom I found an open door and rush through it hoping to find a nice corner to hunker down in and, lo-and-behold, one of the mutated creatures from outside worked its way in to greet me. I fired off some shots but it wasnt enough to stop him from pouncing on me. He tore into me but I shoved my knife into his neck a few times killing him. My mask was now shattered making it very difficult to see some of my surroundings clearly. I wandered around the floor eventually finding another mask to wear.
This game is wicked cool; check it out if you're on the fence.
See, I assumed this game would be a spiritual successor to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and more open-world considering the team working on it is comprised of people who worked on the original game, but to my surprise it's actually turning out to be a well crafted, linear S.T.A.L.K.E.R. type FPS that's been well steeped in a Valve-like design philosophy. I dont mean to imply that it's anywhere near the likes of Half-Life 2, but it does seem to borrow the heavily scripted first-person sequences rather than play CGI cutscenes or pull the camera out to show a 3rd-person cutscene. It consistently stays in the same perspective, at least so far it has. These sequences are top notch and usually take place in action sequences.
Initially the shooting in the game felt a little off, or perhaps 'floaty' in some cases. I suppose I havent determined if this is the direct cause of the Metro underground's makeshift weaponry system or if it's just lame game design by the developers. I'm leaning more towards intentional design since it does seem to fit well with the narrative and serves a purpose for immersion. When pulling the trigger the guns (that I have) do pull a lot to the sides, but I do always seem to be able to eventually hit the things that are trying to kill me. Also, there are a host of upgrades and weapons that I have yet to try so things will probably change in this regard with the better weapons. It's worth mentioning that there is no inventory management.
The graphics and atmosphere are fittingly melancholy, disparaging and filthy. It's very well suited for a decrepit Metro system which hosts the lives of 40,000 people who migrated there after the bomb dropped. Easily--for me that is--the weakest parts of the graphics came front-and-center when the game began--the mediocre facial constructions. Though they're not necessarily horrible, they just look slightly out of place from the otherwise well constructed surrounds and characters in the game. Plus the animations can be, at times, a little stiff. Some of the creatures in the game are more in line with the mediocre faces than the rest of the game and just come across as generic monster A from a build-your-own-game construction set. Surprisingly theyre not annoyingly bad, but you wont stop to look at them either.
There doesnt seem to be any 'save anywhere' save system in place as it just lies heavily on a fairly solid checkpoint system. To be clear, you actually can save anywhere, but it will start you back at a checkpoint (with your gear) which never seems to be too far away.
Something I wasnt suspecting--this game can be really creepy and at times! At the risk of mildly spoiling something for you guys about the game--there are ghosts! Last night I was slowly working my way through a creaky old building. The howling of mutated creatures from outside echoed the halls along with my breathing (you must wear a mask when you go outside), totally putting me on edge. Suddenly the room I was in got a little warmer in color and something quickly moved in the darkness. I looked around and wasnt sure if I was seeing smoke, or a ghost or something else when suddenly something whispered in my ear, "save us" and I flipped the F out! I ran ran ran towards the nearest door, turn a corner, bolted down a nearby stairway that lead me down stairs. At the bottom I found an open door and rush through it hoping to find a nice corner to hunker down in and, lo-and-behold, one of the mutated creatures from outside worked its way in to greet me. I fired off some shots but it wasnt enough to stop him from pouncing on me. He tore into me but I shoved my knife into his neck a few times killing him. My mask was now shattered making it very difficult to see some of my surroundings clearly. I wandered around the floor eventually finding another mask to wear.
This game is wicked cool; check it out if you're on the fence.
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