Metro 2033 Review

"Dear Muscovites and guests to our capital. The Moscow Metro is a form of transportation which involves a heightened level of danger." These words greet commuters at the start of every day in Moscow, but in the world of Metro 2033, the tunnels of the world's biggest bomb shelter have more than 'heightened level of risk' in them - it's anarchy.

Based on the best-selling novel by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky, Metro 2033 is a post-apocalyptic shooter set in the aftermath of the last great nuclear war. Like Fallout 3 before it, who fired first and why isn't important anymore - merely surviving is the only objective of the human race.

A shame then that the metro, the last bastion of humankind, is under threat from mutants, disease and a terrifying new force which has entered the tunnels. This force sets our hero, Artyom, on his course with one mission - to get to another outpost deep inside the metro system and pass on a warning, or face damnation.

Along the way he runs into Communists, Nazis, mutants and disease-stricken stations and comes face to face with the future, but whether or not it will come to pass remains to be seen. Sorry to be so vague, but to give away the plot too much would spoil this little gaming gem for sure. Metro 2033 is a brilliant blast through an innovative and exciting setting.

Set underground in the metro, Artyom's 10/15-hour adventure takes him from one end of Moscow to the other, as well as a few jaunts in the post-apocalyptic wasteland above. Ukrainian newcomers 4A Games have done a brilliant job with the game, offering a rounded story with some excellent set-piece battles, a fair amount of shooting and sneaking and an immersion factor that's hard to beat.

Unlike Fallout 3, Artyom has no PipBoy to guide him and must instead rely on a compass, a notebook and some instructions to get around. Similarly there is no heads-up-display at all, and you'll quickly find yourself checking your in-game watch when you have to don your gas mask - run out of mask filters and that's the end for you, chum.

You also have to manually charge up your headlamp and night-vision goggles, which are so restrictive that the green-washed environment can even become claustrophobic, the only sound being Artyom's heavy breathing and the sound of the hideous mutants in the distance.

Luckily, there's a wide selection of weapons available for you to blast along with, including a home-made and inaccurate weapon called the 'bastard', a variety of automatic shotguns, a pneumatic sniper rifle, a crossbow and my personal favourite - throwing knives.

While some games include throwing knives as an optional extra, learning to use the shadow of the tunnels is essential for Artyom, and your visibility is once again displayed on your in-game watch, adding to the immersion and the tension. Artyom's adventure takes you through some wonderfully creepy environments, ranging from a rail-mounted trolley battle to a treacherous walk over a radioactive lake to a terrifying encounter in an underground warzone.

The action only gets better when you head up to the surface - windswept newspapers litter the skies, burned and washed-out buildings hide weapons stashes and a trip to Moscow Library made me jump out of my skin, especially as I had run out of ammo and was left with just my knife - very unnerving.

Speaking of ammo, rather than Roubles, the denizens of the metro have an insatiable hunger for bullets, which can now be traded for weapon upgrades and different calibres of ammo.

Military-grade ammo fetches a high price, but is also much more accurate and deadly in a firefight, meaning that every bullet you fire makes you a little poorer and in the metro you get nothing for free - it's a tricky enterprise, but one that comes off brilliantly.

As well as the excellent gameplay, 4A also did a stunning job with the sounds effects of both the underground and the surface. Mutant moans set your nerves on edge while humans talk around the bonfire, swapping stories of the world that was, and the terrible events of the metro's past unravel.

The battles themselves are even more unnerving. There's no auto aim and the sound of the mutants clawing you is intense and thrilling, as is the harsh bark of your AK, and the empty click of your last round leaving the barrel, all reflected from the walls of the metro in an empty echo, it's excellently done. The only odd point is the narrator's voice, as the man playing Artyom himself sounds like he has all the personality of a brick.

The battles themselves are even more unnerving. There's no auto aim and the sound of the mutants clawing you is intense and thrilling, as is the harsh bark of your AK, and the empty click of your last round leaving the barrel, all reflected from the walls of the metro in an empty echo, it's excellently done. The only odd point is the narrator's voice, as the man playing Artyom himself sounds like he has all the personality of a brick.

There are also a few gameplay bugs which need addressing, as Artyom can fall through the floor at certain points and enemies occasionally get stuck in fences or walls, or phase through them entirely, especially if your grenade has blown them into the air. But, that said, these are minor and are not game breaking in any rate.

While there is no multiplayer mode on offer, which is a shame as the game is clearly crying out for a mode or two, there's more than enough singleplayer to keep you coming back for more, and I can recommend playing the game in the dark with the volume at full - it's an unnerving and thrilling experience you shouldn't miss.

Summary

When I first got chance to play some preview code of Metro 2033 I labelled it a 'sleeper hit'. Having played the game for real, and read the book, I still think my first impression was right. The storyline is twisted, the world Glukhovsky and 4A have created is unnerving and immersive and the action more than makes up for its linear nature. While a few graphical and gameplay bugs do pop up I would certainly recommend giving Metro 2033 a look, especially if you're looking for a game to try your wits, sanity and shooting skill.