We recently had the privilege of seeing THQ's new post-apocalpytic shooter Metro: 2033 in action, and what some people may have dismissed as just another shooter in the already saturated FPS market actually possesses enough potential to impress even the harshest critics. Before it's released in March, let's take a look at a game that can only be described as so deep, it's underground.
First things first, Metro:2033 is based on the Russian novel of the same name, written by Dimitri Glukhovzky. The novel has a been a smash hit in its home nation, selling over 300,000 copies, and is currently being translated into numerous languages all over the globe, including English. THQ made sure to involve Mr. Glukhovzky in every step of production to create something true to his original intention. The premise sounds cliched to be sure; a nuclear war decimates earth in 2013, leaving underground communities of the few remaining humans challenged with defending themselves not only against mutated wildlife, but also each other as they compete for dwindling resources and valuable pre-blast tech. Don't be fooled for an instant though, Metro 2033 is a lovingly crafted world with ideas that spread far beyond ripping off Mad Max for the umpteenth time. Small details add subtle touches of realism to the story.
The metro system beneath Moscow was actually designed as a huge functioning bomb shelter to protect citizens from an impending nuclear war. In Metro the different stations act as settlements, each one with its own culture and politics. From the Armory, built beneath a former munitions plant responsible for the crude firearms produced post-blast, to Neo-Nazi communities, to Cursed, a small settlement constantly besieged by mutant tunnel-swelling rats called nosilica. The player takes the role of a young man, Artyom, from Exhibition station, one of the most stable and civilized in the Metro. Artyom has unique, if not entirely understood abilities, is a crack shot and makes a promise to hero of his to travel across the Metro and bring a message to a man named Miller. The final pieces of the puzzle are Dark Ones. These vaguely humanoid creatures are a mystery to all. Anyone who encounters one in the tunnel goes mad, and usually dies horribly sometime later. Artyom seems to have a resistance of some kind, but the details (and spoilers) were kept to a minimum. All of these elements create a deep, rich, universe that is worth exploring both in text and in game. Although Metro plays in a very linear fashion, the world itself never seems static and no part seems like a "filler" area. The story itself is a surprisingly thoughtful counterbalance between the hard realities of post apocalyptic life and the mysticism and superstition of a culture which has been forcibly blasted into a new Dark Age.
So, with an excellent story to tell, Metro 2033 needed to have a presentation worthy of the source material. Thankfully, it comes through quite well. The 4A Engine and PhysX capabilities both hold up well, creating interesting environments and smooth framerates in the Xbox 360 version. Metro 2033 takes place almost entirely in underground tunnels, whether abandoned or inhabited, so it would have been easy to recycle locations and have everything look dark and bland. Instead, Metro smartly creates a consistent look across many different areas. Radiation is a serious concern in Metro and irradiated areas often have colourful glowing schemes in a classic neon green or rusty toxic orange. Sections are arranged differently and in various stages of disrepair. In this way the tunnels are given individual personality, preventing a great deal of repetition. The communities of the stations are incredibly unique, each displaying a very different structure and with little touches that speak to the culture.
Aside from just their appearance, the areas are designed with a great deal of thought toward the gameplay as well. The bandit hideout areas are intricate and contain traps, windows, tons of cover, high catwalks and empty train cars that make firefights very organic. And for a linear game, it says something that Metro 2033 delights in pulling and pushing the player around in a hectic fashion. The game is so good at getting under your skin, baiting you with precious ammo into vulnerable positions, opening up new routes behind you when monsters attack, and forcing you into costly detours, that it can actually take you in a straight line and still keep you guessing. The surface sections of the game are by far the stand-out best. Yes these sections are more similar to other post-apocalypse games, especially Fallout 3, but their desolate snowy design are phenomenally well crafted.
Characters are animated well, and look very convincing, until you get a close-up of their faces which are often too static. Character models are reused, but the amount of them is more than sufficient. You rarely see two of the same character model in the same city, never mind the same room. The exceptions here are the soldiers, who are often wearing ski masks and helmets, and enemies. There are about seven bandit models, and each type of mutant creatures has only one. It's a helpful compromise though, since monster types differ in toughness, damage dealing capability and tactics, It's nice to be able to easily recognize monster types quickly and adapt accordingly.
The immersion factor of the game is high, as there is minimal HUD on the screen at any time, and the sound and visual quality are above average. There are better looking games to be certain, but complaints are hard to come by. Voice acting is hit and miss, but genuine Russian accents help lend some credence to the cause. Texture pop-ins happen, but infrequently. The only real immersion-breaking element are the momentary delays at the end of a level or before a cut scene. Beyond doors that were supposed to end levels, you often find yourself walking against an invisible wall for several seconds before the loading screen popped up. With two months left of development, it's really early to be doing that kind of nitpicking.
Although Metro 2033 is a game in the first person, with a lot of guns, it is not really a first-person shooter. Although blasting away monsters with pistols, machine guns, shotguns, throwing knives, pipe bombs, and your trusty melee knife is really the only way to solve your problems, the game shares far more in common with old-school survival horror games. Recent additions to the survival horror genre have definitely been more action-oriented, following the wake of the hugely successful Resident Evil 4. While Metro's shooting mechanics are far more advanced than those of even the most recent in the Resident Evil series, (borrowing more from Call of Duty than anything else) its resource management system is straight out of games like Resident Evil 2 or Fatal Frame. Bullets are a scarcity at all times, and most of them are inaccurate post-blast bullets made by the armory, which hardly ever fire straight anyway. Pre-blast bullets are far more accurate and deadly, but they double as the in-game currency, to be traded for any other good in any of Metro's shops.
In do-or-die situations, something Metro delights in torturing the player with, the decision to shoot your hard-earned cash directly into a couple of bandits can be hard to swallow. Even if you decided to shoot your nest egg into some bandits, it's no guarantee you'll have enough ammo to reach the next checkpoint or shop. If you think this game will be like Call of Duty, or worse yet, Halo, think again. Blasting away in rapid bursts is a sure fire way to get yourself stuck or killed. Each shot must be carefully placed and perfectly timed. With weapons as inaccurate as the post-blast homemade kind, that's nearly impossible. Things smooth out a bit once you pick up some pre-blast guns, but don't be shocked to find yourself knifing several enemies to death, desperately dodging their claws and bullets. Not that you only ever dodge, Artyom is quite tough and can take a ton of punishment before he goes down, especially if you have health packs.
Speaking of health packs, ammunition isn't the only thing to keep track of. Health kits allow for quick, mid-battle heals. Your flashlight never runs out of batteries, but needs to be recharged via hand crank to stay functioning at top power. Entering a dark area, filled with enemies only to turn on a dim or non-functioning flashlight can be terrifying. And since you can't crank and shoot at the same time, a poorly maintained flashlight can easily end your game. Finally, and most unique, Irradiated areas can only be traversed with the use of gas masks. The masks themselves are a rarity and can be damaged if your wearing them during combat. Since the entire surface city is covered in both radiation and horrible monsters, you'll probably break at least a couple masks. Not only that, but the masks continually need new filters to keep them working effectively. Filters are plentiful, cheap and easy to find, but each one only buys you ten minutes, real-time, of sweet fresh air. Plus, they are useless without a working mask. Between juggling all those elements, scrounging every body, box, nook and cranny for parts, and deciding what's worth buying and what you might find on the next leg of your journey, shooting becomes a secondary objective. The far more prevalent priority is survival.
Sometimes running, hiding, sneaking or falling back to a fortified position is all but a necessity. Rarely can you simply sprint or sneak through an entire level, but just as a rarely do you have the resources to run and gun the whole way either.
Stealth works well, when its implemented. The A.I. never feels like its cheating or being overly acute, but it also won't allow you to wander around just because you're crouched. Dismantling light fixtures can help you stay out of sight, usually by simply blowing out the candles. There is no option for one-hit stealth kills, although throwing knives are far more accurate and deadly than most guns and make no noise at all. They're also hard to come by, so be sure to pick them up after use. If combat does break out, expect to be flanked, surrounded and shot with deadly accuracy. The A.I. isn't perfect by any means but it interacts well with the environment to give convincing performances. Bad guys rarely leave cover and will sit and wait you out rather than open themselves to attack. They also like to use windows, catwalks and corners to get the drop on you. Monsters use pack tactics just as effectively, getting on your every side and fleeing to join larger groups if they think they can get away. Just as often, a lone creature will suicide run directly at you, as it knows it can't escape.
Missions tend to be short-term in focus, with a larger story fading quickly into the background. Escorts are very common, with characters drifting in and out of Artyom's story with startling regularity. There's no evidence of boss fights, although the possibility exists, instead climaxes tend to revolve around standing your ground against hordes or picking your shots against heavily entrenched foes. In a game where resource management is the foremost goal, these tend to be the more intimidating option.
According to THQ's creative producer David Langlier, Metro should run about fourteen hours There are only two endings, but at fourteen hours each run, that's an excellent value for a shooter, or a survival horror game. Of the two separate endings, the outcome is based on small moral decisions made by the player throughout the game. The moral choices are clear cut and had no visible effect on the gameplay, they don't appear to have center stage like in Bioshock or an RPG.
Langlier also discussed how the mutant creatures and the Dark Ones had to have their designs changed slightly from their descriptions within the novel to make them more menacing. For instance, replacing bulbous paws with dangerous claws.
"If you're going to get swiped at by these creatures," he reasoned, "it should look like it hurts."
Metro 2033 won't be for everyone. It's adhering to some old ideas about resource management and how to challenge a player. Frantic combat, combined with a serious onus on players to keep track of what they have, what they need and what they are willing to part with is going to frustrate some. Some will try to treat it as a pure shooter and find themselves without a bullet to call their own, attempting to knife a merciless swarm of enemies. Others might be unprepared for the speed and accuracy of the enemies. Worse yet, a lack of multiplayer options will certainly irk a large demographic. Those who dig deep however, will be rewarded with story worth telling, a world worth exploring, and assuming production of the game continues smoothly over the next couple months, a game worth playing.
