What is it that attracts people to apocalypses so much? The setting has been a popular one at least since the 50s. It could be argued that since the dawn of human civilization that human beings have been thinking of all sorts of ways that it could fall to pieces. Since the fifties, when the concept of nuclear annihilation was started to finally kick in, the genre really began to take the form it has now, and has such spawned such classics as “A Boy and his Dog,” “Mad Max,” “I am Legend,” “Day of the Triffids,” and several notable episodes of the Twilight Zone. Heck there’s even been a spinoff genre in the form of the zombie apocalypse, which itself has such titles as “28 Days Later,” “The Walking Dead,” and several classic George Romero flicks.
But I’m not here to talk about any of those. I’m here to talk about a videogame based in the apocalypse. No, not that one. No, not that one. I’m talking about a quirky little Russian title by the name of “Metro: 2033.” Based on a book by the same name that I’m too lazy to look into, the lore of the world proper is as such: the year is 2033, (as you may have guessed), and the nuclear apocalypse happened a good 20 years ago or so. Moscow, the setting proper of the game, is a irradiated hellhole at ground level, filled to the brim with all sorts of mutated beasts and monsters, like an ICP concert, minus the faygo. Below the surface, however, the titular Metros have become a refuge for what’s left of humanity, warts and all. Okay, okay, I know that sounds a little like that other aforementioned post-apocalypse game, but stick with me, they are somewhat different. Things are not looking too good for this particular pocket of humanity, however as a new breed of mutants called the Dark Ones, mysterious beings with a talent for mind-raping anyone foolish enough to cross their path, and they are carving out quite a large path. After a brief encounter with the Dark Ones in which you, Artyom, remain relatively in tact, it’s up to you to figure out the mystery of these new creatures, all the while battling the aforementioned mutated monsters and warts of humanity. Oh, and there are both Stalinist communists and Nazis, because let’s face it 1) “ideologies are bullet radiation proof," and 2) there is never a bad excuse to add either of those groups to your video-game, movie, book, etc. If there’s one thing that 2033 does well, it’s the world proper. The feel of the game itself is very… Russian, out of lack of a better term. There’s a sense of stoic survival at the various stations that Artyom visits. You can tell that the people are scared for their lives, but are forced to simply live on as best they can. Little things, as well, like being able to give a bullet to begging child (more on that later), messing with the various light sources which range from both electric and firebased sources, and even getting duped out of money by a pretend working-girl (don’t judge) all add to it as well. As mentioned above, bullets are the currency du jour, and as interesting a proposition as that is (either using your ammo on baddies or using it to get more, inferior ammo). One of the things I kind of like the most about the game is the gun design. Hear me out, this is one of the things I like most about this world. Aside from revolvers and AK-47s (both, as any gun nut will tell you, are some of the few things that will survive the apocalypse), most of the guns are Macgyvered pieces of machinery fashioned into some sort of tube shape. Hell, some weapons even require pumping like water guns that shoot deadly marbles. That being said, they aren’t the most realistic around, if only based on the fact that there are suppressed revolvers. Then again if you really want realism in a setting filled with mutant rats and psychic super-humans, you seriously need to get your priorities straight. You can buy guns and various ammo types at the various stations Artyom stops off at when you’re not taking in the various things people are talking about in hokey Russian accents, although if you play your cards right, you could probably go through the game not having to buy a single thing. As you track from station to station, you'll be able to find little nooks and crannies filled with everything from more ammo to more advanced weaponry. As for the gunplay itself, it’s what you’d expect with the human and monster enemies in general: cover shooting with the former and doom like shooting and running away with the latter. There’s also the option to stealth your way out of most situations involving humans, although seeing as how your only options during these times is to put out lights either manually or by shooting them with a silenced weapon, its hardly the most dynamic stealth system. Aside from that, the only real method for stealth killing effectively is either a throwing knife (which are sparse in the Metro) or a headshot with a silenced weapon. While the second game did have the option to melee kill enemies while stealthing, apparently that just wasn’t a thing in this particular entry. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not being able to stealth melee enemies in stealth games. One of my favorite stealth games, Sniper Elite: V2 doesn’t have that option. It just would’ve been nice to have had more stealth options in Metro, or at least the ability to distract baddies somehow, seeing as how Artiom can only so many shots from whatever baddie you’re fighting at the time before Artyom collapses from the screen turning red. In the end, I did what I always do in stealth games: fuck up until I cave and just start shooting baddies, hiding best I can and picking people off one by one. It also has regenerating health, although you can get healed much faster by injecting one of the many ampouls that litter the Metro. I have nothing wrong with regenerating health, but it seems out of place in the maintenance-based world of the Metro. Whenever you’re on the surface, for example, you constantly need to be on the lookout for filters for your gas mask, or else the sides of the screen will start fogging up and Artyom will collapse to his death from the third limb he sprouted. I guess they just didn’t want the player to worry about health too much, but I feel like it would’ve added to the atmosphere if you at least had food you had to eat to regain health or something. Between needing to change filters, charge your flashlight, and pump certain weapons, there's a general feeling that your equipment needs to be maintained, something not even present in Fallout, at least depending on what version you're playing. Overall, in spite of all I’ve said, I’d say give it a try. By now it’s pretty cheap, not to mention it’s a bit more grounded than most other post-apocalypse giving it a unique atmosphere that you won’t find in the likes of well… you know…
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AuthorHello all and Welcome to Jacob's Latter. Here I will be giving my opinions on everything from movies, video games and books to my general outlook on the world. Archives
January 2018
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