Metro 2033 is a survival horror first-person shooter video game, based on the novel Metro 2033 by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. Metro 2033 was developed by 4A Games in Ukraine, and was released on Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in March 2010.[5]
In Metro 2033, the player controls Artyom as he moves through
the ruins of post-nuclear-apocalyptic Russia. The player uses guns of
both real and fictitious designs to kill mutants and hostile survivors.
Most of the game takes place within the Metro system, although Artyom
does venture above ground on rare occasions.
Metro 2033 received positive reviews: it was praised for its
horror elements, detailed environments and appealing plot, but it was
criticized for its buggy artificial intelligence and its many graphical
issues.
A sequel, Metro: Last Light was released on May 14, 2013 in North America and May 17, 2013 in Europe, Australia, and Russia.[6] On August 26, 2014, a compilation of both titles was released for the PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and the Xbox One. On PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, this remake was entitled Metro Redux. On Microsoft Windows, a release entitled as Metro Redux Bundle includes both this game and Metro: Last Light Redux.
Gameplay
The game is played from the perspective of Artyom, the player-character. The story takes place in post-apocalyptic Moscow, mostly inside the metro system, but occasionally missions bring the player above ground.
As a first-person shooter, Metro 2033
features a variety of firearms (some fictional and some based on real
weapons) which the player will use in combat. Combat alternates between
the player fighting mutants (mutated animals) and the player fighting
hostile humans. Mutants do not possess weapons and tend to physically
attack the player in swarms, while humans fight with the same firearms
available to the player. The game features recharging health rather than
a traditional health points
system—if the player avoids taking damage for a period of time, health
will slowly recharge. The player can speed up this process by using a
stim from a medkit, which will almost instantly heal the player to full
health. When the player is severely injured, it may take over twenty
seconds to return to full health. In any difficulty above " Hardcore"
health does not regenerate.
In the post-apocalyptic environment, ammunition is a rare and essential commodity. Pre-apocalypse military-grade 5.45x39mm
ammunition is used as currency; to avoid "shooting money", the player
can also use lower quality bullets made within the Metros, which do less
damage. Due to the scarcity of ammunition, a crucial aspect of gameplay
is scavenging. The player can loot corpses and the environment for
spare ammunition, as well as weapons and items. The military-grade ammo
can be used to purchase other ammunition, weapons, and items within most
of the Metro stations, albeit at high prices.
The game's locations reflect the dark atmosphere of real metro
tunnels, with added survival horror elements. Strange phenomena and
noises are frequent, and most of the time the player has to rely only on
the flashlight (and sometimes, the night-vision goggles)
to navigate in otherwise total darkness. Even more lethal is the
surface, as it is severely irradiated and a gas mask must be worn at all
times due to the toxic air.[7]
Often, locations have an intricate layout, and the game lacks any form
of map, leaving the player to try to find their objectives with only a
compass.
As Metro 2033 aims to be immersive, the gameplay and interface
are somewhat atypical. The game lacks a health meter, relying on
audible heart rate and blood spatters on the screen to show the player's
current state of health. The player must collect air filters for the
gas mask, which last several minutes each and are automatically
replaced, as long as the player has more in reserve. There is no
heads-up display indicator to tell how long the player has until the gas
mask's filters begin to fail—rather, a timer on the character's
wristwatch shows how long until the current filter expires. The gas mask
can become visibly damaged and will stop functioning if punctured,
requiring it to be replaced. With every weapon, the bullets are (partly)
visible, informing the player that their weapon is about to run out of
ammo and they have to reload. The game does feature sparse traditional HUD
elements, such as an ammunition indicator. However, on the hardest
difficulty setting, no HUD elements are present, and players have to
keep track of ammunition by the partly visible magazines.
There are also certain moral choices in the game that give Karma,
which leads to different endings. Choices can either get the player
good Karma, for example, saving prisoners from execution, or bad Karma,
for example being rude to people or stealing.
Plot overview
In late 2013, a nuclear war occurred. Russia was targeted with atomic bombs, causing severe radiation across Moscow.
This forced the survivors to live underground in the metro stations
away from the deadly effects of radiation. Many animals were heavily
mutated into aggressive beasts, which make travel dangerous.
In 2033, Artyom (Russian: Артём), a 20-year-old male survivor born
before the bombs fell, learns from Hunter, an elite soldier of the
rangers, that a group of mysterious creatures referred to as the Dark
Ones are threatening Artyom's home station, VDNKh, in the Metro.
Hunter gives Artyom his dog tags and tells him if he does not come
back, he must go to Polis and present these to see if they will help his
station.
Artyom must travel through territory occupied by Soviets and a Fourth Reich,
and infested with mutants as well as the much changed surface of
Moscow. Once in Polis, he meets with a Ranger named Miller, who agrees
to help him. Miller knows of a missile silo known as D6
that has the firepower necessary to destroy the Dark Ones. Artyom,
Miller, and several other Rangers reactivate the command center for the
missiles, and Artyom installs a laser guidance system on a nearby radio
tower. After the laser system is installed, Artyom experiences a vivid
hallucination induced by a Dark One.
After the hallucination, two endings are possible, depending on
choices the player makes throughout the game. In the canonical ending,
Artyom allows the missiles to fire, destroying the Dark Ones; only to
realize later that they sought peace and the deaths by them were
accidental. The alternate ending gives Artyom the choice to destroy the
laser guidance device, citing a last-minute realization that the Dark
Ones were actually attempting to make peaceful contact through the
hallucinations. Only by having high karma, is this ending available.
Development
Promotion at IgroMir 2009
4A Games was founded by Oles' Shiskovtsov and Aleksandr Maksimchuk, former programmers for GSC Game World who left about a year before the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Shiskovtsov and Maksimchuk had worked on the development of X-Ray engine used in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.[8] In March 2006, 4A Games announced a partnership with Glukhovsky to collaborate on the game.[9] The game was announced at the 2009 Games Convention in Leipzig;[10] along with an official trailer.[11]
The game utilizes multi-platform 4A Engine, running on Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows.
There is some contention regarding whether the engine is based on the
pre-release X-Ray engine (as claimed by Sergiy Grygorovych, the founder
of GSC Game World,[12]
as well as users who have seen the 4A Engine SDK screenshots, citing
visual similarities, shared resources, and technical evaluation of the
pre-release 4A Engine demo conducted at the request of GSC Game World),
or whether the engine is an original development (as claimed by 4A Games
and Oles' Shiskovtsov in particular,[13] who claims it would have been impractical to retrofit the X-ray engine with console support). 4A Engine features Nvidia PhysX support, enhanced AI, and a console SDK for Xbox 360.[14]
The PC version includes exclusive features such as DirectX 11 support
and has been described as "a love letter to PC gamers" because of the
developers' choice "to make the PC version [especially] phenomenal".[15]
A PlayStation 3 version was planned, but ultimately cancelled.[16] On February 19, THQ and 4A Games announced the game features Steamworks software and DRM. This gives Metro 2033 achievements, Steam support for in-game downloadable content and auto-updating.
Release
Promotion at IgroMir 2010
A Collector's Edition
of the game was released in Russia – it contained the game itself in
special packaging, a game guide, a map of the post-apocalyptic subway of
Moscow and a unique watch with the game's logo on it.[17] An even larger collector's edition was released in Poland; it contained: the game itself in special packaging, a Polish translation of the novel Metro 2033, instructions for the game, an army container and a gas mask (with filters and a military bag included).[18]
A special edition was also released in Germany – more similar in size
to the Russian collector's edition and smaller than the Polish one, it
contained: the game itself in a special edition box, a hardback novel (A5 sized) titled "Davor und Danach" (Before and After),
a fully working replica of the watch that Artyom uses in the game, a
bear-shaped key ring with one of Hunter's dog tags on it and a download
code for the Heavy Automatic Shotgun.[19][20]
In February 2014, the Xbox 360 version of 2033 was included in Microsoft's "Games with Gold" program exclusively for German subscribers. This served as a replacement for Dead Island, the game offered in other territories, as it is unavailable for purchase in Germany.[21]
On May 22, 2014, a Redux version of the game was announced. It
uses the latest version of the 4A Engine bringing the graphical and
gameplay changes from Last Light to 2033. It was released on August 26, 2014 in North America and August 29, 2014 in Europe for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.[3] A compilation package, titled Metro Redux, was released at the same time which includes both games.[22]
Reception
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The game has received generally favorable reviews, scoring 81/100[25] and 77/100[26] on Metacritic for the PC and Xbox 360 versions respectively. Game Informer praised it, giving it 9 out of 10. GameZone's
Dakota Grabowski gave the game an 8 out of 10, saying, "The
single-player affair is worthy of every FPS fanatics' time since the 4A
Games and THQ were able to put forth a wonderful tale that deserved
telling. The world is engrossing as it invites players for multiple
trips with the sheer amount of detail 4A Games spent implementing into
the environments. Metro 2033 is as pure as they come in the genre and I gladly welcome any sequel that may reach fruition."[32]
Video game talk show Good Game
gave the game an 8.5 out of 10 praising the RPG and survival horror
elements which add richness to the gameplay as well saying the HUD-less
design was a choice which suits this particular game. Overall they said
"I'm a big Fallout 3
fan and I was worried this would try to be something similar and fail
dismally. But it's more FPS than RPG, so I think it manages to dodge a
direct comparison. They've just worked really hard to bring RPG
narrative and decisions into the action, and it works."[33]
X-Play
gave the game a 3 out of 5, the reviewer pointed out the game's great
atmosphere, attention to detail, and that the game had some truly scary
moments. The reviewer also pointed out that, they "didn't do enough with
the creepy atmosphere". Saying that the game would come close to truly
frightening moments, but "never truly commits to scaring the audience".
The reviewer said that the mapping of the buttons on the controller for
the Xbox 360 can be "less than optimal", but the problem does not apply
to PC users. In the conclusion, the reviewer said that the game was,
"over all a respectable effort, provided you don't expect the same level
of depth found in, let's say Fallout 3."[34]
GameSpot
gave the game 7.5 out of 10 for the Xbox 360 version and 8 out of 10
for the PC version, praising the atmosphere but noting problems with the
artificial intelligence and animations.[30]
IGN gave
the game a lower rating of 6.9 out of 10 (identical for Xbox 360 and PC
versions), citing the frame rate, bugs, and disappointing graphics
issues.[28]
Sequel
Metro: Last Light, previously called Metro 2034, was released on May 14, 2013 in North America and May 17, 2013 in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Russia.[6] Even though it acts as a sequel to the original game it does not follow any direct storylines from the book Metro 2034.[35] An improved version called Redux,
with all downloadable content was released on August 26, 2014 in North
America and August 29, 2014 in Europe for the PC, PlayStation 4, and
Xbox One.[36] A compilation package, titled Metro Redux, was released at the same time which includes both Last Light and Metro 2033.
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