Metro 2033 was, for me at least, a bit of a disappointment. I found the whole thing very stop-start, confusing and at a pace so slow it would be pushing a very slow thing for a podium spot in a slow race. So I wasn’t overly bothered when I heard the developer and publisher, THQ, were in the process of creating a sequel of sorts. Like many however, I was disappointed to see THQ close at the beginning of the year and it looked for a while like we would never get to see this game. Not a problem I thought, I can get by without it but Deep Silver stepped in, picked up the baton and we now have Metro Last Light embracing our lives.
A twisted first person shooter mixed with a survival action horror set in a post apocalyptic Russian world, the game is a sequel to Metro 2033 but, at the same time, is apparently in no way tied to the Metro 2034 novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky. Dmitry was apparently working with the developers throughout and it would have made a little more sense to me if it had been based and inspired by 2034, but in reality it makes little or no difference to me. It’s a game and all I’m bothered about is whether it’s actually any good.
And our biggest congratulations should go out to the now defunct THQ as it’s actually pretty decent.
You play the part of the lead guy from the first game, Artyom. Starting out underground, things are pretty linear and for the first few hours of gameplay at least you are constantly following your friend, Pavel, around the dark tunnels of the Metro. As is to be expected of a post apocalyptic world, the place has seen better days and the whole atmosphere of living underground in terrible conditions gets put over in a very convincing way, both visually and audibly. Storywise things are a little slow to get going but once you’ve got past the first couple of hours both the story and the gameplay really get moving along at quite a pace. You can however slow things down to your own pace if required. There is so much to look at (and conversations to listen in on) in the tunnels of the Metro that I found myself, on numerous occasions, sitting around taking in the atmosphere. At one point I took my seat in the theatre while a few different acts took to the stage. Whilst it was all part of the story, if I had wanted, I could have got up at any time and continued on my way. 10 minutes later I was still sat there taking in the delights of the stage, fully engrossed in what was being played out before me. It drew me in and that’s a big part of the game.....it does that throughout!
Occasionally you’ll get dragged out of the tunnels and up to the surface from which behind your dirty gas mask you’ll get to see the contrast between the underground and the surface. It’s very much a story driven game that tries, and succeeds, to get you involved in every aspect of daily life in the tunnels. To avoid spoiling matters I won’t go into too much detail with regards to how things pan out, you’ll just have to get out there and play it yourself but rest assured that the story is very very good, but I guess that was a gimme given its background.
And whilst having to put up with a linear storyline ain’t the greatest, you do have the option of playing in a Splinter Cell stealth type way or by going through things in a COD styley, all guns ablazing. Both techniques reward you immensely with lovely touches available depending on how you are tackling the game, (the unscrewing of lightbulbs to make the area more suitable for stealth gameplay is a particular favourite of mine), and whilst neither would be quite good enough to stand up by itself alongside the games that made the genres famous, both the stealth and action assaults are decent enough all the way throughout. Think of it more along the lines of Dishonoured and you’ll get close to what the game is giving you back.
Negatives? Nothing major. Not at any point did things get tiresome but if I’m being picky the AI is a little dozy at times and conversations can sometimes get muddled. This is particularly apparent in the tunnels where there are numerous background conversations taking place at the same time and so subtitles are pretty essential if you really want to keep track of what is going on, otherwise things can get a little confusing. There is also a strange old thing going on in which the whole game will just pause for a couple of seconds at random moments. I thought it may have been due to the fact the game wasn’t installed to the hard drive but a test of that didn’t help matters. It doesn’t happen an awful lot but is enough to annoy ever so slightly. Oh, and there’s this crazy thing that once you get all stealthy in a vent, you can’t go backwards. Wtf is that all about??!?? Fortunately none of these issues detract from the overall enjoyment of the game too much.
As for the multiplayer, well there isn’t any. Yep, you’re reading that right, a game with no multiplayer these days is a rare thing but for once the decision to not include a versus or deathmatch mode is a good one. Whether THQ had plans to incorporate something along those lines or not before going bust is anyones guess, but I’m not complaining as the single player story is more than strong enough.
At time of writing, there are two pieces of DLC available; Ranger Mode for 400 of your favourite Microsoft points sees an increased difficulty level, the switching off of the HUD and crosshairs and makes ammunition even less readily available. You do however get extra Military Grade Bullets (harder, better, faster, stronger), and a new assault rifle for your troubles but whether that counteracts the lack of ammo is anyones guess. We also have a season pass ready to download. This retails at 1200 points and as is quickly becoming the norm nowadays gives you a discounted pre-payment plan for future DLC. It’s looking like there are going to be 4 extra pieces of story dlc to come out over the next 6 months or so in which case the 1200 points seems a decent enough purchase and will obviously extend your single player tale no end.
Those interested in gamerscore will probably be able to take down half the 52 cheevos relatively easily. Most are story based, kill based or stealth based with a few nice ‘moral’ choices which will nab you a couple more. I would think at least 3 playthroughs would be essential to get all regular achievements unlocked though as it wouldn’t be possible to rack up the stealthy ones if you’re going in to shoot the place up. Add in a couple of additional ones that come with the Ranger pack and you’ll be shooting up those cheevo charts in no time.
Do you want stealth or would you prefer an first person shooter? It’s rather rare that you get a game giving you both of these in abundance but with Metro Last Light, that’s exactly what you do have. This survival horror title can be played either which way and whichever route you do chose, you’ll find a fully fledged gameplay experience that keeps coming at you throughout the 10-12 hours or so of campaign. It’s not quite up to the standard of a AAA title but you’ll enjoy what you see.
Good find Deep Silver.
