First Impressions: Metro 2033

Today's First Impressions is on THQ's Metro 2033 (Windows PC/Xbox 360), a game set in the future in the nuclear wasteland that is Russia. It's an R18 and apart from an article I read about it in a recent Edge magazine, this one has flown under the radar for me. So far, I've played for about an hour and a half.

Metro 2033 is  partly based on the novel Roadside Picnic by Russian novelist Dmitry Glukhovski, and if any of you have an inkling that it bears some striking resemblance to the PC game Stalker, well, you'd be right: some of the team on Metro 2033 also worked on GCS Gameworld's Stalker. 

The player takes the role of Artyom, a young Russian lad born in the days before the apocalypse in 2013. Now aged 20, he lives with thousands of others underground, in Russia's twisted underground tunnels - he's never ventured outside the protective concrete of his settlement. That is, until he is forced to in a mission to save mankind.

OK, so the story is a little cliched - last hope to save mankind - but Metro 2033 has some quirky differences that pull it above the standard run-of-the-mill survival horror game. One of those is the gas mask that you have to put on whenever you venture into areas of the irradiated surface.

Putting on the gas mask really creates a claustrophic effect and is quite unsettling at times. The gas mask is reliant on filters that you have to keep clean, and it's cracked, and when a filter is too dirty, and Artyom is having trouble breathing, you can hear his breathing become laboured and quicker. It's quite unnerving, actually.

Another nice touch is that Artyom has a journal that he has to pull out - then illuminate with a cigarette lighter - to see what his objectives are. It, again, creates more immersion than just pressing a button to bring up your objectives on-screen. Much of the game takes place in dimly lit, shadowy tunnels and, as you'd expect, a lighter flame can give away Artyom's position to the mutants and humans that inhabit the game world.

The lack of a Heads Up Display - meaning no pointer to tell you which direction to go, no mini-map to identify friend or foe - really adds a lot of atmosphere to the game, but it also means you can sometimes get lost in the dark, labyrinthine maze of the underground tunnels.  Artyom is also equipped with a flashlight and a universal charger, which he can use to recharge his flashlight when it grows dim, and night vision goggles - but you have to take care where you use it as you're completely vulnerable when you do.

Something I liked about the combat was that in the early levels where you are taking on bandits in their hideouts, the locations are illluminated by small fires, but if you switch off your flashlight, you can flank enemies and take them out from behind, which is far more successful than taking them head on. 

The opening hour or so of Metro 2033 is a pretty claustrophobic affair, with missions involving doing things like escorting some fellow survivors down an underground tunnel (which gets ambushed by mutants) on a train cart, protecting your settlement from invading mutants, and taking on bandits with a strange visitor who needs your help. However, once you get to the surface, things pick up, with more inviting locations to explore and more variety.

If there is one thing that is annoying about Metro 2033 it's the shooting mechanic - it just seems to be a little whacked, as ammunition is as rare as hens' teeth and some of the mutants can take two or three rounds before they fall, meaning you can chew through ammo very quickly if you're not careful. When that happens you have to rely on your trusty knife until you can find more ammunition, which is discarded by fallen enemies and found by searching lockers and storage units. Ammunition is also used as currency so you have to think carefully on whether to keep it for a specific weapon or trade it in for a piece of equipment.

So far, though, the post-apocalyptic Russia of Metro 2033 is proving an enjoyable experience. Could this be one of 2010's sleeper hits? 

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