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Metro 2033 Review - A Metro 2033 review by n4styn4t3 |
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I finished Metro 2033 last night and I don't know if I've ever been so relieved to be done with a video game. What started as a quirky, albeit somewhat generic, first person shooter abruptly changed into one of the most frustrating experiences I've had in a long time.
Metro 2033 does some things pretty well. It seeks to immerse you in its post-apocalyptic world by integrating your objectives into a in-game clipboard that you look at by pulling the right trigger. Too dark to read it? Use the light from your Zippo by pulling the left trigger. Flashlight batteries dying on you? Pump up the batteries by pulling the right trigger. Oh, and the world outside the metro system is light on air, heavy on contamination, so you're going to have to don a gas mask. If that's not enough, use your gas mask long enough and you'll need to change the filter (or you will find it gets pretty foggy) or even risk damaging it in a fight (forcing you to borrow a new one from a less lucky metro-goer).
If all the little things that Metro 2033 does to keep you on your toes sound neat, it's because they are. The problem is that while 4A Games spent all this time making the world feel real, they forgot to wrap it in a game that is fun, or even one that works.
Level design is unimaginative, but maybe that can be forgiven because of the nature of the game's setting. What can't be forgiven is the terrible shooting. Guns are criminally underpowered and inaccurate, and compounding the problem is the scarcity of ammunition. Enemies oftentimes get caught in a "getting shot" animation for a few seconds and it seems as if all hit detection goes out the window during these times. I found pumping a whole clip into one enemy, having only the first bullet hit him. Of course after he recovers from the first bullet stun, he disposes of me in quick fashion.
The game is replete with stealth sections that can be particularly unforgiving. Miss throwing a knife at a lone enemy and all of his buddies are somehow magically alerted to your presence. Late in the game is one of most infuriating levels I've ever played and if it weren't for my compulsion for finishing games I start, I would definitely have given up.
It's a real shame that Metro 2033 couldn't nail the little things, the simple things that we take for granted in games these days: gameplay that works.
Metro 2033 does some things pretty well. It seeks to immerse you in its post-apocalyptic world by integrating your objectives into a in-game clipboard that you look at by pulling the right trigger. Too dark to read it? Use the light from your Zippo by pulling the left trigger. Flashlight batteries dying on you? Pump up the batteries by pulling the right trigger. Oh, and the world outside the metro system is light on air, heavy on contamination, so you're going to have to don a gas mask. If that's not enough, use your gas mask long enough and you'll need to change the filter (or you will find it gets pretty foggy) or even risk damaging it in a fight (forcing you to borrow a new one from a less lucky metro-goer).
If all the little things that Metro 2033 does to keep you on your toes sound neat, it's because they are. The problem is that while 4A Games spent all this time making the world feel real, they forgot to wrap it in a game that is fun, or even one that works.
Level design is unimaginative, but maybe that can be forgiven because of the nature of the game's setting. What can't be forgiven is the terrible shooting. Guns are criminally underpowered and inaccurate, and compounding the problem is the scarcity of ammunition. Enemies oftentimes get caught in a "getting shot" animation for a few seconds and it seems as if all hit detection goes out the window during these times. I found pumping a whole clip into one enemy, having only the first bullet hit him. Of course after he recovers from the first bullet stun, he disposes of me in quick fashion.
The game is replete with stealth sections that can be particularly unforgiving. Miss throwing a knife at a lone enemy and all of his buddies are somehow magically alerted to your presence. Late in the game is one of most infuriating levels I've ever played and if it weren't for my compulsion for finishing games I start, I would definitely have given up.
It's a real shame that Metro 2033 couldn't nail the little things, the simple things that we take for granted in games these days: gameplay that works.
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