E3: Metro: Last Light

[Sarah LeBoeuf]

E3: Metro: Last Light

Go underground.

This isn't going to be a very popular opinion, but I am really tired of gray and brown shooters.

It's not that I dislike all shooters. In fact, there are several first- and third-person shooters that rank high among my favorite games of all time. But at E3 this year, these supposedly epic shooters with nothing but endless shades of gray or brown did absolutely nothing for me.

Well, I suppose Metro: Last Light is a little different. It's gray and brown.

Perhaps I'm being a little unfair, so let's go back to the beginning. Metro: Last Light is the follow-up to Metro 2033, which received mixed reviews but was praised for its story and environment. Last Light picks up a year later in post-apocalyptic Russia, where humanity appears to be non-existent, abandoned cars clog up roads long since traveled, and the only sign of life above ground are the demonic creatures flying around.

The world above is very gray, very depressing, very lifeless. It's nothing but the ruins of the society we once knew. Underground, though, in the metro, things are different. There are still some people down there, still some signs of life. Also, it's brown, not gray.

To be clear, I'm not saying that Last Light is a bad-looking game. It's actually very, very pretty. I just thought that the opening seconds of the demo I saw yesterday didn't do a whole lot to distinguish the game from every other post-apocalyptic shooter in existence.

During the demo, Metro: Last Light was promised to be immersive, intense, and sometimes terrifying, with elements of survival horror and exploration mixed in with the first-person shooting. With an environment as claustrophobic as a bunch of dark subway tunnels, I think developer 4A Games will be able to heighten the suspense beyond what you would expect in a typical FPS. In fact, the protagonist was shown shooting out the lights to use the cover of darkness, which kept soldiers in the metro from being able to see him, but made the area that much creepier. A few stealthy kills were pulled off by creeping around in the darkness before a firefight eventually ensued between Artyom and the enemy soldiers.

As the shootout continued back and forth on two moving trains, I was treated to just a glimpse at the variety of weapons Artyom has at his disposal in Last Light. Rifles, grenade launchers, and chain guns are just a few ways to take down enemies in the metro. After an explosive finish to the train shootout, the demo jumped ahead to give the audience a quick look at one of the new mutants that can be found underground. The horrifying creature was certainly not something I'd want to run into in a dark tunnel.

I like the idea of weapon variety and story-driven gameplay, and I think 4A Games will be able to pull off suspenseful gameplay and a survival-horror type atmosphere in the dark underground tunnels much of the game takes place in. I just don't know how different Metro: Last Light will be when compared to every other shooter in the world that uses the same dreary color palette.

Metro: Last Light will be out in 2012 for the PC, PS3, 360, and WiiU.

See all our coverage directly from the show floor. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/conferences/e3_2011 ]

Permalink

 

[JediMB]

I look forward to this. I don't generally play that many pure shooters anymore, and as a consequence of that I suppose I'm not as tired of the grey/brown as I would be otherwise.

The atmosphere in Metro 2033 is, as one might say, thick as pea soup. On top of that, the weapons are fun to deal with, and the characters are interesting. I just need to decide on how I want to go through my backlog so I can actually finish the game.

 

[Anah'ya]

This makes me cringe. I hardly ever raise my voice in criticism when it comes to the news articles here, but I just cannot help myself here.

To compare Metro (I will not call it a franchise or narrow it down to either of those titles) to "every other shooter in the world that uses the same dreary color palette" is... is...

.. it just pains me. It makes me heart bleed and makes me wonder on how games are judged these days. And by who.

Metro might not have the bright colours of Bulletstorm, but Metro is not cheery. The world of Metro is not Fallout, the world of Metro is not plucked from the bright Enslaved. The world of Metro is meant to be dark, meant to be dreary, meant to look as it does.

First Metro 2033 is torn down due to being reviewed on the 360 and now this.

Excuse me while I patch my bleeding heart.

 

[Manji187]

You will know how different Metro: Last Light is from every other shooter in the world using a similar color palette, WHEN YOU WILL PLAY IT.

Wait a minute OP....did you even play Metro 2033?

 

[Dyp100]

Considering that the first was the first was NOTHING like any other game I've played before...I really got NO IDEA what you're on about.

Also, Metro might be dab in colour scheme occasionally (Though there are plenty of greens, reds and yellows as well as brown and grey) it's got more post-apoc style than something like Fallout.

Seriously, when was the last you played a LINEAR post-apoc game? Especially a one like Metro.

Either way, from what I've seen it looks awesome, can't wait until they post up the e3 footage and 2033 was a great game.

Though, I do like how you seem to be implying the games gonna be meh because it's not super magical rainbow land.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Metro fans definitely seem to come up in arms about Metro 2033 and Last Light...

And considering I'm a very big fan maybe I should be up in arms too.

However I'm too sleepy for all that stuff so I'm just gonna roll with Last Light is going to be epic

I loved Metro 2033, I loved the book, the Last Light trailer was artsy and brilliant and it captured my attention immediately.

Go Team Artyom!

 

[AJax_21]

OT - I think criticizing Metro 2033 for having a dreary, depressing, gray, lifeless color palette makes about as much sense as criticizing Mario Kart for having a colorful, child-like, happy, bright color palette. They are consistent with the tone of the game, thats what makes them great aesthetic choices, not poor ones. You may of had a point if you'd used as an example a game which had a gray/brown color palette that didn't fit in with the tone of the game.

Thank you!

@OP

Honestly, what did you expect to see in a game set in post-apocalyptic Russia where remnants of humanity have fled the surface in fear of radiation, mutants and god knows what else? Rainbows and butterflies?

 

[fozzy360]

I'm going to have agree with some of the posters in here. Criticizing a game because of a color scheme without realizng that the color scheme is consitent with the game at hand is unfair, to say the least. Metro is a bleak, bleak game. It doesn't aspire to give the player a happy-go-lucky experience. It creates a harsh world for the player to muck about it in. That's the point of the game. The color goes hand in hand with the tone of the game. I just can't understand how the tone of the artivle is rather dismissive while failing to realize the simple truth that Metro is meant to look lifeless.

Trying not to flame, but I just had to defend Metro against this. Seemed unfair.

 

[xxcloud417xx]

OP needs to start reviewing Mario games... If you're not the type of person that knows how to distinguish shooters for more than just color schemes you should not be reviewing them. It's like bringing a friggin hillbilly to a wine tasting... what a waste.

 

[TheSaw]

Didn't like your tone boy at the start.

Can't help but agree with this.

As someone said above.
What do you expect from a game which had an apocalypse happen?
You're not gonna find rainbows and sunshine after everything on the surface either died or became a mutant.

 

[Kilgengoor]

Well, it seems like I'm a little late for the discussion, but I think the OP is right within the subject at hand. Let me explain: In my opinion mrs. Leboeuf thinks Metro is a neat promise AND she too thinks gray and brown shooters are very tiring. And I can understand why she says that, because if I'd been at the E3, I'd have to sit through

Spoiler: Every. Goddamn. One. Of. This. Games.

(courtesy of Cracked.com)

And not only this year, but for what I'm sure are 5 straight E3's full of grit, dust and steel. And I could understand you have to smear a big handful of dark paint on everything in modern war games because oo it's so realistic, but Metro has some interesting mechanics that could benefit of a less cookie-cutter art design.

I know it's an artistic choice. I know it gives the game its personality and I know it sets the mood and whatnot, but really: it's not the only way to do things. Borderlands taught us that you can give color to a desert, you can see hints of color in the apocalyptic world of STALKER and I believe that even if you want to keep your game dark and moody and use shadows as a gameplay mechanic there is no law against using colors strategically. Fire and flares are red, throw some incendiary at those bitches, use bright colors to mark the brief struggling pockets of civilization, throw some color on the walls of some places as if they were intact instead of covering everything in a layer of grit. Even FEAR isn't afraid of using light and colors to some measure when Alma is not around (thinking of the first game and Extraction Point), and I don't think it ever worked against it.

I'm actually pretty stoked about this game, and I'd really like to see it work all of its issues out. I haven't played the first game because even though there's been some awesome sales it's too GPU intensive for my little love of computer, and I'm not sure if the game is worth the 30-40? I'd pay for it on console, what with the bugs and the economy system and everything I've read about it. I honestly hope it comes through and I could maybe buy the two of them.

Oh, and is this the most annoying trailer, ever or it is just me? Seriously, I want to see some game, enough with the damn flashes.