Oh, yeah, btw. First review and I wrote this at 4AM 
Be gentle.
Edited. I also played through on the Xbox
Its dark. I'm in a room surrounded by bandits. I check my guns and I've only got 12 revolver bullets left, a shotgun shell, 13 automatic rifle rounds and a pipe bomb. I could use the 30 high quality rounds, but I could save them up and buy a more effective weapon at the station so I don't use so much damn ammo next time... If I make it to the station.
This is my fault for throwing all my knives into locations I can't reach and on top of everything else? I forgot to take off my gas mask to the last monster that attacked me broke it. I need to look for a new one, I also need a filter for it. I know i'll have to go topside eventually.
In the heat of the moment I've forgotten what i'm doing so I check my clipboard. Its to dark to read it so without thinking I use my lighter to let me see it better. Big mistake.
Enemies whistle to eachother that they've found me. I shoot one in the head and make a run for it, throwing my pipe bomb at them for a 4 second head start. Shooting a guard on the way, I make it to a safe room to rescue my friend.
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This is Metro 2033, and it's pretty damn awesome.
I completed it today. The game is the most immersive game i've played for a long time. I even turned off the crosshair. I didn't need it, I wanted to feel like I was in the game. The only thing that ruined the immersion for me was the ammo hud. While this Heads Up Display was minimal, it was still enough to throw me off a little.
Lets get started on the negative notes shall we? The stealth isn't perfect and the guns feel slightly weak. It took 12 shots with the machine gun to take down a bandit. Twelve. How many people do you know who could take that many shots? And guards never have to search for you it seems. Once they know somebody's about, holy shit. That teddy bear that's a slight shadow in the corner? I hope nobody owns it, because its about to be filled with lead and blown the fuck up.
Even the story of the game isn't great. But that seems to be done on purpose. Some beings are "apparently" attacking your home station, and you need to deliver a message and try to stop them. You never get told in full detail. You play through as your character would, not as a player. It is up to you to listen to the story's and piece together what is happening in this game world and its oddly satisfying to do so.
The characters are believable. The soldier who was talking about his life before the nukes hit? I stopped and listened. I actually stopped. There are so many conversations going on at once like in a real station bar that there is bound to be one that makes you stop. I never normally stop, its strange. But I cared. He has real sorrow in his voice. Its simply superb voice acting. You feel like this is what an apocalyptic bar would be like. It draws you in.
The trading system in this game is also great. You are greatly rewarded for looking around and finding high quality bullets, which can then be fired because they deal more damage or traded for equipment. Looking around has its downsides though, as some encounters can make you shit yourself.
After trading, you're dropped into a world filled with terrifying mutants which while severely lacking in variety, still make you jump at the end of the game and bandits who are brutally efficient. You have to wonder how it can get worse. Then you encounter the anomaly's and ghosts.
The graphics for the monsters, are not the best. They work and the graphics are noticeably dumbed down on things you're not really meant to look at, but if you happen to look you will see that the lock on the garage door is just painted on. The game seems to focus more on the effects side of graphics. Dust will make swirl up around your vision, making shapes that sometimes resemble monsters. This in turn makes you even more jumpy when you hear the roars.
The audio for this game just adds to the immersion no matter where you are in game. While inside a station your ears will be filled with Russian music and while being English might make it more appealing to me, the sound is still clear and appropriate. The screams of the monsters really do put a chill down my spine and the sounds of the weapons all seemed appropriate for what you're given.
Scare wise, its not fantastically scary. It has some creepy as hell goosebump inducing moments such as the outside world or meeting the dark ones. It has some psychological horror moments which genuinely made me want to just turn it off and say "screw that" but I wanted to continue on.
Each gun is also appropriate for the setting. You get your basic knife, magnum, machine gun and shotgun, but alongside that you get two different pipe bombs (normal and "sticky", the sticky works by jamming nails on the outside and hoping it pierces the skin) and throwing knives.
The game does have some instant kill traps and quicktime events, but both are fairly minor as long as you keep an eye out. This is an immersive game so i'm assuming they want you to act like the character and be careful as hell. I'm on my second playthrough and loving it, but its a linear story, the replay value is there only if you enjoyed the world and want to see more.
It should last you around 12 hours. I count 8 chapters and 38 levels, so the game really doesn't skimp on variation of where you are and actually does last a fair while.
Its shocking, its beautiful, and its a fight for survival. Its pretty, immersive and has pretty solid gameplay, I say give it a shot.
Be gentle.Edited. I also played through on the Xbox
Its dark. I'm in a room surrounded by bandits. I check my guns and I've only got 12 revolver bullets left, a shotgun shell, 13 automatic rifle rounds and a pipe bomb. I could use the 30 high quality rounds, but I could save them up and buy a more effective weapon at the station so I don't use so much damn ammo next time... If I make it to the station.
This is my fault for throwing all my knives into locations I can't reach and on top of everything else? I forgot to take off my gas mask to the last monster that attacked me broke it. I need to look for a new one, I also need a filter for it. I know i'll have to go topside eventually.
In the heat of the moment I've forgotten what i'm doing so I check my clipboard. Its to dark to read it so without thinking I use my lighter to let me see it better. Big mistake.
Enemies whistle to eachother that they've found me. I shoot one in the head and make a run for it, throwing my pipe bomb at them for a 4 second head start. Shooting a guard on the way, I make it to a safe room to rescue my friend.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is Metro 2033, and it's pretty damn awesome.
I completed it today. The game is the most immersive game i've played for a long time. I even turned off the crosshair. I didn't need it, I wanted to feel like I was in the game. The only thing that ruined the immersion for me was the ammo hud. While this Heads Up Display was minimal, it was still enough to throw me off a little.
Lets get started on the negative notes shall we? The stealth isn't perfect and the guns feel slightly weak. It took 12 shots with the machine gun to take down a bandit. Twelve. How many people do you know who could take that many shots? And guards never have to search for you it seems. Once they know somebody's about, holy shit. That teddy bear that's a slight shadow in the corner? I hope nobody owns it, because its about to be filled with lead and blown the fuck up.
Even the story of the game isn't great. But that seems to be done on purpose. Some beings are "apparently" attacking your home station, and you need to deliver a message and try to stop them. You never get told in full detail. You play through as your character would, not as a player. It is up to you to listen to the story's and piece together what is happening in this game world and its oddly satisfying to do so.
The characters are believable. The soldier who was talking about his life before the nukes hit? I stopped and listened. I actually stopped. There are so many conversations going on at once like in a real station bar that there is bound to be one that makes you stop. I never normally stop, its strange. But I cared. He has real sorrow in his voice. Its simply superb voice acting. You feel like this is what an apocalyptic bar would be like. It draws you in.
The trading system in this game is also great. You are greatly rewarded for looking around and finding high quality bullets, which can then be fired because they deal more damage or traded for equipment. Looking around has its downsides though, as some encounters can make you shit yourself.
After trading, you're dropped into a world filled with terrifying mutants which while severely lacking in variety, still make you jump at the end of the game and bandits who are brutally efficient. You have to wonder how it can get worse. Then you encounter the anomaly's and ghosts.
The graphics for the monsters, are not the best. They work and the graphics are noticeably dumbed down on things you're not really meant to look at, but if you happen to look you will see that the lock on the garage door is just painted on. The game seems to focus more on the effects side of graphics. Dust will make swirl up around your vision, making shapes that sometimes resemble monsters. This in turn makes you even more jumpy when you hear the roars.
The audio for this game just adds to the immersion no matter where you are in game. While inside a station your ears will be filled with Russian music and while being English might make it more appealing to me, the sound is still clear and appropriate. The screams of the monsters really do put a chill down my spine and the sounds of the weapons all seemed appropriate for what you're given.
Scare wise, its not fantastically scary. It has some creepy as hell goosebump inducing moments such as the outside world or meeting the dark ones. It has some psychological horror moments which genuinely made me want to just turn it off and say "screw that" but I wanted to continue on.
Each gun is also appropriate for the setting. You get your basic knife, magnum, machine gun and shotgun, but alongside that you get two different pipe bombs (normal and "sticky", the sticky works by jamming nails on the outside and hoping it pierces the skin) and throwing knives.
The game does have some instant kill traps and quicktime events, but both are fairly minor as long as you keep an eye out. This is an immersive game so i'm assuming they want you to act like the character and be careful as hell. I'm on my second playthrough and loving it, but its a linear story, the replay value is there only if you enjoyed the world and want to see more.
It should last you around 12 hours. I count 8 chapters and 38 levels, so the game really doesn't skimp on variation of where you are and actually does last a fair while.
Its shocking, its beautiful, and its a fight for survival. Its pretty, immersive and has pretty solid gameplay, I say give it a shot.
