In The Shadow of Despair

“I was born in Moscow. But I remember nothing of that time. I was just an infant when the old world was destroyed in the flames of nuclear fire. I, along with 40,000 others, was saved by retreating to the metro stations deep under the city. Now twenty years have passed and going up into the embrace of an endless winter was left to a few brave souls. The metro was our home, and our fortress against the nightmarish mutants who roamed the tunnels. Still, we never gave up hope that we would return to the surface. But one day a new threat appeared and we found ourselves in a war to determine the very existence of our species.” ~ Artyom, Prologue

Even a city can die. In the ash and ice of forever winter, Moscow, once the crown jewel of mighty Russia, lies still and lifeless. Its skies churn and twist with poisoned black clouds, its once magnificent spires and domed wonders now broken by war and nuclear winter. And its people, once proud and hardy folk, now huddle in the deep and dark underneath, below the poison and the desolation, huddled ’round campfires and memories of a better past. These once proud people, much like their city, are now broken by their fate.

Calloused fingers slide down worn guitar strings, filling the Metro tunnels with soft, despairing music. Old men cling to strong drink and memory to see them through the days, while proud mothers gently rock their children as the song echoes off cracked stone walls and the brittle, time worn wood. Yet still are those lost souls that fight daily against the melancholy dancing in their minds, to wander off into dark tunnels in the dark underneath to never to be heard from again. It is enough to make even the strongest man weep. But even in the deepest despair humanity has to offer, one thing still stands true even against the test of nuclear war.

Life, however dark a destiny it faces, goes on. It survives. Even as empires and nations fall. Even as oceans dry up and the land turns bitter fruit from poisoned skies.

Life goes on.

But if you look deep into the shimmering eyes of the people who must live here, in the deep and the dark underneath of Moscow’s Metro tunnels, you can almost see the question they want, but ultimately fail, to ask.

“Dear God, for how much longer?”

By Fire and Sword

“When we emerged into the ruins of Moscow, I felt both fear and sorrow. But, after a life underground, I also saw strange beauty in the dark skies and frozen landscape. “So, That’s the dead city.” grunted Bourbon “Welcome home, Artyom.” ~ Artyom, Dead City.

For those of you not familiar with the game’s roots, Metro 2033 is based off of Dmitry Glukhovsky’s book of the same name. And for the most part it stays true to the pages albeit with a few noted exceptions (the game’s split endings in particular, and the fact that the book version of Artyom only acutally killed one person in the entire novel). But it should be noted that it captures the atmosphere and mood of the book. And that is the game’s strongest selling point.

Even though the graphics are a bit simple and stiff looking at times, and even though we really don’t get to hear Artyom, who sounds like a weary but exceptionally intelligent man, except during the game’s various loading screens (which is a shame really. You’d figure the “strong, but silent protagonists” would have all but died out by now). It is this extremely depressing, extremely dark and claustrophobic setting that gives this game heart and soul.

And although not everything happens in the undergrounds of the mutant infested Moscow Metro, going topside is just as deadly. This frigid, decayed wasteland of a city harbors just as many dangers as its underbelly. From gun-toting bandits blasted by the world’s radiation, to the mutated flying “demons” that break though poisonous black clouds overhead to sweep up any unsuspecting prey their blackened claws can find. Even the very air can kill you. Which is why you need to constantly check your air filter supply for your gas mask and hope you’ve accrued enough to make it though the level.

There are some morality moments in the game, some a bit frustrating to accomplish on a first try basis (I swear that kid in the tunnel……) but it gives you a decent, if not all-encompassing, thrill to know that you can direct your Artyom to be this gun-toting Angel of Mercy, or this homicidal maniac who guns down anything with two or four legs (game permitting of course).

Stealth is a different beast, however. I don’t know if there was a different team handling the stealth mechanics, but it is the most broken aspect of the game. I can be in complete darkness, using only my night vision goggles and throwing knives and be about 50 feet away from someone I took down and all of a sudden the whole area knows where I am and this once promising stealth level turns into a one-sided gunfight.

*grumble*

Ammo comes in two varieties; pre-war military grade and metro-made. Metro made ammo is, of course, the most common type of ammo (though not considerably abundant…..this is a survival horror game after all). Metro grade ammo lacks that certain kick military grade pre-war bullets have, but if you’re wanting something to fill that empty chamber on your grease gun, then Metro bullets is better than nothing.

Military grade ammo however is sparse but powerful additions to the fight. They can sometimes take down an enemy with a single shot, and are so valued that they can be used in the game as a form of currency. There’s that trade-off however. Do you sell that ammo to get better equipment, med packs, etc. or do you chew through potential cash to make sure you have enough bullets to take down that swarm of Lurkers chasing after you after you decided that you just had to explore that little side tunnel because you just had to see where it led, didn’t you? Curiosity killed the cat. Only in this case the cat is a giant flesh-rending giant mutated mole-rat.

Rangers Lead The Way

“By fire and sword we’ll take back our world…” Miller believed this, and was ready to die for it. But I was filled with doubt. We had already scorched the Earth once. Now the fire was in my hands, and I had to carry it through.” ~ Artyom, Separation

Graphically, Metro 2033 is…..decent, if a bit simplistic. It’s not this immaculate prescient world, but rather this Fallout-esque piecemeal of rusted metal, brittle greying wood and broken, water stained stone. Nothing visually stands out despite the attempt to make the environments as diverse as possible. To be honest everything is a bit too dark to really appreciate how it all looks. Even in the populated areas filled with light and fire.

Certain character animations can look stiff and lifeless looking. Arm and facial muscle movement on certain non-story NPC’s can come across as shoddy. And for a game that’s 90% atmosphere, it can remind you that it’s not a survival horror experience, it’s just another video game.

You’ve got minimal HUD items to worry about (like, *gulp*, a health bar), but you need to pay attention to certain items that you use on a regular basis, mainly to make sure that the head-lamp that you’ll have to use from time to time to see where the hell you’re going stays recharged, which in that department, you’re given a small little “Recharger” you need to hook up to do so. Also, there’s no mini-map per say to clutter the screen. You’re only given a clipboard that checklists your objectives with a compass that points the way. If you’re ever lost (and in the tunnels, that can be easy to do), simply pull up your clipboard/compass to try and give yourself a sense of bearing. The shooting elements are decent, if not perfect, but it gets you by. So no real complaints there.

The only broken element really is the so-called “stealth” experiences. Like I pointed out, you can be 50 feet away from your target, using either a throwing knife or a silenced pistol, in complete darkness using your night-vision goggles to see your way through, have NO OTHER enemy in sight to “witness” your kill, but somehow, this all seeing eye suddenly alerts the entire area of where you’re at and what you just did. *shakes fist.* Damn you omnipotent, all-knowing beings!!

Both the audio work and the story’s narrative is exceptional. Music is fluid and folklorish, the ambient noises that drift and echo down those dark and dusty tunnels ramps up the mysterious and dangerous levels in your brain into the “overdrive” mode. At least to me anyway. Everything sounds organic, which makes the game feel organic. Again, this complements the overall atmosphere of the game, and should be applauded.

And on the storyline front… this just…..this sheer feeling of despair and mystery, foreboding and terror; this game has it in spades. Dead Space? Child’s Play. Resident Evil 5? Hahah, don’t make me laugh….which, uh, I just did. If you’re looking for a game that makes you jump in your seat, grip your controller just a little tighter, clamp your jaw down and feel your heart pound against your chest at the least little bit of noise that seems….oddly out of place in dark and deep of the underground Metros, then this…this is the game you need to experience. If only one time in your life. You won’t find one currently any better in this department. In my opinion anyway.

There’s only one DLC for Metro 2033. The Ranger Pack adds in new weapons, difficulty levels, and 360 achievements. And while it doesn’t add any new chapter or side-story to the game, it does give hardcore gamers a new level of difficulty to overcome.

Final Thoughts: Despite the lack of visual punch, broken stealth elements, and a semi-silent protagonist (barring the game’s various loading screens of course), if you want to be genuinely scared out of your skin, then this is the game to play. The audio, the soft guitar melodies ringing out across the dark, mmm. I could sit there for hours listening to it. And on those two areas the most, Metro 2033 delivers. Though not perfect, I consider it a flawed, but still very good survival horror game. I might actually play this game again in the near future.

If I can somehow find the ten years this game scared off me first……