Metro 2033 Impressions

Bad ass cover art

By Matt Calamia

Of all the games that have come out in the first half of 2010- and there have been a lot- Metro 2033 was one of the top priorities on my list. I loved the thought of playing in a Fallout 3 type setting but as a pure first-person shooter. Unfortunately, the game fell a bit short for me.

First off, this isn’t a review; it’s just my impressions of the first two hours.

The setting for the game is a lot like Fallout 3: it’s a post-apocolyptic Russia. The inhabitants live underground, unable to go above the surface due to radiation. Whenever you do go above ground, a gas mask is needed to allow you to breathe. The mask runs out of air, forcing the player to use it sparingly. Unfortunately, you can’t go anywhere above the surface without the mask on, so I’m not sure the point of having it run out.

The part of the game I was most looking forward to turns out to be one of my least favorite areas of Metro. The enviornment is so dark and bland, even difficult to navigate through at times. You’re given a flashlight, but it doesn’t do much. There were times that the space I was moving through was so dark that I was just walking into a wall, rather than an open space.

The voice acting is terrible in the game. The Russian accents are pure acting, and it is noticible. At one point, you have to speak to a child living underground, who speaks fluent English. Let’s at least have some continuity. Unless he moved from the States to live in this underground ghetto, he should have an accent.

The shooting mechanics are less-than-stellar as well. Hit detection is terrible. There were times that I had enemies right in my cross hairs, and missed the shot completely. The frame right slows down considerably whenever you fire any weapon, making the game look mediocre at best.

When it comes to enemies, there is a mix of human and werewolf-type monsters that come out of no where in packs. The gunfights are fun, aside from the poor hit detection, but the monster fights are just terrible. You’ll be walking, and then suddenly the screen starts turning red and you’re getting flanked from all angles by these monsters.

There are some people who will enjoy the game, especially fans of straight, to the point FPS games. Maybe the imperfections I’m pointing out are a bit much, but they really hinder my experience with the game. The setting is worth checking out, especially for fans of Fallout. Past that, though, there isn’t much here.