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[Deleted member 17706]

I finally beat this last night. It took me about 10 or 11 hours total, but damn if it wasn't an amazing experience. This is definitely one of the most tense and stressful games I have ever played and some moments were genuinely scary. Metro 2033 is definitely one of my favorite games so far this year and I can't wait to see what 4A does next.

 

[JaxJag]

Just curious, how large is the A4 team?

 

[Bi50N]

Just curious, how large is the A4 team?

About 50 people. They're a pretty small team.

 

[EagleEyes]

About 50 people. They're a pretty small team.

The credits at the end just flew by. Considering that I just finished Mass Effect 2 before Metro 2033, the credits for ME2 were 20 times as long lol. Both are at the top of my list for the year so far though. Goes to show it doesn't matter how many people work on a game as long as they have talent.

 

[Pumpkins]

Well I got past the librarians. A few well-placed revolver shots to the head seemed to do the trick.

Still... ARGH, I totally jumped at one part, I think you guys know what I'm talking about.

The librarians were creepy though... Arrrrgh, it's nasty just thinking about it. :lol

Boy this game sure does get tense...

 

[subversus]

"Frontlines" level was a real pain in the ass level for me. It's hard to find a stealth route in pitch-black darkness (and yes I've maxed out gamma), so I opted out for trial-and-error and I find this approach cheap. But once I passed communists it had become much easier. Actually I passed fascists tunnels without dying, once I got grasp of stealth mechanic. You can come really close to soldiers in crouch mode - they don't hear you. They can see you though, so the closer you get to them, the safer you are (at least in my experience).

And the "turret section" was just wow. Same goes with the next level. The game has become scarier, that's promissing.

Now it's time to fight inertia. People who've beaten the game know what I mean

I really hope it'll sell well, so they can fix some of their design decisions. The game has the potential, especially in stealth part, but they need to make rules more consistent and clear to a player.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

"Frontlines" level was a real pain in the ass level for me. It's hard to find a stealth route in pitch-black darkness (and yes I've maxed out gamma), so I opted out for trial-and-error and I find this approach cheap. But once I passed communists it had become much easier. Actually I passed fascists tunnels without dying, once I got grasp of stealth mechanic. You can come really close to soldiers in crouch mode - they don't hear you. They can see you though, so the closer you get to them, the safer you are (at least in my experience).

And the "turret section" was just wow. Same goes with the next level. The game has become scarier, that's promissing.

Now it's time to fight inertia. People who've beaten the game know what I mean

I really hope it'll sell well, so they can fix some of their design decisions. The game has the potential, especially in stealth part, but they need to make rules more consistent and clear to a player.

That section gets a hell of a lot easier to use stealth in if you purchase the stealth suit, which comes with night vision goggles, beforehand.

 

[JaxJag]

About 50 people. They're a pretty small team.

Yeah, that's pretty impressive considering what level the visuals, small details, voice acting, and pacing that's in the game.

I do think A4 being a small team sort of hurt them with the bugs, cause I ran into a ton of them on the 360.

But other than that, it was a very enjoyable game.

 

[nolookjones]

The credits at the end just flew by. Considering that I just finished Mass Effect 2 before Metro 2033, the credits for ME2 were 20 times as long lol. Both are at the top of my list for the year so far though. Goes to show it doesn't matter how many people work on a game as long as they have talent.

well they seem very good on the art/programming side but could most def use some more game/level designers and animators....

 

[LordPhoque]

How many chapters this game has ?

 

[wormstrangler]

How many chapters this game has ?

7.

 

[No_Style]

Ok, the part with the amoebas is just straight up terrible.

This part was horrendous until I discovered that you could actually kill the things spawning them. I was getting pissed off at the fact that I could outrun the whole section, but the stupid A.I would either die or get stuck and then die.

I just finished the game and I've got to say I was underwhelmed overall. The last sections with A.I partners really soured the experience for me. The Xbox 360 version was pretty in some parts, but down right ugly in others. It was really inconsistent. I also ran into a number of bugs including my preferences save being corrupted, grenades disappearing into the ground if I throw them underhanded and the the fire trigger getting stuck on weapons.

On the plus side, it was damn creepy in certain sections. The stations were some of the atmospheric sections. I really felt the plight of the people.

 

[leng jai]

7.

Wow, I was a fair way into chapter 6 before I returned the game. Honestly I think the game is a rollercoaster ride between amazing and very mediocre. The atmosphere is phenomenal and some of the best I have ever seen in gaming. The graphics range from amazing indoors to so-so when you get outdoors. Sound design is generally fantastic except for the now infamous voices which are super loud no matter where they are relative to your position. Combat was again mixed, some guys did genuinely feel like bullet sponges to me (despite what several people have said here) and the AI is genuinely stupid. However, some of the shootouts were amazing and the stealth tactics worked really well in some levels. Combat with monsters was just a pain, but the same thing can be said about every other shooter with them (Farcry anyone?).

All in all definitely a flawed gem. Will probably pick it up again after a price drop, especially if the DLC is good.

 

[subversus]

That section gets a hell of a lot easier to use stealth in if you purchase the stealth suit, which comes with night vision goggles, beforehand.

well, I think this is one of their game design faults because I wanted to purchase the suit but couldn't find it anywhere. And it really angers me now because some of the sections would be much less frustrating and I would have much more fun if I bought it. Now I stuck with my equipment till the end of the game. Players should have easy access to all options, they shouldn't be hidden if it's not loot.

 

[Warm Machine]

Just finished it. I was very impressed by the visuals which I still think are the best on a console. Every shootout encounter with people was brilliant. Every shootout encounter with mutants was terrible, especially the librarians. The game didn't glitch out on me during play at all but the filters on the gas masks almost put me in some no win situations.

Much of the story was incomprehensible especially concerning the flashbacks/alternate realities but otherwise made me want to keep playing. There are some beautiful visuals and sets that you simply pass by or see for a flash and I was sad I couldn't get to explore them.

Overally I'd give the game a 7/10. VERY happy I played it and happy I bought it. there are maybe only 5 or 6 big action set pieces in the game and all were great but the random glitchly feeling mutant battles brought the game down. The sloppy collision and edge detection in walking around didn't help either nor did some of the bullshit scripted sections where certain enemies just won't die no matter how much fire you throw at them.

If I were THQ and A4 I'd make a quick sequel by recycling all the art and assets and make an "open world" game using the subway map and its tunnels and structure it somthing like Far Cry 2. Cut the mutants entirely and simply focus on exploration and combat with humans/factions. Given the art and tech they have it would likely only take a year to build. This is too good of a world and a setting to leave alone and I would be back with cash in hand shortly if the focus and structure changed. The environment is far too compelling to leave alone.

 

[TheVampire]

Well said old chap!

 

[Mr_Brit]

Sooo.......

Just finished the game. Definetely an underwhelming experience when I factor in the prelaunch hype. Some bits were downright awful, others passable and a few were quite good. Story was a complete dissapointment for me, unlike most I actually enjoy seeing the story unfold in FPSs; Crysis, Halo, Killzone and Call of Duty have all had memorable campaigns (I know this makes me an exception on GAF but I'm sure the majority of consumers do enjoy the story and not just the gameplay as seems to be a recurring theme on GAF these days). The way the story was presented was downright awful, this game was badly in need of more cutscenes when presenting story critical moments and not just having the AI charachters shouting things to you at random times during firefights where you're too busy to even acknowledge the fact that they're speaking and thusly miss lots of critical plot points. The AI was also a complete joke; Halo, Killzone and Crysis seem like games from 2+ generations in the future when compared to this game, this coupled with the fact that 80% of the game was spent fighting those horrible mutants made for a sour experience. I can't imagine that I'm the only one who hated fighting wave after wave of those black things especially near the end where their frequency was bordering on the ridiculous.

On a technical level I don't think any game in history has had so much hyperbole attached to it. GAF made this game seem like the second coming whilst it was infact far from it, the visuals were so inconsistent that it made the experience hard to enjoy. Let me just get it out there: Killzone and Crysis completely triumph over this game in every single department; AI, textures, post processing effects, lighting, sound(specifically Killzone which had great sound design), technical hitches such as clipping, animation and anything else you could think of. Also, why the hell did 4A games use such shitty compression on their video files, the ending was a complete joke with bad colours and macroblocking all over the place.




I'd give it a generous 7/10.

 

[subversus]

unlike most I actually enjoy seeing the story unfold in FPSs; Crysis, Halo, Killzone and Call of Duty

I didn't know these games had the story but I'll defintely check them out. Again. I think the story must be there... somewhere.

 

[Mr_Brit]

I didn't know these games had the story but I'll defintely check them out. Again. I think the story must be there... somewhere.

I know this is basically like admitting I'm a devil worshipper bit it's true I do enjoy the stories in those games and couldn't care less if someone doesn't.

 

[leng jai]

Sooo.......

Just finished the game. Definetely an underwhelming experience when I factor in the prelaunch hype. Some bits were downright awful, others passable and a few were quite good. Story was a complete dissapointment for me, unlike most I actually enjoy seeing the story unfold in FPSs; Crysis, Halo, Killzone and Call of Duty have all had memorable campaigns (I know this makes me an exception on GAF but I'm sure the majority of consumers do enjoy the story and not just the gameplay as seems to be a recurring theme on GAF these days). The way the story was presented was downright awful, this game was badly in need of more cutscenes when presenting story critical moments and not just having the AI charachters shouting things to you at random times during firefights where you're too busy to even acknowledge the fact that they're speaking and thusly miss lots of critical plot points. The AI was also a complete joke; Halo, Killzone and Crysis seem like games from 2+ generations in the future when compared to this game, this coupled with the fact that 80% of the game was spent fighting those horrible mutants made for a sour experience. I can't imagine that I'm the only one who hated fighting wave after wave of those black things especially near the end where their frequency was bordering on the ridiculous.

On a technical level I don't think any game in history has had so much hyperbole attached to it. GAF made this game seem like the second coming whilst it was infact far from it, the visuals were so inconsistent that it made the experience hard to enjoy. Let me just get it out there: Killzone and Crysis completely triumph over this game in every single department; AI, textures, post processing effects, lighting, sound(specifically Killzone which had great sound design), technical hitches such as clipping, animation and anything else you could think of. Also, why the hell did 4A games use such shitty compression on their video files, the ending was a complete joke with bad colours and macroblocking all over the place.




I'd give it a generous 7/10.

Your review reads like a 4/10

 

[adelante]

Your review reads like a 4/10

Lol tell me about it :lol (Also glad that his opinion on visuals isn't a highly popular one)

So far (two chapters away from completion) I'd give the game a very solid 8/10. Whatever flaws the game has is more than made up for in its amazingly detailed world and the atmosphere it brings.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

While I haven't played the console version, I really don't see how anyone could play this game and be down on the visuals. The textures and lighting are simply incredible.

 

[timkunedo]

lol at prelaunch hype. There was no prelaunch hype. Game is awesome.

 

[Slackbladder]

A few questions. Is there a V-Sync option in the video settings or do I have to force it on? Can I alt/tab out of the game? And can I turn anti-aliasing off?

 

[Stallion Free]

I finished up Metro 2033 this week and I came away with mixed feelings so I decided to write up a sort of review. Before I write about the actual game, this is how I played: 1280x800, Very High, DX10, 50-90 FPS, Easy difficulty.

Basically, when the game gets it right, it really gets it right. However, when it gets things wrong, they tend to be really wrong.



Things done right/that I liked:

• The atmosphere. My god, the game was almost worth the price alone for the atmosphere. Easily the best part of the game. Tying into this is the night vision and gas mask which I feel were handled in a very cool way and I loved sequences wearing I was wearing both and I could hear the character breathing as I was creeping through the dark.

• The lighting. Shadows, ambient occlusion, dynamic light, and volumetric light all work together beautifully and make for some stunning scenes.

• The textures. Incredible amounts of detail and consistently excellent. The armor that human characters wore and the creature models looked phenomenal.

• The environment. Apparently I'm not tired of post-apocalypse worlds yet and this one was great. The destroyed surface covered in snow and the metro tunnels were a pleasure to explore.

• The motion blur. Per-object motion blur was used to a wonderful effect on the different creatures you encounter and is a feature that makes Very High settings completely worth it, even if you have to suffer through some FPS drops.

Things were done wrong/that I disliked:

• The creatures. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they were handled so poorly as this happens so often in games. They are poorly animated for the most part (motion blur helps hide some of it), but what is most frustrating is that they can apparently partially clip into you. This makes it incredibly irritating when you are being mobbed by creatures as they leap at you and you can't easily hit them at close range. They also knock the camera when swiping you, which is infuriating when you are trying to clear a mob that has surrounded you. Later creatures aka the Librarians have stupid amounts of health which makes them a chore to fight. There is no defending the amoebas as their segment is also atrocious.

• The stealth. Stealth is completely broken. As soon as you are spotted by one enemy, they will forever be able to find you and all other enemies are also magically able to find you as well. In the Black Station I got spotted and I sprinted to a new area having completely lost the enemies that spotted me and my stealth meter was green. I hid in a dark corner of a fairly open area and the AI followed me into the room and they took cover on entering. Then they began opening fire on me. There is no way they could have known I was there as I was completely hidden and the room was quite large and had quite a few areas. I had been hiding in the area for at least 10 seconds before they even entered the room so there is no way they could have seen me hide. I have also entered new areas under complete stealth after an alert has been set only to have enemies in the new area magically sense where I am without ever having seen me. It's like they forgot to add in a search phase to the AI.

• The level design. For a linear game, some levels are incredibly confusing and the compass does little to help. The apartment building with the radio tower is a perfect example of this. Well done linear game design shouldn't require a compass.

• The environments. While the environments are cool, they quickly become stale. All of the above ground levels look more or less the same and the tunnels become very tiresome. The environments in the game were enough to carry about 4 hours of gameplay without feeling overused, but they get stretched out to 8 hours or so.

• The story. I don't think they could have conveyed the story any worse. It's up there with Modern Warfare 2 levels of confusing. I spent most of the game wondering why hell I was going places. Characters were also really poorly developed and I was left with zero attachment to the main character or any of the characters you travel with. They all feel very generic. This is particularly upsetting because they chose to base the story on a book and books are suppose to have some form of character development. And why is the main character only capable of speaking in the load screens?

• The combat. Human AI wasn't very interesting to fight and creature AI is tedious. While the weapons take down enemies fine, they feel really weak both in impact and sound design. More visual/audio feedback would have helped this a lot.

All in all, I would give the game a solid 7 out of 10. The atmosphere really saves the score from being lower than that. Great for a first effort and I am happy to support the devs (anyone who can craft an atmosphere like this deserves my money). I hope they really knock it out of the park with a sequel/DLC. A lot of my complaints shouldn't be very difficult to improve upon and I feel like there could be a lot of interesting stories told in this universe. Sorry for writing so much, I hope someone appreciates it.

 

[Melhisedek]

Is this game moddable?

 

[subversus]

[Characters were also really poorly developed and I was left with zero attachment to the main character or any of the characters you travel with.

I don't know why but the localisation is not good. I think it can't be really good, since languages and cultural environments are so different. I played the russian version and then watched some walkthorughs on youtube. A lot of words, phrases were lost in translation. For example Bourbon is clearly a former criminal. He speaks like a convict, he uses all this jail slang and sings a popular "blatnaya" song ("blatnyak" is a music jenre popular among criminals in Russia, something like gangsta rap but with different flavor). Also he uses some forms of words that can't be adequately translated. For example "vodka" in english is vodka only, and in russian it can be "vodyara", "vodochka" and so on. Every form of this word mean some different shade of emotion. And you can't translate this emotion since there is only "vodka" in english.

So when I watched Bourbon on youtube he was just a bland, almost faceless companion. When I played the russian version he was a charming (in his own way) criminal. And

Spoiler

when he died I was actually dissapointed since I like him being around.

 

[subversus]

Is this game moddable?

No

 

[The Dutch Slayer]

About 50 people. They're a pretty small team.

wow amazing, Remedy is 60 ppl and they have not shipped a game since the end of 2003.
Great game btw playing it on the pc and love it so far. Atmosphere is most by far the best thing of the game.

 

[subversus]

A few questions. Is there a V-Sync option in the video settings or do I have to force it on? Can I alt/tab out of the game? And can I turn anti-aliasing off?

Well, I haven't been able to force on vsync.

 

[Rat Salad]

I finished it last night. Got the "crap ending"...though to me I thought it was still decent in its story. I really enjoyed the shooting action,eventhe Ramboish kill now ask questions later type gun play against the creatures was fun. Though I sort of wish the Natzi/Russian conflict had kept going. Towards the end of this game they got away from that and instead this reminded me of some junk ripped out of Uncharted with its goofy creature designs in the last level or so. Best looking fps on any console thus far though for me. Everything has so much detail and the lighting system wasn't sacrificed in order to do that. Very creepy game,loved the library sequences,so tense. 8/10

 

[luka]

Well, I haven't been able to force on vsync.

Use D3DOverrider. Total godsend for ATi users.

 

[subversus]

Use D3DOverrider. Total godsend for ATi users.

I'm on NVIDIA.

 

[Stallion Free]

I'm on NVIDIA.

It works with either brand, don't worry.

 

[adelante]

For anyone having trouble with the librarians, I uploaded a video showing how to get through those sections quickly. It's a bit sloppy but you can see how easy it is once you get a handle on how scripted that sequence is.

Librarian Spoilers:

Spoiler

Stand still while they stand and posture at you, back away while they come towards you and keep them in the centre of the screen at all times. If they get aggressive (because they got too close, you attacked them or you looked away) then just run into the next section. Each librarian will stay in their own "room" and you'll never have to deal with more than one at a time.

WARNING: Chapter 5 gameplay spoilers in the link!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrs0LOYDvJU

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuk you made it look so easy!!! Been playing on Hardcore and it felt like a personal victory when I took one of them down! HARGH Managed to creep past the sleeping ones undetected though, but damn if that whole fuckin chapter wasn't the most intense experience I've had in ANY game.

It's 5am here and I've just spent the past 6hrs completing the rest of the game. Got the crap ending, which I assume was the result of me

Spoiler

not pushing the guidance system off the edge in time? Because I tried to nudge or shoot it but it didn't move an inch. Or was it because I shot that creature dude as he tried to reach for the guidance system? lol

Nevertheless I reloaded the last checkpoint and did what was required for a good ending. Got both achievements...so goddamn exhausted, will probably post some impressions later...

 

[luka]

It works with either brand, don't worry.

Yeah I was just pointing that out because ATi's "vsync always on" option hasn't worked properly in ages.

 

[kamspy]

Little help GAF.

The widescreen FOV thing was fixed for me, but I installed Windows 7 and now it's back how it was. Sometimes it will fix itself, I can tell when it boots up to see if the 4A games logo is in a square box or rectangle. But now more often then not it's in a rectangle.

Sometimes it even fixes itself after I die and reload. Sometimes it fixes itself after I look at my watch. Very wonky.

Yeah, I changed the FOV around in the steam users folder, the app data folder and everywhere else. The problem persists if I change the FOV or leave it default. I even deleted Metro and reinstalled it from the disc to I could be sure it updated again. No luck. Tried updating drivers. Rolling back drivers. Using driver sweeper in both applications. No luck.


Is anyone else having this problem?

amd 955
nvidia 275
4gb ram
7 x64

 

[theMrCravens]

Currently halfway in chapter 6.

Apparently you can buy armor in this game, but it seems I missed the merchant.
Pretty sure I talked to everyone in each town so far and never seen any armor for sale.

 

[lorebringer]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuk you made it look so easy!!! Been playing on Hardcore and it felt like a personal victory when I took one of them down! HARGH Managed to creep past the sleeping ones undetected though, but damn if that whole fuckin chapter wasn't the most intense experience I've had in ANY game.

Yeah the first time through was definitely up there for tension. I nearly crapped myself when one of those things popped up directly behind me without any sort of audio cue at all. I kind of feel like the whole game is made up of moments that really shine the first time, but become very transparent after you've seen them. I'll need to sit down for a full replay soon and see if it holds up the second time around.

 

[PEZIX]

Just beat the game.. Now my experience with it..

1st hour: hmmm.... so many twins and triplets in russia

2nd hour: Eh a surplus of ak-47s and I get a cowboy pistol and a pee shooter,.. cool

3rd hour: That demon is prolly not but 100ft away and I cant hit that bitch(bourbon)...

4th hour: Whaoo... I am a poor russian ninja and ILL FUCK YOU UP DOOD!!

5th hour: AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH RUN FOR MY LIFE THIS SHIT IS FUCKIN SCARY!!

6th hour: WHAT!! Bring it you mutant punk ass bitchs I AM ARTY THE RUSSIAN HAMMER!!

7th hour: I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOIN ON BUTS ITS AWESOME!!!!

8th hour: AAAHAHAHAKBGASDJHOTH!!!!! BEST SHOOTER SINCE KILLZONE 2!!!!! YES!!

End Game: Must play SEQUAL!!!.. NEED SEQUAL!!!.. That game was awesome like road head... Good job A4!!

 

[luka]

pee shooter?

 

[Pumpkins]

6th hour: WHAT!! Bring it you mutant punk ass bitchs I AM ARTY THE RUSSIAN HAMMER

:lol :lol :lol

So awesome.

 

[WHOAguitarninja]

Having finished the game, and also just finished the new STALKER both within the past few days, I gotta say that I think Stalker remains the king of atmosphere by a substantial margin. The game was still awesome though.

I just hope everyone that enjoyed this for its atmosphere goes and picks up STALKER also if they haven't already. Call of Pripyat and Shadow of Chernobyl (with complete mod) are both fine as your first game in the series. I actually think plot wise it may be more satisfying to play CoP first, and then go back to SoC.

 

[Zenith]

Question: I am at D6 and I am being showered in military grade ammo. Am I right in thinking there are no more shops and I'm supposed to use it against enemies now?

 

[adelante]

Don't think its that much of a spoiler so I'm gonna say.....yes.

 

[Scipius]

I actually think plot wise it may be more satisfying to play CoP first, and then go back to SoC.

Playing CoP before SoC would ruin the major plot twist in SoC; CoP is the epilogue after all.

Other than that, yes, from the impressions I've read here, people who liked Metro 2033 should definitely check out STALKER (and those that didn't should probably never even go near it...)

 

[LordPhoque]

Currently halfway in chapter 6.

Apparently you can buy armor in this game, but it seems I missed the merchant.
Pretty sure I talked to everyone in each town so far and never seen any armor for sale.

So did I it seems. Are you sure about this ?

 

[Zenith]

So did I it seems. Are you sure about this ?

when you get off the trolley and whatshisface goes into the office to speak privately to the Captain, and you're stuck in reception next to a bullet/guns seller, behind you is a guy with some armour next to him.

then follows the scene where they summon the council.

 

[LordPhoque]

then follows the scene where they summon the council.

What ? I was automatically sent to

Spoiler

the library

after that.

 

[Zenith]

What ? I was automatically sent to

Spoiler

the library

after that.

realy? I remember it as being you arrive in the big central station you've been heading to the whole time that looks gigantic but you're fenced off in a little bit. then the guy you're with (Khan?) walks down a narrow stretch and goes in a door on the right.