Been a few days now since I completed the game (Hardcore difficulty, xbox360). Found some free time...thought I'd share my long ass impressions so read 'em if you want. It's relatively spoiler-free......I think.
Anyway...simply put, the most atmospheric game I've ever played. Metro's a palpitating mix of depressing settings and harrowing experiences, and yet I feel the urge to play through it once more. And fuckin hell, I'm not even a big fan of horror games! (Bought Bioshock after playing the demo several times, couldn't be bothered to even start playing actual game....yep, that's right)
The game has its chunk of flaws, particularly in terms of animation. Creatures move quite convincingly at a distance but when they really close, they seem to animate awkwardly. I'm also not a big fan of characters or creatures suddenly succumbing to ragdoll physics when they die with no signs of writhing, struggle or hit reaction in between.
So enemies do feel like bullet sponges when they don't fly back from a point blank shotgun blast; it's like your bullets don't affect them physically but are just slowly depleting them of their soul before they eventually slide down to the ground hahaha
It's also easy to understand why people would bring up that "bullet sponge" issue because of how much (deliberately) less effective post-war bullets are in the game. But again, I feel that this concern could've been alleviated if enemies react properly (like how in ModernWarfare, enemies trip when you gun them down as they're running...I don't recall seeing this type of behaviour in Metro2033). But that's about the only gripe I have with it's gameplay because I never had any problems with the actual combat.
But damn if this game doesn't have the most detailed and finely crafted setting I've ever played in. The layout and design of each metro city appear very believable with its own market, sleeping quarters, toilets, kitchen, bar, etc all populated with inhabitants (and quite generously in fact; heck you don't see this amount of NPCs in the towns of some RPGs).
Some rooms are deliberately inaccessible but they provide you with a glimpse into their way of life that the developers have quite convincingly carve out amidst such an oppressing setting. In large part, the multitude of light sources and the individual shadows they cast help bring out a certain visual depth not found in other games set in similarly gloomy environments, where rooms are usually lit by a single yet strong source of light as opposed to the several gas burners, oil lamps, electrical lighting and campfires, all working together to set the mood for an area. Sometimes you'd venture into poorly-lit parts of a settlement and bump into a stressed-out guy sitting in a dark corner, or those things that at first looked like random shelves but are actually beds because some dude's actually sleeping there!
It's fairly obvious I could go on forever about the visual nuances and other details but I'll just list a couple more I that I haven't brought up yet hehe:
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Was in a firefight against some dude in the street littered with abandoned cars and we were separated by one vehicle. Our shots at each other kept hitting the car door that's in between us, causing it swing back and forth with every bullet hit. Fuckin' awesome...
- The torchlight from fellow NPCs' helmets are not as strong as your own but they do cast shadows of objects in front of them, nice touch
- Water bodies reflecting objects almost accurately, but the reflective texture seems to be rendered only at a fixed distance in front of you; end result is the immediate part of a water pool that's without the reflective surface looks too transparent, invisible at times lol
- Amoeba thingies generate their own lightsource and cast proper shadows of nearby objects that they slide by, pretty cool. I could easily see other developers opting for a simple glow texture to imply objects emitting light but not with 4A, cos their engine's awesome.
- I've highlighted this before but the dulled and muffled sounds of distant combat is freakin cool.
Then there's the story. Narrative felt like a bit of a mess to be honest. I mean, the pacing's fine (city sections are nicely spaced out; they provide a good breather from intense areas that precede them, and having a whole squad with you near the end was a nice "reward" I thought) but I was never clear on the overarching plot or your general purpose beyond just looking for Miller. The whole experience was strung together by your immediate objectives and story bits fed to you during load times. Towards the end I had formed my own judgement that the Dark Ones weren't necessarily evil. It felt like I was playing a confused and naive young Artyom but I suppose that's the whole point. Because throughout the game you're constantly being guided by the more experienced adults and you do feel the need to keep close and listen out for any instructions. Save for those segments where you're left alone...and man, are they plentiful.
Not every situation has to be dealt with a firefight because that would be a bitch, no thanks to the brutal circumstances that the game puts you in (weak ass bullets, enemies with armor, goddamn hulking librarians that just won't die, flying demon thingies that swoops down on you when you're in the open, etc). And for the most part there's a clear main path to take. BUT MAN, if I have to take a slight detour and sloooooowly creep my way undetected to that ammo clip that I see in the distance, I FUCKING WILL. I really LOVE how option to play stealthily is available and it's not as simple as dealing with being seen in light either (though that can be tough).
I was saw a door laid down at the foot of some staircase like a ramp and expected it to creak if I walked up on it. Yep, it did. There was this hole on the floor that led to the bottom level of a building but I was afraid I might break that table directly below and make a loud sound when I drop down. Fuckin hell that actually happened. The fact that the world is littered with "decorative" elements that double up as potential traps only because game's engine is versatile enough to have them exhibit realistic physics is freakin cool and further testament to the developer's attention to detail.
It really does pay to take your time with this game because of its brutally detailed nature that might leave some players overlooking certain things. Like that guy selling the stealth suit for instance; doesn't really look like he's running a shop, just standing in a corner with his few "merchandise" placed on the floor, could've easily thought they're his own equipment but hey, that's post-apocalyptic underground barter for ya! hahaha I can't recommend this game enough. Rent or buy...everyone's gotta experience it at least once, even if it's on Easy difficulty. Really looking forward to what 4A have up their sleeves now, if plans of the DLC doesn't fall through.