The Metro Series

[Shade]

Is anyone else a fan of these games/books?

Metro: Last Light was released fairly recently, although it was probably overshadowed by The Last of Us as they were released about the same time, this and Bioshock Infinite were the two games I was most looking forward to this year. For me at least I found Last Light a lot more engaging from start to finish, where as Bioshock fizzled out somewhere just after the revolution bit.

If you haven't heard of the series, Last Light is the sequel to 2010's Metro 2033, a linear FPS based on the novel of the same name. The book is set in the year 2033, the world has been destroyed by nuclear war, and the survivors are living in the Moscow underground. The story focuses on Artyom, a young man sent on a mission from the relative safety of his home station for the first time, to the legendary Polis station at the heart of the Metro, to enlist the help of the Order (who are basically the self appointed guardians of the Metro) to help fend off the threat of an emerging new species known only as the Dark Ones.

Metro 2033 follows the same plot, but with the action cranked up a few notches, the first 10-15 minutes or so are pretty breath taking as you wander through your home station, it's clear that a great deal of time and effort has been put into recreating the stations, the developers have done a great job of harnessing that specific brand of bleakness that seems to be unique to eastern Europe (see also the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series). I think my favourite bits of these games maybe exploring the individual stations and eavesdropping on peoples conversations, they are noisy, dirty, and crowded and you really get the sense that people not only survive here but have adapted to carve out a life in these wonderfully depressing former subway stations.

As for the action part of the game, well you get your choice of various home made and pre apocalypse weapons to choose from, bullets are used as currency in the new world, so going into a battle all guns blazing is not always recommended, as you could end up shooting away all your cash. So stealth is an option (even if it is a bit broken, thankfully Last Light fixes this) and along the way you meet some interesting friends, enemies and monsters. I say monsters rather than mutants because it's speculated that they were always there, lying dormant until the nuclear war woke them up.
The metro itself is divided into the following groups:

The Order based in Polis at the centre of the metro. Mostly former military.

Hansa, short for hanseatic league, they are based on the ring line and pretty much control all the trade in the metro.

Communists, based on the red line which runs the length of the metro. They are your common or garden variety Stalinist commies. Complete with its own police state and propaganda attacks!

Nazis, based at reich station. Constantly at war with the commies, suspicious of anyone with slightly larger than average head size. Smaller in numbers than the communists but better organised and equipped.

Bandits, scattered around various points, basically wankers. They are fleshed out a bit in Last Light so they are not so generic bad guys.

Theres also a few neutral stations here and there, such as Artyom's home station.

When your not exploring the dark tunnels of the underground theres a few above ground levels thrown in, and a chance for you to explore the ruins of Moscow, although this being a linear game, there isn't a great deal of places you can go, though each level does have a few hidden areas.
If you ever find the game to be too easy, then Ranger mode is for you! The game strips you of the HUD entirely, and makes supplies and ammo a lot more scarce.

Both 2033 and Last Light operate a moral points system, you get points by helping out the needy, using stealth instead of combat to pass through hostile areas, listening in on certain conversations between NPC's, things like that. Earning enough moral points determines whether or not you can unlock the happy ending.
There is not a great deal of difference between 2033 and Last Light, stealth has been fixed, the watch(you need a watch to see how long is left on your gas mask filters, which you need for the above ground sections) is easier to read, and the combat is a bit smoother, the story picks up where 2033 using the

Spoiler alert

bad ending

[close]

as canon, other than that its pretty much more of the same, and that is fine by me. It also has some great set pieces (the plane, and the river of fate spring to mind) You can also upgrade your weapons now, instead of finding upgraded weapons, so there is some new attachments available.

If that wasn't enough there will hopefully be more single player missions available as DLC sometime in the near future, which is good news as I think the Metro universe has great potential, and some interesting locations yet to be fully explored (Emerald city, Park Pobedy, the St Petersburg metro system) mentioned in the game and books.

Speaking of the books, Metro 2034 is out there, though not yet officially translated into English, and Metro 2035 which will follow the story of Last Light is due to be released soon (although I don't know if it will get an English translation).

TLDR? Well then here is some trailers:

Live action - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mON5WmA5REk

Metro 2033 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc2hhef-Nzo

Metro Last Light - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DUCA8wK9Ls

[Mister Six]

I loved Metro 2033 but felt that it was too linear and zipped through the various factions' areas far too quickly. I would have much preferred to explore all these areas in more depth, and had more to do than just sneak by or kill anyone outside of a hub city, as in the end the only difference between the bandits, Nazis and communists was the sound file that played when they died. Does Last Light build on the world a bit more, or is it just more of the same?

[Bored of Canada]

I enjoyed the first Metro. Not initially. I first played it on Xbox around when it first came out and found it ABSOLUTELY INFURIATING. It was so clunky and the stealth sections were fucking painfully shit.

Then I played it again on PC at full-specs around the time when THQ went bust and they were practically giving all their games away.
Older and wiser, (and the game's stealth sections felt like they must have been patched) I played right through on the hardcore ranger mode and had immense fun.
But the new one never looked that interesting to me. Plus they charged extra to play it on the harder difficulty? I don't want to support that practise.

I was always more of a Stalker guy anyway.

[Ignatius_S]

Will definitely pick it up at some point – has been interesting reading the thoughts of others!

...Plus they charged extra to play it on the harder difficulty? I don't want to support that practise...

If you pre-ordered the game or bought the first batch of store copies (IIRC, the latter was console only), then the Ranger hardcore mode was part of a limited edition.

The decision to do this was made by THQ – after it went bust, the new publisher said that there wasn't time to reverse it without delaying the release. There were also claims that retail were insisting the limited edition release stayed as it was – they insist on pre-order bonus malarkey and the amount already ordered was based on that limited edition.

How much the new publisher's hands were really tied, I can't say, but the Ranger hardcore mode being part of the limited edition and not the standard game, was announced about half a year before the game's release. There was quite a lot of negative reaction at that time, so the new publisher would have known that this wasn't popular at all. I'm not sure when it became available to pre-order on Steam but suspect it would have roughly been around the same time as the console versions, which was fairly close to the actual launch and that's when there was a lot more negative reaction.

Incidentally, although this mode was available in Metro 2033 as a free download for the PC version , but was a paid download on the Xbox 360 and IIRC, this was the only way Microsoft would allow it.

[Shade]

I loved Metro 2033 but felt that it was too linear and zipped through the various factions' areas far too quickly. I would have much preferred to explore all these areas in more depth, and had more to do than just sneak by or kill anyone outside of a hub city, as in the end the only difference between the bandits, Nazis and communists was the sound file that played when they died. Does Last Light build on the world a bit more, or is it just more of the same?

The game is still very linear although the various factions are all fleshed out a bit more, I can't say for certain but I'm sure there's more hidden areas to explore, some have a few nice/creepy surprises. There is a bit more distinction between the communists and Nazis in Last Light, one part of the plot concerns a war brewing between the two, with the focus mainly on the Reds. Stealth is a lot better so you have more opportunity to eavesdrop on hostiles and you get a bit more back story.
You can also collect Artyom's diary pages which are scattered around the environment each gives his thoughts on the events up until that point. (These are separate to the ones during the loading screens)

The whole mystical side of the Metro is touched upon again and Khan from the first game is a more central character this time. Miller, Ullman, and Andrew the Blacksmith all make appearances. Also there some new single player missions out next week, where you play as different characters. Info:

The 'Faction Pack' includes three original single player missions, each casting the player as a different specialist from the warring Factions. Returning to some classic locations from Metro 2033, these missions feature new weapons, the return of a truly terrifying mutant foe, and offer three distinct gameplay challenges...

• As a Special Detachment Sniper of the Redline, players must infiltrate a heavily guarded Reich Outpost at night, under the cover of a deadly radioactive storm...

• ... before defending the Frontline as a Reich 'Heavy', armed with some of the most devastating weaponry found in the Metro.

• Lastly, players take the role of a Polis Ranger in training, tasked with exploring the vast Library complex for artifacts and relics. Salvage can be exchanged for ammunition, filters and hazard suits allowing ever deeper exploration into the Library. Rangers are advised to light torches and leave a trail of lights so they can find their way back to the base before their precious oxygen runs out...


We will also have developer blogs for each DLC to give some more insight into how it was made, which will appear on our website on Friday (probably) for the Faction Pack.

If you want to wait and see if it's worth getting, reviewers have season passes so if you are lucky they will take the time to review the DLCs. Not like there is anything else for them to do in the Summer!

We'll also have trailers. Good sweet old video.


Some more info about the other DLCs (these will be released over the course of 60 days following the Faction pack):

• The 'Tower Pack' presents a unique experience for seasoned Metro gunslingers – a challenge based game mode, with online Leaderboard support, as players fight their way up the combat simulator known as The Tower

• The 'Developer Pack' boasts a fully stocked Shooting Gallery, the AI Arena and Metro Museum... And a bonus solo mission – The Spiders' Nest – offers some new tools for dealing with an infestation of the skittering Spider mutants [Note: yes a separate level entirely dedicated to SPIDERS]

• Lastly the Chronicles Pack will feature original single player missions that cast the player as three of the game's standout characters – Pavel, Khan and Anna – and explore their side-stories away from Artyom's adventure

So looks like there will be a chance to do a bit more exploring, and a return to the dreaded library.