Nuclear Winter

So I say to Mike I says "what's the story with this Metro 2033 game?"

And so he lends it to me.

Oh, son. This game is like a first person shooter for the OCD ultrarealist with no connection to realism.

But it is fun. Give me a couple more days with it and I'll put together something a little more developed.

Here's a quick Coles' notes version.

The game, based on Dmitry Glukhovsky's novel of the same name, is set in a post-apocalyptic Moscow. The player guides young protagonist Artyom through this bildungsroman into the Metro tunnels that snake below the city's bombed-out streets to reach new Metro stations. Or... towns. Well, people live in them? So, maybe it's just like real-life today Russia? But maybe nicer.

Anyways, stealth's a big part of the game. Sneak around, shoot out lights, don't step on those broken plates (for real! so modern!) or those nazis might hear you. The weapons have a fun, junkyard feel to them. Currently, I'm enjoying the air-rifle that you can overpump to the point that it will put a ball-bearing through a monster's chest cavity.

The game also loads up the controller enough options to have almost every possible button combination mapped out. Seriously, there is a command to do almost everything. But, it's fun and adds to the atmosphere that not only do you have a flashlight and gasmask, but you have to wind up a dynamo to power your light and conserve filters for your mask. It's currently my favourite hobo-simulator on 360.

Jokes aside, I'm enjoying Metro 2033 a lot. The game is atmospheric, scary where it needs to be, competent at telling an interesting narrative, and well-designed enough to keep you playing.

Don't play it if you want anything other than a huge downer, though. It's full of Russians who are all more depressing and gloomy than the real thing.

Major bummers.


Expect a full write-up later this week.

#Metro2033 #GloomyRussians #hobosimulator