Metro 2033 Redux

This was my first time playing 2033. I played Last Light some years ago but decided to pick both Redux versions from Gog and play both. The game looks great, 4A knows how to make a good game engine and it shows. shooting mechanics are solid and story is interesting with good characters. The enviroments are interesting and there is nice variation from dark tunnels to bright city enviroments. If i have to point out some minor negatives they would be: -overused lens flare and more so the fact that there is no way to turn it off -very few graphics options -the main character cannot speak even tho he talks in loading screens, it feels like strange design choice. It's never explained why he can't talk, even some npc's joke about it few times.

Metro 2033 is near perfectly paced and narrated but that's about it. While graphics are still nice to look at, the gameplay is not only very linear but mostly on rails literally or you are ralleyed through the scenery by an invincible NPC that sometimes also activates scripted events while you are not there. Half Life 2 or F.E.A.R. were also extremely linear but you rarely felt it, unlike here. There is basically no player freedom. The sections (not levels) where you are allowed to proceed on your own are very small, showing their ugly console-limited origin. Though the stealthing is quite fun, reminding me of Far Cry 3, even when the level design is very simple. What little exploration (more like straying 20m from the given path) there is, is about always rewarded with ammo, NV-googles, filters, even better weapons, which is very satisfying. But you must be quick or you run out of filters for your gasmask. This games does not like you to linger. Then there are the scripted events and the terrible turret/ Mutant defense section that often also fail to communicate what you have to do. Leaving you replaying that sequence over and over and over again until you find out what to do - the 2033-Version of a boss fight. Fighting Mutants is really at the worst though. If they get near you - and they often do because of swarming - they jump around like a monkey on drugs, hurling their arms like a slot-machine. This looks so funny it destroys the dark mood the games tries to build so carefully. The only chapter I really _enjoyed_ was D6, that was perfect. A hint though: when you get to the flamethrower - hold on to it! But even with all this I see the labour of love the devs put into it and even updated the original to the Redux version. I respect that and after you played 2033/LL you can totally undestand why the devs _had to_ go open world in Exodus.

If you want a story book where you have zero influence and can not "skip" then this is for you. If you want an open word survival stalker/fallout kind of scenario then it is not for you. While the story and graphics are simply amazing everything else, from a game perspective, is lacking but two. The weapons are quite interesting as is the AI. That is the only gaming aspect this has going for it. I think too many people play 10 minutes of the game and rate it based on the graphics. Unfortunately I cant rate it on that alone. Without getting into details and screwing around with files constantly here are the negatives. 1)One save and one save only. I could go on for hours why this is just stupid. 2)Cant skip cut scenes etc so you are doomed to watch them perhaps dozens of times in hard areas. 3)If you cant get past it the then the story ends. Its like having a book that if you cant skip page 3 to 4 because 4 wont exist until you read 3. Most lame aspect of the game. 4)Cut scene deaths and disruption in the worst possible spots. 5)Must run as administrator for it to work properly. 6)Relegated to a path to follow everywhere. Not open world. This game falls epicly short in user empowerment. The number one rule of creating something such as a game. This is its biggest failure. I really wanted to like this game and I would have had it been written more like a game rather than a book in which you are forced at gun point to read it as the author wants and as a user you have zero choices. This last part is the number one rule in my book when rating a game and the only way this game could violate that rule further would to have been DRM and pulled encrypted configurations when on line and prevented even binary hacking. If I find a way around these failings Ill up the rating but considering the effort they put into handcuffing you and my time available Im more likely to request my money back.

I used to be a cautious gamer. I would take my time, scout everything and then, finally, move on. This will not work in Metro 2033. You must be quick, you must be decisive. And if you waste time being cautious, you will suffocate. This game cured me of my cautious gaming and it will cure yours.

What matters most in an FPS? The gunplay. Metro 2033 has good gunplay. There are only around a dozen weapons but they're all respectable, and you'll find your hand is forced to switch between them so you don't expend all of that ammo type. One of the first weapons you get is a revolver, and it lasted me to the end of the game with a couple upgrades attached. The in-game economy is pretty good. At the start you have to be very conscious about military rounds (the currency), then as you progress it gets more generous, to the point you will think about loading your gun with them. It feels rewarding to explore the levels and find an ammo cache. There will be sections with a big firefight, after which you will expect to be handed plenty of ammo to restock. But you will come up empty-handed and be forced to conserve. Great design IMO. Knocked off some points because of the enemies. There are lots of enemy types (great!) but they're mostly one-and-done. Towards the end, there's a short section (3-4 minutes) where there's a new enemy. It's interesting because it's fast but the flashlight hurts it and causes it to retreat. Then it never reappears. I swear 75% of the time, you're just fighting nosalises (the basic enemy type). Overall it's great fun, an FPS romp that kicked off a good series.