Metro 2033 is a single player first-person shooter (FPS) that incorporates
role-playing game (RPG) elements. Based on the best selling novel of the same
name by Dmitry A. Glukhovsky, it tells the story of humanity's struggle for
survival in the forgotten tunnels of Moscow's underground subway system
following a devastating nuclear war. Features include mission play combining a
unique mix of firearm and melee combat, an economy revolving around ammo and
items and an experience system which takes each of your actions into account,
leading to a variety of possible alternate endings and extended replay value.
Story
The apocalypse came by our own making, with a single blinding flash, followed by
a firestorm of sheer flame. It took just an hour and a half to wipe out 3.5
billion people and 10,000 years of civilization, plunging humanity into a
hopeless Dark Age. In the aftermath, survivors in Moscow moved underground and
slowly organized into small socially and politically independent tribes,
clustered around the city's deep, subway stations. The young man, Artyom is
among them. A member of the first generation of children raised in the
subterranean world following the apocalypse, he has only the vaguest
recollections of life above ground, and contact with other humans beyond those
that inhabit his local station, "Exhibition," but he will have to face new
experiences with both if humanity is to survive. Mutated beasts known as "Dark
Ones" are spreading throughout the isolated stations of the Metro, and Artyom
has been chosen as the messenger to spread the news of the new peril.
Gameplay
Metro 2033 is a single player, FPS that also incorporates RPG elements. Action
played out in the role of young Artyom, is mission-based and because the game is
based on the Glukhovsky novel, the storyline veers away from the anti-Russian
stance that is often seen in post-apocalyptic stories and video games. Here the
Russian characters are humanity, and fight every day against the terrors that
nuclear war has wrought. These terrors come mostly in the form of mutants known
as "Homo Novus," who have invaded the Underground, as well as frightening
alien-like paranormal creatures that haunt the gameworld. The game hero, Artyom,
has a certain immunity to the latter and a talent for dispatching the former,
which together make him a very popular choice to be sent on missions. Combat
throughout utilizes a mixture of improvised firearms and melee weapons.
Balancing the use of these two is important because in this world of violence
and scarcity, ammunition plays the duel role of protection and commodity.
Throughout the game players will use ammo as much to purchase items and upgrades
at different stations visited, as they will use it in combat. In addition, the
choices made by players throughout the game register as "Enlightenment Points,"
or the lack of them. Accumulated totals of these register as a variety of
constructs such as curiosity, kindness and prejudice resistance that can and
will lead to alternative story endings. Together with its unique inventory
management system, engrossing storyline and replay value based on morality,
Metro 2033 is sure to be a game not to be missed by FPS and RPG players alike.
Key Game Features
- Menacing Atmosphere – Incorporating shadows, ambient sounds, lighting effects
and claustrophobic scenes to create feeling of tension and fear
- DX10 and PhysX delivers the best graphical detailing of a post-nuclear setting
to date.
- Visceral engagement with the game world - fall down broken steps, tunnel race
etc.
- Diversity of Combat – Combat is brutal and intense, fought with improvised
weapons or hand to hand in the half shadows.
- Enlightenment Points – Proprietary engine takes into account your actions and
analyzes them (curiosity, kindness, prejudice resistance) leading to alternative
story endings.
- Play through the game using either over-the-top shooter, or calculated stealth
techniques, altering the game play style in the progression of the game.
- Time of No Return – The length of being in hostile environment on the surface is
limited, players should take that into account when venturing above ground.
- Inventory Management – Use ammo to take down the opposition or save it to
purchase upgrades. Cartridges replace cash, Gadgets are gold (gas masks).
- RPG Light Story – Encounter NPC’s via engaging and trading activity across the
various ‘Station States’, each with its own social system.
Specifications:
- Platform: Xbox 360
- Format: PAL (region free, will work on NTSC and PAL systems)
- Players: 1
- Memory: 2 MB to save game
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