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Review: Metro 2033
Do you remember the last time you fell in love with a game? I don't mean "really liked," I don't mean "played a ton," I mean loved. I remember the moment it happened with me and Metro 2033. I hit the Back-button to check my objectives and was surprised to see my character, an everyman named Artyom, pull out a physical clipboard with notes scribbled on it and a built-in compass. Not only did I need to pull the Right-trigger to look at it, I needed to pull the Left-trigger to ignite a lighter because the dim glow of the Moscow subway tunnels in which much of the game takes place wasn't enough to read by. It was a little thing, but such a clear indicator that this was a game Ukranian developer 4A Games had put its heart in to and, in a sense, it gave me permission to put mine in as well. %Gallery-77153%
Metro 2033 'kill or be killed' trailer
Honestly, taking the normal subway can be a pretty terrifying proposition. Those underground trains already play host to all kinds of unsavory creatures, so it's hard to imagine it being scarier. That is, unless you watch the above trailer for Metro 2033. If you thought the regular subway was bad, wait until you experience the subterranean horror that is the post-apocalyptic Russian metro system. Sure, that guy in the trench coat -- the one that smells vaguely of Vienna sausages -- is pretty scary, but he's got nothing on Metro 2033's giant bat creatures, explosions and hideous gray monstrosities. Check it out in the video above. Oh, and if you want that massive automatic shotgun, you'll have to pre-order from GameStop. Metro 2033 hits the shelves beginning March 16.
Valve announces Metro 2033 will use Steamworks
Valve has announced that THQ's Metro 2033 will join the growing list of titles that support Steamworks. The PC version of the game will offer a number of Steamworks features, including Achievements, updates and DLC. So, you can look forward to earning some sweet, sweet cheevos while exploring the creepy environs of the Russian metro system. And trust us, it is creepy. It's worth noting that with Steamworks support now official, it's likely that Metro 2033 will also be joining the ranks of downloadable titles that won't be offered by competing services like Impulse and Direct2Drive. If you're particularly loyal to another online distribution service, maybe a free copy of Red Faction: Guerrilla will help grease the hinges on the old wallet.
Metro 2033 supports DirectX11, as evident in eight new screens
click to enable hardware embiggenation Even if you don't know your tessellation from your displacement mapping, there's no denying that these freshly delivered screenshots of THQ and 4a Games' upcoming FPS Metro 2033 look stunning, thanks to the game's support for "a number of advanced DX11 features with the latest generation of DX11 graphics cards." These effects include the aforementioned tessellation, which produces rich detail from simple 3D surfaces, and some mighty-impressive depth of field camera focus effects. NVIDIA is using Metro 2033 as an example of what's possible with its latest DX11-compliant GPUs, saying that "The 4A Engine is one of the most advanced game engines we've ever worked with, and with DX11 enabled, Metro 2033 is undoubtedly one of the best looking PC games of 2010." We agree -- it is very pretty in action, and the PC version we've seen wasn't yet employing any DX11 voodoo. Also, remember: In Soviet Russia, hardware tessellates you! %Gallery-85836%
Hands-on: Metro 2033
To say that our first experience behind the controls of THQ and 4a Games' post-apocalyptic Metro 2033 was "atmospheric" would be a bit of an understatement. To its credit, THQ picked a pretty neat venue for its hands-on event: A basement room of a San Francisco nightclub that looked kinda like an underground bunker. Pumping it full of fake fog and live DJ tunes, though -- not the most conducive environment for seeing or hearing a game. Still, play we did, and though we only got a chance to take in the first couple of levels, we're getting a good (note: we didn't say "great") vibe from what we'd actually classify as "first-person post-apocalyptic survival-horror." %Gallery-84705%
Metro 2033 will also speak Russian
According to its Facebook page, Metro 2033, the upcoming post-apocalyptic FPS from 4a Games, will feature a full (optional) Russian voiceover track with equally optional English subtitles. Seeing as how Metro 2033 is set in Russia, this option could really add to the game's atmosphere, granted you don't mind reading subtitles -- or hey, maybe you even speak Russian. It's a shame other games developed by foreign studios and set in foreign countries so often neglect authentic language options when localized for North America. Yes, Yakuza, we're looking at you. Since Metro 2033 will offer a Russian language option, we think it only makes sense that this post does, too: По данным Facebook свою страницу, Метро 2033, предстоящий пост-апокалиптические FPS от 4A Games, будут представлены полные (не обязательно) русский закадровый трек с не менее Факультативный английскими субтитрами. Видя, как какой Метро 2033 установлен в России, этот вариант может действительно добавить в атмосферу игры, допуская, что вы не возражаете чтения субтитров -- или Эй, вы, может быть, даже владеющие русским языком. Это позор, другие игры, разработанные иностранными студиями и установить в зарубежных странах часто пренебрегают таким подлинным параметры языка, когда локализована в Северной Америке. Да, якудза, мы смотрим на вас. [Via Gameswire]
Get ready to ride 'Metro 2033' the week of March 16
THQ has announced that Metro 2033 will pull into retail stations on March 16 in the US and Germany, and on March 19 in Europe. Limited editions, which include an "exclusive" in-game automatic shotgun and "four art cards," will be available for both Xbox 360 and PC. Pre-orders at select retailers will also include a Metro 2033-themed Avatar item. Listen, we know what you're thinking: another post-apocalyptic FPS full of brown? However, our initial impressions were positive and THQ's attitude change has put the publisher on a roll. Red Faction: Guerrilla was on several Joystiq editors' "best of the rest" lists for 2009 and Darksiders set a quality bar right at the start of 2010. If THQ keeps it up, Metro 2033 could be another surprise. %Gallery-77153%
Metro 2033 gets box art, new screens
Hey, whaddya know! Metro 2033 apparently does allow players to exit the titular Russian metro system, as evidenced by the smattering of new screens handed over this morning by THQ. Included among them was the requisite box art shot, featuring a strikingly Helghastian face hovering just above the game's logo. Though we've yet to hear an official release date for the title, last week's three full minutes of gameplay and today's cavalcade of screens (including the game box art) give us the impression that we'll hear about that sooner rather than later. In the meantime, we'll be trying to figure out what this giant gun turret is for. %Gallery-83127%
3 minutes of Metro 2033 footage from the future
Given that the entirety of Metro 2033 is set in a bleak, subway-based future -- Moscow's subway system of 2033, specifically -- it's not exactly an outright lie when we say the trailer is "from the future." Sure, it might not have "traveled through time" or whatever your "fact-based" interpretation of our statement was, but it's of a fictional post-apocalyptic world and that's more than enough for us. Heck, there's talk of the next evolution of human beings even. That's about as futurey as you could possibly want, right?! %Gallery-77153%
Impressions: Metro 2033
click to enlarge It's a strange yet true fact that portions of Moscow's underground Metro transit system were built to withstand a nuclear strike and serve as massive fallout bunkers in the event the Cold War ever got incredibly hot. In Metro 2033, based on the novel of the same name by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky, it did. What's left of Moscow's populace has been living in the Metro system for more than two decades, stations have become their own city-states and only the brave (or suicidal) venture to the surface. We recently got to take a guided tour of THQ and 4A Games' adventure FPS based on the novel and came away with a new appreciation for sunlight, fresh air and the ability for plot-driven, scripted first person games a la Half-Life to still surprise us. We'll recount what we saw after the break. %Gallery-77153%
THQ announces 'Metro 2033,' a post-apocalyptic FPS
THQ searched high and low, and found a license that will allow the publisher to bring something new and unique to the gaming scene: a post-apocalyptic FPS. Metro 2033 is in development for PC and Xbox 360 and based on the novel of the same name by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. Ukrainian developer 4A Games' Metro 2033 is set in the subways of a ruined Moscow. You play Artyom, a young man who has never ventured outside of the Vault "Metro Station-City" to which he is loyal. His adventure takes him around the Metro system, home of other factions (some of which are hostile), and to the inhospitable above-ground world.According to Amazon, a new English printing of the novel will be released in February. While we aren't certain that provides a time frame in which to expect THQ's version (currently slated for "2010"), it does mean that readers will be able to totally spoil the events of the game.
Goodie, another FPS announced! But it's not WWII or aliens!
4A Games, a company hailing from Ukraine, is basing the FPS Metro 2033 on a Russian novel written by Dmitriy Glukhovskiy. This FPS is about a post-apocalyptic Russia, well, the underground tunnels of Moscow. Humanity has been all but destroyed, radiation is abundant above ground, yadda yadda. In these underground tunnels of Moscow, where people thought they were safe in their giant nuclear shelter, mutants start appearing.It's pretty early in development, but does the PS3 need another FPS? With Resistance: Fall of Man being crammed down our throats, do we need this one? There seems to be no end to the supply of this game genre on next-gen consoles, almost as if FPS's are the only way to show how realistic games can look. Does every FPS really sell that well to keep them coming like a well-oiled machine? Oh well -- at least this one switches it up a bit. We'll keep tabs on it and deliver more details as they unfold.
