| Metro 2033 |
|---|
 |
| Developer(s) | 4A Games |
|---|
| Publisher(s) | THQ
Deep Silver (Redux) |
|---|
| Director(s) | Andrew Prokhorov |
|---|
| Designer(s) | Viacheslav Aristov |
|---|
| Programmer(s) | Oles Shyshkovstov
Alexander Maximchuk
Alexei Buinitskiy |
|---|
| Artist(s) | Andrey Tkachenko |
|---|
| Writer(s) | Dmitry Glukhovsky
Andrew Prokhorov
Viacheslav Aristov |
|---|
| Composer(s) | Alexey Omelchuk
Georgiy Beloglazov |
|---|
| Series | Metro |
|---|
| Engine | 4A Engine |
|---|
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows
OS X
Linux (Redux)
Xbox 360
PlayStation 4
Xbox One |
|---|
| Release | Windows, Xbox 360
- NA: March 16, 2010
- AU: March 18, 2010
- EU: March 19, 2010[1][2]
- JP: May 13, 2010 (X360)
- JP: June 25, 2010 (PC)
PS4, Xbox One
- NA: August 26, 2014
- EU: August 29, 2014[3]
Linux
OS X
|
|---|
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter, survival horror |
|---|
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
|---|
Metro 2033 is played from a
first-person perspective. Players encounter human and mutant enemies, who can be killed with a variety of firearms; alternatively, players can employ
stealth to evade or silently kill enemies. Ammunition and other necessary items must be either scavenged from the bodies of dead enemies, or purchased from vendors. Some areas of the metro tunnels, including the entirety of the Earth's surface, are covered in
radiation, and the player must wear a
gas mask to explore these areas. If the gas mask is worn while in combat, it may be damaged, and the player must quickly find a replacement before they die.
Metro 2033 received positive reviews from critics: it was praised for its horror elements, detailed environments and appealing plot, but it was criticized for its buggy artificial intelligence and its many graphical issues.
A sequel,
Metro: Last Light, was released in May 2013.
[6] On August 26, 2014, a compilation of both titles was released for
Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 4, and
Xbox One. On PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, this remake was entitled
Metro Redux. On
Microsoft Windows,
OS X,
Linux, and
SteamOS, a release entitled as
Metro Redux Bundle includes both this game and
Metro: Last Light Redux.
Gameplay[edit]
A gameplay screenshot of
Metro 2033. The tunnels are often dimly lit, and the player must use a flashlight to see in the darkness.
The player will encounter several human and mutant enemies, who can be killed with a variety of firearms. The game features traditional guns like
revolvers and
shotguns, as well as more inventive weapons like a
pneumaticcrossbow.
[11] In firefights, human enemies will take cover and
flank the player, while mutant enemies will stay in the open and try to bite them.
[12] Alternatively, the player can employ
stealth to evade their enemies or kill them silently.
[12] This can be achieved by using a
throwing knife to kill an enemy from afar, or shoot an enemy with a
suppressed weapon.
[13] If the player is shot or bitten while in combat, they can either wait for their
health to recharge, or use a med-kit to heal themselves immediately.
[9]
The player will often have little ammunition, and must scavenge for bullets and other useful items from the bodies of dead enemies or from caches.
[9] 5.45×39mm ammunition (referred to in the game as "military grade ammunition") can also be found, which serves as the
currency within the tunnels.
[9] The player can either spend military grade ammunition on new weapons, or use it in firefights, which will inflict more damage on enemies than normal bullets.
[12] As most of the tunnels feature little to no light, the player can use a flashlight to explore dark areas.
[9] In addition to the dimly lit tunnels, some areas, including the entire surface, are covered in
radiation, and require the use of a
gas mask.
[13] If the player engages in combat while wearing a gas mask, it may become damaged and crack, forcing the player to find an unused gas mask.
[12]
Throughout the game, there are certain moral choices that can be made.
[14] If the player is compassionate to the people living in the tunnels, such as giving the homeless some military grade ammunition, they may be able to watch a different cutscene at the end of the game. These moral choices are never explicitly mentioned, and it is possible to play through the game without knowing of their presence.
[15]
In 2013, a
nuclear war occurred.
Russia was targeted with atomic bombs, causing severe radiation across
Moscow. This forced the survivors to live underground in the metro stations away from the deadly effects of radiation. Many animals were heavily mutated into aggressive beasts, which made travel dangerous.
Twenty years later in 2033, the northern
Metro station of
VDNKh (known in-game as "Exhibition") is under attack by a group of mysterious creatures referred to as the Dark Ones. Artyom (Russian: Артём), a 20-year-old male survivor born before the bombs fell, is persuaded to leave his home there and seek help from the rest of the Metro by Hunter, an elite soldier of the Polis Rangers. Hunter gives Artyom his dog tags and tells him to present these to see if the rest of the Rangers will help his station.
Artyom must travel through territory occupied by the Stalinist 'Red Line' and a
Fourth Reich, and infested with mutants as well as the much changed surface of Moscow. Once in Polis, he meets with a Ranger named Miller, who agrees to help him. Miller knows of a missile silo known as
D6 that has the firepower necessary to destroy the Dark Ones. Artyom, Miller, and several other Rangers reactivate the command center, and Artyom installs a laser guidance system on a nearby radio tower. After the laser system is installed, Artyom experiences a vivid hallucination induced by a Dark One.
After the hallucination, two endings are possible depending on choices the player makes throughout the game. In the canonical ending, Artyom allows the missiles to fire, destroying the Dark Ones; only to realize later that they sought peace and the deaths by them were accidental. The alternate ending gives Artyom the choice to destroy the laser guidance device, citing a last-minute realization that the Dark Ones were actually attempting to make peaceful contact through the hallucinations. This ending is only available by performing various positive acts throughout the game, such as helping out fellow humans and not automatically fleeing the Dark Ones in various hallucinations.
Development[edit]
4A Games was founded by Oles' Shiskovtsov and Aleksandr Maksimchuk, former programmers for
GSC Game World who left about a year before the release of
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Shiskovtsov and Maksimchuk had worked on the development of X-Ray engine used in the
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.
[16] In March 2006, 4A Games announced a partnership with Glukhovsky to collaborate on the game.
[17] The game was announced at the 2009
Games Convention in Leipzig;
[18] along with an official trailer.
[19]
The game utilizes multi-platform
4A Engine, running on
Xbox 360 and
Microsoft Windows. There is some contention regarding whether the engine is based on the pre-release X-Ray engine (as claimed by Sergiy Grygorovych, the founder of GSC Game World,
[20] as well as users who have seen the 4A Engine SDK screenshots, citing visual similarities, shared resources, and technical evaluation of the pre-release 4A Engine demo conducted at the request of GSC Game World), or whether the engine is an original development (as claimed by 4A Games and Oles' Shiskovtsov in particular,
[21] who claims it would have been impractical to retrofit the X-ray engine with console support). 4A Engine features Nvidia
PhysX support, enhanced AI, and a console SDK for Xbox 360.
[22] The PC version includes exclusive features such as DirectX 11 support and has been described as "a love letter to PC gamers" because of the developers' choice "to make the PC version [especially] phenomenal".
[23]
A
PlayStation 3 version was planned, but ultimately cancelled.
[24] On February 19, THQ and 4A Games announced the game features
Steamworks software and DRM. This gives
Metro 2033 achievements, Steam support for in-game
downloadable content and auto-updating.
Release[edit]
Promotion at IgroMir 2010
A
Collector's Edition of the game was released in Russia – it contained the game itself in special packaging, a game guide, a map of the post-apocalyptic subway of Moscow and a unique watch with the game's logo on it.
[25] An even larger
collector's edition was released in Poland; it contained: the game itself in special packaging, a Polish translation of the novel
Metro 2033, instructions for the game, an army container and a gas mask (with filters and a military bag included).
[26] A special edition was also released in Germany – more similar in size to the Russian collector's edition and smaller than the Polish one, it contained: the game itself in a special edition box, a hardback novel (
A5 sized) titled "Davor und Danach" (
Before and After), a fully working replica of the watch that Artyom uses in the game, a bear-shaped key ring with one of Hunter's dog tags on it and a download code for the Heavy Automatic Shotgun.
[27][28]
In February 2014, the Xbox 360 version of
2033 was included in Microsoft's "Games with Gold" program exclusively for German subscribers. This served as a replacement for
Dead Island, the game offered in other territories, as it is unavailable for purchase in Germany.
[29] On May 22, 2014, a
Redux version of the game was announced. It uses the latest version of the 4A Engine bringing the graphical and gameplay changes from
Last Light to
2033. It was released on August 26, 2014 in North America and August 29, 2014 in Europe for the PC,
PlayStation 4, and
Xbox One.
[3] A compilation package, titled
Metro Redux, was released at the same time which includes both games.
[30] A demo of the
Redux version, which allows players to play through the first one-third of the game, was released for the
PlayStation 4 and
Xbox One on June 2, 2015.
[31]
In August 2015, the Xbox 360 version of 2033 was included in Microsoft's "Games with Gold" program for most Xbox Live regions
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