Metro 2033 Message Board older than one year ago

There's more to fear than just the darkness.

You already know all about our love affair with Metro 2033, don't you? It's true, we're smitten with the admittedly less-than-perfect, but atmospheric, FPS. And the game's publisher (THQ) is probably living it up right now, several games deep into what could be called a roll at this point. What did other outlets have to say about it? Well, they tend to agree with us ... mostly!

• Game Informer (9.0): "Metro 2033 is an impressively polished and extremely linear experience that makes for an excellent debut ... From the second you start the campaign, you follow a straight line to the finale with only a handful of opportunities to explore alternate paths or side missions. What a glorious straight line it is."
• Official Xbox Magazine UK (8.0): "Metro 2033 excels at setting a scene and creating a tense atmosphere, and presents a very different post-apocalyptic world from Fallout 3: there's no black comedy, just unrelentingly bleak realism."
• GamePro (3.5/5 Stars): "The post-apocalyptic scenario has been done to death but Metro 2033's particular version still manages to stand out thanks to a fascinating backstory ... I just wish Metro 2033 had done a better job of explaining and exploring these themes, especially because the distinctly Russian perspective is so different from the 'Western' viewpoint that I'm intimately familiar with. But instead of taking the time to properly introduce you to the world and acclimate you to all the ins-and-outs, the developers throw you into the deep-end without anything resembling a life-preserver."

We know you probably flew into a rage when a recent Title Update denied you a few precious seconds of Metro 2033 play time, but we've been assured by developer 4A Games that it's all for a good cause: To prepare for upcoming DLC. On the game's official Facebook page, a spokesperson confirmed that additional content was in the works, but didn't provide much detail, saying only that multiplayer would be impossible and that "it won't be new SP narrative content, 'missing levels' or anything like that - it's something we're only just starting production on."

Wait, it won't be new single-player story bits or multiplayer, so what does that leave? While novel, we're not sure "Flashlight Hand-Cranking Time Attack" would be a huge step forward.

[Via Inc Gamers]

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.

Mind the gap.

Fear the future.

The post-apocalyptic first person shooter from THQ and 4A games locks and loads for a March 16th release.

Be weary of the status of your gas mask while traversing the dangerous undergrounds of Black Station.

The battle goes deeper underground into the bowels of Black Station in the second installment of the walkthrough.

Welcome to Black Station, occupied by fascist renegades and perilous dangers!

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.

Get into the fight for survival in a moment where all seems lost.

Why you should keep an eye on the Moscow underground.

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.

Now available for pre-order.

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!

Exclusive: The CEO wants games in the cloud, says Natal won't be right for Red Faction and confirms de Blob sequel for multiple platforms.

Humanity struggles to survive in Moscow after nuclear devastation strikes.

Executive Producer Luis Gigliotti describes the brand new engine used to produce the extremely detailed post-apocalyptic world plus innovative new weapons!

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."

A few more thoughts on this post-apocalyptic shooter.

Take a journey to the nuclear wasteland of Russia in Metro 2033.

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]

Head underground this Spring.

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: Metro 2033

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: Metro 2033 (1/14)

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?!

Artyom spent his life underground, and the day has come for him to leave and fight for the fate of mankind in Metro 2033.

Come face-to-face with the future of terror.

Going underground with THQ and 4A Games' post-apocalyptic shooter.