Grab your headlamps and your military-grade ammunition; it’s time to review Metro 2033.

Metro 2033 is a first-person survival horror game that takes place in the post-apocalyptic metro tunnels of Moscow. Little is known about the nuclear war that took place 20 years earlier in 2013, and going up to the surface is a death sentence.

Metro 2033 is based on a novel of the same name written by Dmitry Glukhovsky. Metro 2033 was developed by 4A games and published by the now-defunct THQ. Metro 2033 was released for the Xbox 360 and PC on March 16, 2010.

The metro is inhabited by thousands of survivors living in separate communities. You play as Artyom, a 20-year-old metro-born warrior. Artyom’s community is being progressively encroached by those called the “Dark Ones.” Little is known about the Dark Ones, just that they need to be stopped.

The Dark ones are not the only enemy you will encounter while playing; expect to come across mutants, Nazis and ghosts along the way.

You are sent on a quest to deliver the message that the Dark Ones are going to take over his town. You must travel to Polis, the capitol of the metro, to deliver the message and save your home.

Most of the 10-hour campaign is spent traveling to Polis, and that isn’t a bad thing. On your journey, you progress through several different environments and encounter different companions and communities.

Visuals:

The visuals of Metro 2033 for the most part are pretty good. The textures are nothing to write home about, and are often muddy. With that being said, the atmosphere of Metro 2033 is outstanding, I was never disappointed with the detail of the concrete walls when there were five mutant dog-like creatures clawing at my face.

This game is dark, but it’s very fitting. With most survival horror games I feel the need to jack up the brightness and gamma, but the beam of Artyom’s flashlight is more than sufficient.

Each area has its own personality; I never got tired of looking at the screen. Regardless of some of the poor textures, this game is beautiful.

There are only a handful of enemy character models, but this doesn’t affect the gameplay to any major degree.

Audio:

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to play this game on a 5.1 surround sound system, but the 2.1 system built into my monitor was more than sufficient. This game is creepy, and 4A made sure that the ambiance and the sound of your gasmask kept you on the edge of your seat.

Gameplay:

Metro 2033 is very much a shooter, but it has minor features that can blur the line between an FPS and an RPG.

There are two endings to Metro, and the choices you have made will determine which ending you will get.

The monetary system in the metro is based off of military-grade ammunition. Military ammunition is highly sought after for its rarity and quality. Although you cannot actually fire this special ammunition, you can purchase new weapons, armor and ammo with it.

There will be a handful of times in which you will encounter opportunities to express your goodwill. These opportunities will usually occur when a beggar will ask you for a round of military-grade ammunition so he can buy some food. These opportunities will help determine which ending you get.

Artyom is able to hold a few weapons at the same time, including a handgun, knife, explosives and a rifle. Most of your time spent firing weapons will typically be with a rifle.

There are a few stealth missions in Metro, and they are very frustrating and unforgiving. Stealth is the main shortcoming of Metro 2033. Luckily, if you’re like me and get extremely frustrated, you can simply run and gun your way through the stealth missions without much of a problem.

You will make a few trips up to the surface, and you are required to wear a gasmask. The gasmask isn’t just for the surface, you will put on whenever you encounter radiation, and in a nuked world, this will happen often.

The gasmask filters must be changed otherwise you will run out of oxygen, which is a bad thing. You will have to check your real time wristwatch often to monitor your air supply, and no, I’m not referring to the soft-rock duo.

One of the cool things about Metro is the real time objective sheet. You will often call upon your objective sheet and compass to show you where to go. Because you have to put away your weapons to view your objectives, this adds a little more stress for the player.

Because Metro 2033 is a survival horror game, conservation of ammunition is essential, but if you look hard enough, you shouldn’t have too much trouble.

The flashlights in the metro must be hand-cranked. This means that when your flashlight starts to lose power, you must drop everything and manually crank it to charge it back up.

Metro 2033 is a survival horror game, but it’s really not that scary. The game is creepy from start to finish, and you will indeed jump a few times, but I felt that the game was lacking in the sheer terror department.

Round Up:

With all of that being said, Metro 2033 is an outstanding first person survival horror game with some minor shortcomings that are overruled by the sheer enveloping ambiance and the pump of your pneumatic rifle. You should be buying this game right now.

 Trailer: