Title: Metro Last Light
Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 (reviewed on PC)
Developer: 4A Games
Publisher: Deep Silver
Release Date: May 14th, 2013
Price: $59.99/59.99 Euro
Tagline: Danger lurks around every corner in the Metro
Family...
Title: Metro Last Light
Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 (reviewed on PC)
Developer: 4A Games
Publisher: Deep Silver
Release Date: May 14th, 2013
Price: $59.99/59.99 Euro
Tagline: Danger lurks around every corner in the Metro
Family Friendly: Click here for more information.
Verdict: Buy it Already
Metro Last Light is 4A Games latest entry into their universe based on the underground dwellings of the Russian Metro train system. It is a universe that the team seems to fully realize and continue to build a world that feels alive and vibrant, even with the dark and dank setting. It is a hard thing to do when your subject matter is about the dangling remains of the human race after their rush to destruction under the power of their nuclear weapons. It is a game that begs to be played for its drama and sense of location and story, but can lead to lots of frustration with its combat systems and its sporadic AI.
Traveling to the surface can be a dangerous task
Metro Last Light continues on, about a year after the events that unfolded in Metro 2033. It still follows Antyom, the man who called down the bombs on the Dark Ones in the first game, and it is that ending that we explore in Metro Last Light. Antyom is told that there is a Dark One that survived the destruction of the bombs on the D6 complex and that he needs to find this Dark One to ensure the survival of humanity before them as a race, destroys themselves.
Interestingly enough, while the marketing of Metro Last Light focuses on the creatures created by the devastation of the nuclear bombs, it seems to be more a story about the survivors underground and their penchant for destruction. You would think after pulling the final trigger on mutually assured destruction, humanity would find a way to work together and survive. Instead, characters have broken into factions, each with their own goals if they were to find the surviving Dark One.
Of course, being underground isn’t completely safe
Combat is about fighting enemies on the surface, but you more often than not find yourself in the bowls of the Metro system, facing off against enemies from the Fourth Reich or the Reds. The Reich wants to promote genetic purity while the Reds are a surviving form of Communism. Each wants the secret bunker used to destroy the Dark Ones, as it is rumored to have endless supplies that could put one faction over the top of others. The factions are interesting, and overhearing conversations from them adds insights to their system of beliefs. But the combat is hit and miss, as the AI tends to be dodgy and downright dumb at times. Because of the cramped nature of the Metro, there were many times, enemies would have to stream down narrow passageways, and they would walk right into a hail of bullets. Or enemies that took too long to react after they would see me. I felt that these enemies should be more competent with their combat. They did survive in the Metro for over 20 years, so why throw all those survival instincts out the window when the bullets start flying.
You do have to head topside to the surface of the world, and here you start to get an understanding of how bad things are for mankind when the bombs dropped. Buildings are blown out; skeletons of the dead millions still litter the scene. But nature has found a way to move on, with new overgrowth everywhere and of course, mutated creatures that make the surface a difficult place to survive. Many times, you will be swarmed by these mutated creatures, and it does take your wits, especially when it comes to a few of the larger inhabitants that you end up having to deal with to move forward with the story.
Pesky Reich is always up to no good, measuring brains and all.
First person shooters do tend to focus on their combat, but Metro Last Light does build up a world that is a joy to explore and take in as you walk through it. The 4A Engine brings about an amazing clarity in detail for this world. We see the despera
score: 1
about 1 hour ago
