Yesterday, Maturegaming got the chance to get hands on with THQ’s up and coming shooter, Metro 2033. The preview builds available were the 360 version and a look at one of the chapters on the PC in 3D.  For all those gamers that have been hiding in a nuclear bunker for the past couple of months, Metro 2033 is a survival FPS set in the Moscow Metro system and based on the best selling novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky.

Most stories about post apocalyptic events are normally scribed from a western point of view and it is refreshing then to see and read a narrative taken from the old Cold War’s arch enemies perspective instead.  The game starts 20 years after a nuclear war had broken out in 2013.  The use of the famous Metro system war bunkers meant the survival of a few lucky Muskovites who have inhabited the bunkers to re-create civilisations that have been plunged back into the dark ages.  An entire generation have been born and raised underground, never knowing blue sky, sunshine, fresh air or clean water.  The tales of the older generation are their only link to the past.  Their Metro station cities struggle for survival, with each other, and the mutant horrors that await beyond the gates and tunnel walls.

Everything for survival has been re-created in these micro cities with only the bravest of Metro dwellers surfacing for supplies that cannot be reproduced underground like medicine, fuel and ammunition.

The story casts you as Artyom, who was born a few days before the big event but has been brought up underground and one fateful event has set you on a journey to Polis to warn the rest of mankind in this sprawling dystopia of a threat from what are called “The Dark Ones”.

With a pair of 5.1 cans on my head, a bottle of beer sitting next to me screaming at me to drink more I sat down to get my first taste of what’s to come before a presentation.

The first thing I realise that this is not just a game of shoot, shoot, kill, kill like most games in the genre.  This is a deeply moving, engaging and atmospheric work of art that focuses on its narrative and design to give as much reality and credence to the book that the game is based on.  Although linear in places (you are allowed to explore the settings though), Metro 2033 sets out its stall as a survival horror and is depicted well as you move through the initial chapters to show a dark, desolate and eerie hell that your character has to live in.

The first chapter introduces you to the fundamental moves within the game and at the same time explores some of innovations that could make this game stand out from its counterparts.  The introduction of gas masks to use when going to the surface and having no HUD, for example, explore a level of depth that we rarely see in games of this genre.   Gas masks can only be used for a certain period of time before de-stabalising and rather than having help in realising when you are at the point of no return you will have to rely on physically looking at your watch to see roughly what time you have left.  The mask will start to frost up which starts to limit your view and adds to a sense of claustrophobia that Metro 2033 delivers through imaginative level designs of the Metro systems.

The 5.1 audio really helped me get a feel for the station where Artyom has been brought up. Stories, conversations and events that surround you are heard in the station and rather than just pass on by you start to edge towards where the conversations are coming from in a hope to pick up more of the back story or an individuals story which adds depth to an already rich environment.

The game also makes clear from the start that ammo is in short supply and weapons have been customised and created from the underground setting. Old world bullets become a source of currency and are more valuable than the shoddy underground bullets that are easier to find in the game.  Artyom can use these bullets to trade for weapons and equipment as you become fully aware that survival is key and more powerful bullets will aid in YOUR survival.  The weapon system and inventory is easily accessed and you are able to swap weaponry with ease.

I have also read that there were problems with an early build shown at the Moscow event (where was my bloody invite!!!) but from what I can see the game looks well balanced, delivers critical tension at the right times which leaves you with an unnerving sense of paranoia and jumpiness.  The games fluidity in control and paced narrative has not let me down yet.  Cut scenes and action sequences are implemented in the right places to move the story along in the right way, juxtapositoning back story, flashbacks and current events with ease.

I wanted to delve into further levels but time was against me, I had members of the development team to talk to, a presentation to watch and other media to catch up with but I can tell you this.  If I had the chance and wasn’t so reliant on catching the last train home THQ event staff would have had a fight on their hands as they would have to drag me kicking and screaming to get me out of the door, or even through the window, such is my fascination with this game.

I was also presented with the first level of the PC version in 3D.  All I can really say is that my jaw dropped at the spectacle I saw before me.  Dust particles in the air around me, the moonlight shimmering through my crosshair towards me and the looking through the iron sight I saw a depth of gaming and an added dimension that I have never experienced before.  It brought the world to you and not you into the world.  For those that have the necessary kit to experience this in a 3D format I seriously encourage you to do so.  Basically put, it is an IMAX immersion on steroids and one that will not be forgotten in a hurry.

So there you have it.  Metro 2033 could be one of the biggest hitters this year.  Some people will chastise the game for being a lone experience but I have come to an age where I want atmosphere, narrative driven games that offer something a little more than your standard game.  I want immersion, I want originality and I want something that can not only deliver entertainment but makes me want to explore a world that has been created in a realism (in a game sense) that doesn’t seem as fictional as it may appear.  Metro 2033 so far delivers on all fronts so with the novel in hand, a cup of coffee and waiting for the e-mail from THQ to say that I can play the game further before the review copy comes through I cannot recommend this game enough.