last week two of my friends wouldnt stop going on about how much they where enjoying Metro 2033. They compared it to Bioshock in it's great use of atmosphere and setting. They talked about the amazing graphics and really tense gameplay.
I downloaded it a while back and didn't get around to playing it due to other games at the time.
On their recommendation I decided re-download it and give it another shot.
Sadly, I'm not feelin' it. From the get go I have issues with the clunky controls. Maybe it's just me but it never feels like I have complete control over my character. Always have to adjust my aim because it feels like the sway is too off. Early on you have to fight melee monsters and while going through the intro I always encounter situations where these enemies attack you but I seem to always just miss them. Shooting and aiming just doesnt feel right.
As I made it through the game I kept encountering the same situation. I would come up to a part of the game that felt clunky or somewhat janky and my friend would tell me "Yeaahh it's one of the annoying parts, but it's short". But I noticed that I seem to have been hearing this several times in a row. The first is during a really really bad stealth sequence. It's a sequence that is chocked filled with contradictions. One moment you're able to take out a guard stealthy with your knife then a few moments later you encounter a situation identical to the one you where just in but it seems attempting a stealth kill results in everyone in the level being alerted to your presence. After several many trial and error restarts I finally got to where I needed to be: at the top of a series of stairs. Here's where I ended up restarting the most. In this section I had to wait for a specific sequence of enemies to walk past the door. after they do this and I get really lucky I'll be able to walk out of the door undetected. But I';m not safe yet, no no. As I step out of the door there's a 50/50 chance another enemy may suddenly hear me or magically see me then light up on my position. It's a crap shoot. I literally had to restart over a dozen times before everything works out perfectly and I was able to get by the guards. But remember, my route and timing never changed. It was the poor scripting of the guard locations that prevented me from getting by this section sooner.
Normally I would be done at this point. but my lovely friends assured me that it was one of the few *annoying* sections of the game and that an awesome section came next. So what did come next? I boring on-rails shooting sequence. Complete disappointment.
Coming out of that the game introduced a brand new enemy. Now I'll stop here for a moment. Up to this point of the game I haven't really been enjoying the shooting aspect. It's not really bad but like I said earlier I just doesn't feel right. It feels clunky. Feels slow to response. So this new enemy I mention? It's a fast moving rat creature that travels in packs. It's the absolute worst enemy to put in this game because It's so damn hard to hit it. That coupled with the extreme ammo constraint makes this annoying and not fun in any way.
But Metro 2033 doesn't feel content in just leaving it like that. OH NO. After about 5 minutes of this gameplay it introduces a small child. A very loud talking child who apparently is grabbed onto your back and impedes your moment and aiming by a great deal. So basically we have a situation where you're already having to deal with the controls and now it slows you down even further. Then it throws fast and small moving enemies at you. All the while this child is screaming whenever one of these creatures pops up. I could only stand playing this for no more than 4 minutes before I shut it off. I didn't care if it had saved or not. I had to stop.
And I'm done for good.
I had high hopes for this game. I was hoping it would be remind me Stalker. Sadly it's not Stalker. It's not a somewhat clunk but very much playable creepy euro PC shooter. Instead it's just a really poorly designed cheap euro PC shooter that should of stayed in the bargain bin.
It's a shame. Could have been something awesome.
Thumbs DOWN.
