Vernon on 30/8/2011 at 10:25

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I can't tell you how hot and sweaty in the gusset I am for this now. Some nice-looking stealth, amazing ironsights and gadgets, atmosphere, blah blah blah. 2033 was probably the best rails shooter I've played and this looks like more of the same (and seemingly better in many respects)

[video]http://www.youtube.com/v/jiJN0TnSNmo[/video]

ANTSHODAN on 31/8/2011 at 13:35

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Oh man, Metro: 2033 was possibly my favourite game that I played this year. Finished it in two long overnight sessions which immersed me intensely. Some of the scripted bits were possibly the worst parts for immersion though - In the library, when one of those winged creatures crashes into a big entrance hall, injuring one of your buddies... well, realising that I couldn't actually damage the flying bastard because he still hadn't finished his scripted sequence was a bit shit. There were other sections similar to this, but they dont spring to mind right now.

I'm just really worried it's going to do a CoD:BlOps, where its main intention is to be as similar to an action movie as possible - scripted sequences where control is taken away from you, or you are only given the illusion of control (Press X to initiate animation which progresses this particular scene), at the expense of actual gameplay. Anyone else share this worry? I didn't watch the whole video, just bits of it (Yes, I go to that much effort to avoid spoiling even the smallest part of a game for myself), but between 6:00 and 8:30ish, interaction was pretty minimal, the 'tension' seemed fairly artificial anf forced, and when there was a hint of interactivity, it was simply involved following a character, or duck-hunt style shooting from a fixed location. I loved most of the gunfighting in Metro (Though if I'm not mistaken, that puts me in a minority) - some of the gunfights against humans in dark confined spaces had an excellent natural intensity about them. I really hope they play to that strength.

Edit: Meh, i just went out for a smoke and pondered this post. In defense of Metro's hand-holding and follow-this-dude sections, they did get it right on a few occasions. The most memorable being when Khan walks you through that creepy tunnel - I forget the name - giving background on the shadow/ghost things.. It enhanced the atmosphere and feel of the world, and, pacing-wise, was nicely placed if I remember correctly.

Also forget to mention - yes, free roaming would be great, but I think it would be difficult to design the levels like that without the player getting lost or bored. The confined space of the Metro is very different to something like Stalker's large outdoor world, and while I would love to see it work, I have trouble imagining how it could be done.

ANTSHODAN on 31/8/2011 at 16:50

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Honestly, I can't pin my sceptisism down. I've never played Arx so I'm equally ignorant to its underground open worldiness.

I think perhaps it could be as simple as how distinctive each area is to keep a player interested and orientated. For example, wandering about in Stalker is usually aided by landmarks in the distance by which you can have a general idea which direction you are heading. In a metro tunnel, you could feasibly accidentally spin around with an accidental mouse twitch, and be unsure which direction you were heading in the first place. This could of course be solved even by just having something like a line of pipes running along one side of the wall so you know (probably almost subconsciously) which side they should be on if you are heading in a particular direction, but hopefully you get the concept I'm trying to convey.

I don't have a whole lot of fun when I'm playing a game but have to keep consulting the map. Even if Metro did a map interface similar to, say, Far Cry 2 (which I suspect it would, given its excellent anti-hud attitude), it might be tiresome constantly checking the map. Though I have to admit that having to keep a close eye on a map could be rewarding in itself too

I started playing Metro with a view that I would probably get absolutely sick of underground train tunnels. It turned out not to be the case, of course, but I can't shake the feeling that trudging between samey abandoned tunnels could become very tiresome if the experience wasn't... directed, or if the tunnels weren't distinct. Normally I like a good ol' free-roam, but I can't shake this nagging feeling that Metro would have to be very careful about how it was implemented.

Ostriig on 1/9/2011 at 09:36

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I dunno, I don't think you'd have so much trouble with orientation, for instance I rarely felt like "oh, is this the right way I'm going" when crawling through Fallout 3's metro system. And what with the setting and all, it wouldn't have to be all samey, drab train tunnels, I imagine there'd be plenty of opportunity to factor in the wreckage and pseudo-tribal civilisation elements to make locales varied and interesting.

The thing I didn't like about the surface in 2033 was, ironically, the otherwise very cool gas mask mechanic. I hate countdown timers, and especially if I went exploring I'd want to be able to take my time with it rather than do a mad dash to the next hole in the ground.