Game preview: Metro 2033

I got my hands on a preview build, thankfully in a high rise tower in central London, and not underground in a bomb shelter.

Adapted from the book of the same name – penned by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky – metro 2033 is a blast for survival in the remains of Moscow’s Metro network – the world’s largest series of bomb shelters (which also doubles as a public transport system.)

In the case of Metro 2033, it was nukes that destroyed the world, and like every other post-apocalyptic game, who shot who and when doesn’t matter all that much – it’s all about survival.

The fighting takes place both underground and on the blasted, irradiated surface, which has now become a nightmarish maze of mutants, starving humans, radioactive water and giant rats – hell on earth.

Into this world steps the lead character, Artyom, who is tasked with reaching the heart of the network to warn the populace of a new threat – one that has the potential to wipe out the last vestiges of humanity.

So far so Fallout 3, but what really set this game apart for me was the design, gameplay and sheer detail the developers, Ukrainian newcomers 4A Games, have crammed in.

The sewer system itself is a work of art, each zone offering a new look at what’s become of humanity.

Pigs live alongside humans, everyone’s armed and fearful and threats are always around the corner. Of course, the fact that your bullets are also your currency makes a heavy firefight even more galling – every wasted shot makes you that little bit poorer.

The action is brutal – mutated horrors come screaming at you, and your puny home-made rifle, the ‘bastard’, is hard pressed to hold them off.

Psychic attacks cause you to have nightmares, and if you’re in an irradiated zone you have to don a gas mask and keep a wary eye on your in-game watch – stray into the red, and you’re dead.

It all adds to a terrific feeling of immersion, and the story being set on the other side of the Iron Curtain really makes it feel fresh – this game has sleeper hit written all over it.

Though the preview code was a little patchy at times, with some of the animation a little rough and the lack of a melee button being particularly prominent (try switching to your knife when being mauled by mutated horrors – not fun 4A, not fun at all) the game seemed pretty solid, and the sound was a particular selling point – all moans and atmospheric music, which really heightens the experience.

The author, Dmitry, was also at the press gig and was quick to talk the assembled acolytes through his inspiration for the game: As a small boy he rode the Metro every day for ten years, and knew it backwards.

When hearing of the system’s hermetic seals and thick armour he was inspired to start his book, which he described as “my own personal journey”.

In it he created a world full of fear, where different underground stations have splintered and become feral: Nazis, Stalinists, traders and normal people all thrown into a mixing pot – a scene rife for movie adaptation, or in this case, a game.

He said: “Of course this is just fiction. But with the world entering a new cold war of sorts, with Iran and Israel and Palestine at each other’s throats, with rising global temperatures and global warming. Who knows? Maybe I’m closer to the truth.”

For all our sakes, let’s hope not.

Metro 2033 is scheduled for release on March 19.