Metro 2033 came out of nowhere like its foundational nuclear fallout. Unlike that destruction, however, the game presents a palatable and tangible post-fallout experience with supernatural trimmings and just a little bit of horror, as if the idea of living through a nuclear war wasn't scary enough.

Built from ex-members of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. team, Metro 2033 is essentially a first-person adventure game that employs elements of role-playing, shooters and survival-horror with a deeply driving story, great scripting and believable characters. I had a chance to play through an early portion of the game (in preview form) on Xbox 360 and was immediately hooked. The premise alone is something I enjoy (having clocked a ridiculous number of hours into Fallout 3), but in Metro 2033's case, the experience is based on linearity in that you're pushing through scripted events to enable pure narrative, of which this game delivers in gold-plated spades.

You play as Artoym, a hapless denizen of the tunnel homes of survivors of a post-apocalyptic world. The planet is lain to waste and inhabited by mutated monsters, and creepy beings known as "The Dark Ones". Strange anomalies frequent the world, attacking indiscriminately and yet for some reason, Artoym is unaffected by them. This makes him a much sought commodity for scouts and rangers, who move between settlements and out on the surface, taking on the hidden enemy and attempting to fix the world, as best they know how.



Gameplay sees you moving through settlements, upgrading weapons and buying items (with the aforementioned pre-apocalypse ammo). You engage NPCs who progress the story through conversation, while scripted events take place in between. There's a sense of direction because of this, but you don't feel ultimately forced, and towards the end of my play session the game's environments started to open up for more exploration. Early on though, you're pretty much locked into a single path - this is to set the game's narrative up as well as introduce you to the many characters who will be working with you, as well as Artoym himself.

The shooter element makes no attempt to derail itself from a familiar path, with the only difference being in that your double-barrel shotgun is fired from each barrel with the LT and RT, respectively. Beyond that, it's essentially business as usual with the ability to both fire from the hip or use iron-sights. Where the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games and Fallout 3 employed radiation as a minor gameplay element (or impediment), Metro 2033 embraces it; forcing the player to don gas masks in certain areas, with ever-degrading filters that need to be kept an eye on, and changed if overly contaminated. This means you're more aware of your character (pushing the RPG element just that little bit more), and also allows for some cheeky visualisation. Your periphery is blurred, and the whole game view is filtered, adding to the overall immersion. Checking your filters is as easy as looking at your wrist-watch, but you'll need to ensure you have spares - available (among other things) from stores in each settlement.

Though we're no strangers to the post-apocalypse theme in gaming these days, Metro 2033 has a clearer focus on the thrilling portion of it. The game does an amazing job of unnerving you, with one of the earliest sections I played forcing me to stand back to back with a handful of NPCs while being circled by vicious dog-like mutants (they actually reminded me of werewolves). There are also giant bat-like flying creatures strong enough to rip a gunner (and his sentry station) from the top of a vehicle. The outcome of this encounter wasn't overly clear as being sent face-first to the dirt by the overwhelming threat prompted the game to set the narrative back a few days; giving me a clear point of return later on (and something to be weary of). Clearly this was done to help flesh the game out post-threat and answer plenty of nagging questions that arise from your first few minutes with it.



Visually the game is looking very good, with 4A Games having built their engine from scratch (not bad for their first game). Animations are especially good, while the game's tonal variations paint a very good likeness to what we'd expect post-nuclear fallout to look and feel like. Particles float through the air and lighting is spot-on; both a visual enhancement, and tool for the aforementioned unnerving. The game's music is excellent, but a massive kudos needs to be given to scripting and voice-acting. I'm not sure if the actors are specifically of Russian origin, but they definitely sound the part. Throughout the play experience Artoym is silent, but we hear an inner monologue prior to each chapter during loading, as he narrates the pretext to your next unfolding of events - as far as story-telling goes, Metro 2033 is absolutely brilliant, and I've only dipped my time into a very small portion of it.

With all of this in place, 4A Games' first foray into stand-alone development is shaping up to be a critical hit. And hopefully this translates to strong sales for both them and THQ who are continuing to aggressively procure and foster new IPs and studios; taking the risks others won't. Metro 2033 is due to land in March on PC and Xbox 360 in Australia and is a single-player affair. For more info and screens, head over to our game page.