Metro 2033

[MinisterofDOOM]

It's a Ukrainian game set after the nuclear apocalypse. The remaining human population lives in the subway tunnels under Moscow. It's not a free-roaming game like Stalker, though; it's very linear and story-based. However, combat leaves a lot of room for strategy.The game is tremendously atmospheric, and one of the most genuinely eerie games I've ever played. Games like Doom and Dead Space scare you by making you wonder when the next monster is going to jump out at you...Metro 2033 leaves you constantly uneasy, wondering WHAT is going to attack you next. There's some cool supernatural stuff going on, and the game employs some great effects to portray it.It combines some light survival horror elements with standard FPS gameplay: you can buy and trade weapons and ammo at the occasional settlement. You generally find yourself low on ammo, but I have never run out. The game manages to strike a great balance there. Ammo is scarce enough to promote strategic use of the right weapon for the right task, but not so scarce that you find yourself completely helpless.Gunplay feels wonderfully visceral, and the game does a great job of making it feel like every single shot counts, and not just from an ammo scarcity perspective.The game also makes use of some neat HUD and equipment elements. It's essentially HUD-less, save the ammo counter. Your objective can be found by following the compass you can take out, which is accompanied by a notepad describing the objective. In the dark, you can light your lighter to view the notes.And speaking of light, the game's flashlight has a brilliant feature: it has a limited battery life, but you have a hand-held pistol-grip generator to recharge it. If you neglect the charge, it will dim and eventually go out.And there's the gas mask, which you must equip in areas with noxious air. Filters have a limited life (and you have a diving watch to keep tabs on it...another HUD-free element) and you can restock at trading posts...or by looting.

This game has one of the most enjoyable stealth/sneaking sections I've ever played. Sneaking around a small subway station consisting of multiple tunnels, you have to take down vastly superior numbers alone. A very cool feature helps support the stealth: the oil lamps and incandescent bulbs around the station can be turned off or shot out, providing darkness to hide in. I patiently took my time, progressing slowly forward and dragging the darkness with me, overtaking a couple enemies at a time until I had cleared out the entire area. They only ever spotted me for split seconds at a time before I disappeared back into the shadowy depths only to reappear from another direction enshrouded in brand new shadows. This is how stealth is supposed to work in video games. It was their holdout, but I was in control. At first, I felt completely overwhelmed by their numbers, but as I came to grips with the station and began establishing my hidey-holes, I became very confident. It was a great feeling, and something I'd love to experience more in games.

Another neat thing is that your companions throughout the game are vocal, and what they have to say matters. Not only do they help further the story, but listening to them often means the difference between life and death.

I definitely recommend picking this up if you like shooters, survival horror, or atmospheric games.