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Metro Last Light
Reviewed by
Edwin Millheim
on
Metro Last Light PC Review. Metro: Last Light is a bold symphony to the senses. Deep Silver is the new bringer of AAA titles, now they have a lot to live up to. As the saying goes, you are only as good as your last game release. Deep Silver is now the one to watch.
Rating:
4.65

Gameplay 8.0
Graphics 9.0
Sound 10
Value 10
Developer: 4A Games
Publisher: Deep Silver
Rating: MA15+
Review Date: May 2013
Reviewer:
Edwin Millheim

9.3


Metro Last Light

Metro: Last Light is the follow up to the gritty Metro: 2033. This first person Horror/ sci-fi survival shooter is a symphony of story elements joining together to make a big splash in this game series. While it’s not a pre requisite to play the latest game…players will get an even deeper understanding and enjoyable experience if they have played the first game in the series. That being said, Metro: Last Light does a good job of filling in the back story so that new players won’t be totally lost as to what is going on.

We are once again tasked to survive the horrific dangers of the post-apocalyptic world. Players take on the role of a Ranger by the name of Artyom who is still haunted by the events from the first game. Did he in fact make a mistake by launching nuclear missiles at the strange Telekinetic creatures in the first adventure? That is one of the questions that will be answered in this adventure.
The events take us to new areas as well as some familiar surroundings. From the tunnels of the Metro where people have now had to migrate too after the devastation on the surface has made it unlivable. So beneath the ruins, deep down in the Metro tubes and stations human kind lives.

We soon find out it’s not all Champaign and roses though. Other stations and factions within factions are paranoiac in what has been achieved by Artyom and his people. A power struggle is even taking place within the home station.

Before diving further in let me address some issues the game had out of the gate that some of our readers may have heard about. if you had been holding off due to hearing about the PC versions issues with its resolution being locked and crashes…this had been fixed with a patch in a couple days of release; so no worries there. Our gaming foray into this disturbing post-apocalyptic world went on after this point without a hitch.

Rife with adult content the story and the action play out surprisingly without being gratuitous or without the token female breast shot. There are adult situation where there is partial nudity, highly suggestive sexual situations, violence, human kinds inhumanity towards his fellow human kind but it all plays out in the story without feeling forced. It all combines with the visual and sound to create an impressive atmospheric game that grabs you by the short and curlies without mercy. Telling you this is our world and it’s not always a pretty world, it’s brutal and survival is harsh.

Combat in the game is intense, be it human enemy who lay down the hurt with guns and explosives, or mutated animals that have adapted to the new harsh world with defensive and offensive abilities to match the brutal world. It’s a highly predatory world and thankfully the AI shows this more than once, or I rather am inclined to say the scripted scene plays out without breaking away from the in game action. It is masterfully done to the point of the player not realizing at first it is a scripted event playing out in front of you IN game.

Regarding the games AI, it may need some tweaks, but it does do a fair job of offering some challenging battles when the enemy is aware you’re in the area. If they have explosives or fire pipe bombs they use them to some effect against the player. The AI does have its questionable moments from time to time, and this may at times be due to some minor AI clipping into the graphics and getting stuck. After the latest patch I went back playing several of the levels again to see what the effect would be and things had improved a bit. The AI does stumble often enough to make you cringe, though when there are more than two enemies the numbers make up for the inconsistent AI. That is a sad statement to an otherwise spectacularly executed game.

The game is sprinkled with quick time events, where several taps of the right key in time will keep our hero alive. In a really good immersive game it is the little things that add up to make it a thrill ride.

Such things as having to occasionally wipe gore or water from your gas mask in order to see is a solid touch in game play. A watch on Artyom’s wrist displays how much time the filter is good for. Being out in the toxic irradiated air uses up a filter fast, keeping stocked will keep the character alive. During combat the glass on the gas mask can become damaged and cracked. If the gasmask takes enough damage it becomes useless and the character rips it off, gasping all the while as his air starved lungs instinctively suck wind looking for that life giving oxygen free of the death dealing impurities.

If the player character is lucky enough they will on occasion come across a hapless victim of the hostile world and be able to relieve them of an undamaged, or slightly less damaged gas mask and filters.

When at a station or a location where there are traders the player would do well to make purchases including filters for the gas mask. These places visited in the game all feel lived in and alive with everyday life in the Metro Stations. Along with life in the Metro, there is also the ugly side, the game has very adult situations, the game never claims to be kid friendly. It is an adult story with themes that show how horrific things can be in this dark world. From exterminations on massive scales using kill squads to the release on masses with a weaponized modified Ebola virus. The quarantine areas with dead and dying people during one level was so well done; the stark horror of such an awful weapon released on people and its effects was a kick to the gut during this interactive sci-fi horror story.

Once again, as per what has been established in the first game, ammunition is the method of currency. So using it to purchase upgrades and weapons and even more ammunition trades makes it rather interesting. Military grade ammo is more valuable than the standard ammunition of the day. So having military grade ammunition to trade is a must. Though in this dangerous world it often comes down to, well gee do I save the ammo for trading or use it when I am down to nothing but a shot gun?

Players have access early in the game to most of the weapons that are in the game. Each one has decent though limited customization options. For less noise there are sound suppression for guns and extended magazines to hold more ammo. Weapons are all satisfying providing good bang for their buck. They sound powerful and the bullets impacting objects and targets have that heavy hitting sound that lets you know the rounds mean business.

The PC graphics are nothing less than stunning at times, dark and foreboding when they need to be in the appropriate areas. These are those areas where you hope your flashlight does not run out of juice. Players do have a portable hand held generate that can charge the batteries of the flash light with a few pumps of the handle. Gamers would be wise not to let the flashlight wane. If it does, there is the backup. A lighter and it serves more than one purpose. Not only does it provide some lighting, it also can be used to burn away cobwebs in a web choked corridor. The flame reacts to drafts, so if you are really good you can use it to follow the draft to your next destination.

Continuing on with the graphics, the world as noted is highly immersive. Weather effects and the surrounding areas from deep sub terrain areas, onward to the stark devastated cities now choked by nature altered to the new hostile land all looks breathtaking beautiful.

The visuals paired with a well-designed and executed sound scape make the game the pulse pounding sci-fi horror thrill ride that it is. The sound designers join forces with the visual team to tug at our inner primordial fears. Deep dark inky black places the drips of water and something moving, scuttling about or breathing or screeching….make our imaginations and our dread run wild.

Most of the sound channels on my sound system got a healthy work out. Subtle world sounds made me feel like I was there. The crack of the ice as I desperately made my way across of semi frozen over body of water while fighting off creatures had me cringing every time I heard the crunch and crack of breaking ice. Weapons and explosions sounded big and bold, blasting the sub-woofer with power dancing and basking in the low end rumble sweeteners of sound. Even the soft sounds of the world played out so naturally giving me an I am there feeling. When you hear an environment and you almost don’t notice it because it’s part of your world…that’s genius at work in the sound engineering and mixing department.

Metro: Last Light is a bold symphony to the senses. Deep Silver is the new bringer of AAA titles, now they have a lot to live up to. As the saying goes, you are only as good as your last game release. Deep Silver is now the one to watch.

Have fun, play games
Edwin Millheim Impulse Gamer






 
 



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