The closer a disaster game sticks to reality, the scarier it is. No one ever really thinks there'll be a terrible outbreak of zombies because of an escaped virus, or a brand new plague (if you're one of the few, sorry, but it's not going to happen - but kudos for getting a WiFi signal with so much tinfoil around your house), yet the idea of a nuclear apocalypse hits a lot closer to home. With countries around the world stockpiling nuclear weapons safe in the knowledge of mutually assured destruction, all it takes is one finger to slip, and the idea of a nuclear holocaust, and the nuclear winter that follows, may not seem quite so unbelievable after all - and it's this fear that Metro Redux preys on.
An HD-er remake (yes, another) of two "last gen" games - the well received Metro 2033, and the slightly more popular sequel Metro Last Light, Metro Redux is being pitched to fans of the original game as something of a director's cut. Bundling the two games together in a single package (although each will be available for download individually from each console's digital stores), the bundle includes all the downloadable extras, alongside brand new modes, new features, and a balancing of the two games that brings each to parity with the other, with upgrades that were added for Last Light being carried across into the original game.
At a recent event, tucked into a nuclear bunker of our own, only this time in the middle of London rather than in deepest darkest Russia, we got to go hands-on with the horror first person shooter - and as it turns out, surviving against a nuclear holocaust is harder than you'd imagine.
Ah. Just like home.
Set in the years after a nuclear attack on Russia, where the only ones who survived were the people who took shelter amongst the Moscow underground, or Metro, both Metro Last Light and 2033 tell a similar story. In a world where most life has been vanquished, and any animal or human that remained has been mutated beyond recognition, it's a dangerous world out there - but one that you, as a ranger, have to survive, against a backdrop of warring factions, angry radiated mutants, and even the Fourth Reich.
The only problem is, the enemies aren't the only thing you have to worry about. Being dropped into a level just after the tutorial, with no idea what button does what, we were fighting a losing battle against figuring out the controls, too - and the nuclear radiation. Deep below the surface in amongst the Metro, the radiation from the atomic bombs hasn't taken hold quite so much - but up on the surface, it's rampant. In order to survive for even a few minutes, you need to equip a gas mask, and even then every few minutes you'll have to change your air filter if you don't want to suffocate yourself. The only problem is, air filters aren't exactly easy to come by - and your gas mask can be damaged too.
Starting out on a level just after the game's tutorial, we found ourselves in a train station, where the body of a man's been left slumped against a counter. Scavenging is an important thing to remember in Metro, as you'll need to check everyone and everything to find bullets, and, more importantly, those all essential air filters. With a watch around your wrist that counts down how long your air filter will last for, the game doesn't swap them out automatically, either - you have to realise your gasping and choking means you need to switch filter by yourself, by holding the one trigger and pressing a button.
Stepping outside into the pleasant nuclear sun, we took in the scenery around us. Burnt out rubble of previously spectacular buildings, a giant chasm where a glowing green stream wound its way past the wreckages of cars, and our team mate standing on the other side of the gap, encouraging us to jump. "Don't worry, I'll catch you", he says, as we nervously eyed the liquid below, with visions of cartoon vats of acid jumping through our head. Famous last words and all that. Taking a few steps back, clicking the left stick in the to run, we leapt and... promptly fell into the water below. Thanks, "friend".
Chilly...
Pulling ourselves up out of the freezing (and burning) water, we scaled the cliff side again before looking for another way around. A handy plank had been left spanning one gap, followed by a few trays that led us over another, so we were at least on a different side of the river - just not quite where we wanted to be. The only way in front of us was a hospital, and so we nervously headed towards the door - but not before pausing for a few minutes to press every button on the controller as we tried to find our torch. Too slow.
"CAW!" came a screech, as suddenly our feet left the earth, and we were swept up into the sky in the claws of what was essentially a radioactive seagull, only twenty times bigger. Flying around with us to show us the view, before eventually just letting us plummet back to the earth, we exchanged a few, er, pleasantries with the bird before trying to get our bearings and find the way back to where we were. Scrabbling up a cliff, over a rock, and making our way across the river again (there are no map markers, so you're left trying to use identical bits of rubble as landmarks), we got towards the door of the building we're still assuming was a hospital or office of some sort when suddenly.... "CAW!", we're swept up again, and this time, we don't survive the fall.
Reload, restart.
This time, we managed to make it into the abandoned building without attracting the unwanted attentions of an overgrown parakeet - but that didn't mean we had it any easier. Even with our torch lighting the way, the building was still pitch black - and worse, it was crawling with enemies. With collapsed ceilings, broken walls and other assorted debris blocking our way, this was like trying to find your way home after having a few too many on a Friday night - or get round a maze blindfolded. With no waypoint marker or map to give you a hint about where to go next, we wandered around as though we were completely and utterly lost (while trying to at least look like we had half a clue what we were doing), occasionally having to fight for our life against an enemy who knew the place better than we did, while keeping our eye open for any filters. See, while in most games getting lost is an embarrassment only for yourself, in Metro, it can mean the difference between life and death, as if you end up simply retracing your steps, you'll be using up your filter time - and you won't be finding any new ones. Take too long, and you'll end up popping your clogs because you couldn't find your way out of an area.
Luckily for us, after much searching, some choking, and a few near death experiences later, we did manage to make it out the other side - but our comfort didn't last long. With the aforementioned bionic pigeons circling overhead, we legged it from cover to cover, before smashing our way through a building, only to be thrown into a quick time event as a much bigger beastie with legs tore through the corridor in front of us. Mashing a button to slam the door on its head, before eventually deciding to finish it off by stabbing it in the head (as blood spurts all over our nice new gas mask - lovely), we cautiously made our way into the building, before promptly being set on by a huge gaggle of enemies. I'm no good at judging the size of crowds, but I'd say there were at least 49,000 of them there - but the end result was the same. We were dead.
When it was originally released, Metro 2033 wasn't exactly a game that preached the virtues of accessibility from the rooftops. This was a game that was designed to be a hardcore shooter for military shooter fans, that all but removed the interface, waypoints, any sort of health bar and prompts, for maximum realism. The only problem is, realism sometimes makes a game rather awkward to play in practice, and many who may have found the setting and story of Metro interesting could well have been turned off by the awkward fixation with gas masks. But with the chance to go back and tweak some things under the bonnet, the team at 4A had the chance to make things that little bit more accessible - so will Metro Redux be being made any easier? In a word - no.
Not all of the game takes place outside - although while it may not be as dangerous, it's certainly more claustrophobic below the ground
"Some of the feedback we got from Metro Last Light was that by making the game more action oriented, by making the stealth more robust, we lost some of the survival horror vibe," brand manager Huw Beynon told us, "So what we've done is introduce these two play styles - Spartan is the Last Light experience with more robust combat, and is a little bit more forgiving, while Survival [has] weapons that take longer to reload, ammo is scarcer, and enemy AI that's quicker to react"
Bearing in mind we were playing on Spartan - the alleged easier mode - we're starting to wonder if the changes have gone in the wrong direction... If the game's this hard on easy, perhaps an easier mode - that adds the interface, waypoints, and other modern comforts back in, would help the game broaden its base.
Still, fans of the earlier games will no doubt be keen to see the changes here - and for those playing on PC, there's even word of a loyalty discount to sweeten the deal. Those who already have the original games (either 2033 or Last Light) in their Steam account on PC will be able to receive a 50% discount off the current asking price - but sadly, there's no such offer available on consoles as of yet. Seeing as plenty of people own Metro Last Light, as it's recently had a spell as a Playstation Plus title, it might be a nice touch to get people to make the jump.
Still, with a release set for August, Metro Redux will be bringing the nuclear winter to a PS4, Xbox One, or PC near you just in time for our very own nuclear winter to hit the UK - the lovely British Summertime. Keep your eyes peeled for a full review.
