Metro 2033 Redux

Zach Goodier

Metro 2033 is an FPS set in a post-apocalyptic Moscow where the survivors of a nuclear war live their lives in the metro stations under the city. Between the radiation above, and the mutated beasts roaming both above ground and within the dark tunnels, there is no shortage of threats to those who persist. You play as Artyom, a young man who has spent most of his live living in a metro station with other survivors. However, one day a Spartan ranger comes to the station, and soon the station falls under attack by mutant creatures, and a mysterious race called “the Dark Ones.” Artyom must embark on a mission to save not only his station, but the entirety of the Metro from devastation at the hands of this new threat.

The Metro is dark, and while the threats hide in the dark, so can you.

The story is very well done, immersing you in a desperate and divided world where everyone is finding their own way, resulting in factions, like the Stalinist Red Line and the Fourth Reich, who have gone to war over the remains of civilization within the tunnels. The Rangers are a neutral party devoted to keeping what outside threats they can at bay, such as the mutated animals, and eventually the Dark Ones. You meet interesting characters along the way who help make the dark tunnels feel less lonely, and they come to help you out along the way in finding your path.

Both environments and weapons all look and feel like piles of junk.

The game-play is excellent, with many weapons looking and feeling like the homemade patchwork guns they often are. Lots of guns are left over from the old world, but many have been fashioned from scraps and shoot metal balls or fashioned arrows, and tools like the re-charger make you have to stop to charge up the batteries on things like your flashlight, which use up juice. The game gives off a solid survival/horror vibe, with bits of fallout worked in here and there, like the currency, which is in military-grade ammo, which can be used to buy things, or used to give your weapons a huge damage boost, something I never even wanted to try.

All sorts of unpleasant creatures add to the tension, along with raiders and the Nazi/Communist war.

You can run-and-gun, but you often find it better to play it at least semi-stealthy so you can scout out enemies before committing to an attack. Gunfights are always exciting, and the lack of health bar means you have to gauge how hurt you are by the screen and breathing, which becomes more desperate as your injuries add up. Depending on the difficulty you choose, ammo can be very hard to come by, which supports the themes of survival and makes you seriously consider your approach to every encounter, and save ammo whenever possible.

The Dark Ones are a new and mysterious presence that makes the Metro even more perilous than usual.

Overall, this is an excellent game. The only real faults are that the game is very linear, with the ability to explore detours to find extra ammo here and there, so if you want an open game, don’t look here. Also, the cinematic nature of the game, with the cut-scenes, can sometimes rob the player of control to force you into a situation, which can break the immersion, and remind you that you’re playing someone else’s story, and that, to a certain extent, you are along for the ride. This doesn’t ruin the game at all, but for an RPG fan, it can feel difficult to have little influence on Artyom’s choices throughout the game. There are decisions you can make along the way that can open up an extra ending, but it still feels somewhat constricting and does limit the replay value. Still, If you want a world you can get lost in for hours, and a compelling story of survival and mystery, then look no further, the Metro is calling.

Good:

-Immersive world.

-Awesome weapons, both military and survivor-made.

-Great story of survival and mystery.

Bad:

-Linear, which limits exploration.

-Can be too cinematic at times, taking away control from the player at key moments to have a cut-scene that makes your decisions for you, and reminding you what little influence you have on the story.

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10

The Last of Us

By: Robert Murphy

Grab a box of tissues everyone because this one is going to be a game that tugs at your heart strings and the name of the game is “The Last of Us.” The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where people do what they can to get by and survive the world they are surrounded in, the game features two main characters an older man named Joel, who players control and Ellie, a young girl who is AI controlled. Now what begins to set The Last of Us apart from other "end of the world" style survival games is that the main core of the gameplay focuses on the relationship between Joel and Ellie and how they survive together. Joel who is gruff and surely man, who has survived this world and does whatever he can to do so, he does not rejoice in his pairing with Ellie and does not hide that, the relationship and struggles the two face however will soon change all that.

"I’m too old for this sh!t"

The game takes place in 2033 and Joel is trying to survive another day, doing what he does which is smuggling and trading goods with whoever will take them and this is where he and Ellie meet. In an early on mission Joel finds himself making a deal to transport Ellie in exchange for a large amount of money after a deal of his own initially doesn’t work out. The two must now travel across what remains of the U.S., a place that has been taken over by the elements and nature again and all that mankind had built has crumbled away. The two start out as well as you might expect with Joel being a sullen older man who would like to see the job over and done with as soon as possible and Ellie being a young girl who is the epitome of innocence, stuck in this situation that she most likely would not want to be in. There are levels of distrust and uncertainty between the two which is to be expected, given their situation, but the two gain a sort of dysfunctional father and daughter relationship though their travels where he teaches her what she needs to survive and shows her a world she’s never seen before. This comes up a lot as well since Ellie was born in this world she has no idea what things were like before the outbreak that turned people into ravaging creatures. Ellie will ask you questions about what the past was like and do other things like look through stores and marvel at nature and the creatures that are around.

You can already hear the conversation, “I hate you, I want to live with mom.”

Speaking of your surrounding “The Last of Us” comes with a beautifully designed world if you get the chance to look at it, but the beauty is often overshadowed by the fact that danger is around every corner. Combat itself is a tense and on edge experience as the ravenous creators that were once the human race attack as well as other survivors that are fighting to make it out in the wasteland and yours and Ellie’s fight for survival becomes a nerve racking experience for you as you are just a regular guy trying to survive this world. Now stealth is your friend in “The Last of Us” and you can obviously move stealthily and take down your enemies but the game also features a unique system where holding down R2 while crouching lets Joel listen carefully to his surroundings, giving him the location of enemies around him and helping him to avoid problems if you want to play that way. Some players may consider this a bit cheap, but I’d merely call it gamey. This doesn’t always come in handy though when you pick up partners along the way that want to go in guns blazing and start shooting anything that moves, this leaves you sitting there going “WHAT THE F$%K, MAN!” but I guess it can’t be avoided.

Nature taking back what’s her's

Now I feel I must take the time to tell you all about the infected creatures that you are facing in “The Last of Us,” these creatures came from mutated humans whose minds were infected by a fungus that corrupted their minds. The regular mass of these enemies are known as Runners, they charge at you without a second thought and aren’t afraid of anything you might throw at them, these creatures will take you down or die trying. These creatures however aren’t my main fear from the game, they aren’t anything I haven’t dealt with before, no the real problem I faced in the game came from the creatures known as Clickers. These are extremely mutated humans who have lost their sight and they make you never want to sleep again, least not without a night light and some covers close by to hide underneath. These creatures can only be killed with a silent shiv strikes or a gun but going in stealthily is the preferable choice of action since Clickers can kill you instantly once they get their hands on you and you don’t want that.

Holy frak!!!

Another enjoyable aspect to The Last of Us is the crafting element to the game, it is a vast wasteland out there and it is just begging to be explored and scavenged around in and who better to do it that you and Ellie. As you scavenge around for items you will find just about anything from booze, sugar and other miscellaneous items that can later be crafted into melee weapons or healing packs, whatever you might need or think you’ll need to help you in your travels. This however is a double edged sword as crafting is good but items you find in the world can only be used once and often times when you use an item, it’s hard to find another of the same item. So choosing to craft something or another thing or not craft at all and hold onto the item till later is always on your mind and makes you think twice before making something on a whim.

Finally, we come to the multiplayer aspect of the game which comes in two playable formats, one is known as Survivors and the other is called Supply Raid and both offer something for whatever your multi-playing preference is like. Survivors is a pretty straight forward concept where you are placed in a four on four match and you all use the same skills from the main game to kill the enemy team before they kill you. Then Supply Raid does something a little differently where the objective of the game mode is to slowly chip away at the enemy teams overall life total, which their whole team shares collectively, which makes you not want to be that guy dying all the time and acting without thinking first. Multiplayer also comes with a little something extra as well, your character like many other games is customizable but he or she is also a leader of a band of  survivors and as you progress and do well in online play your band of survivors starts to grow. The better you do, the more stuff you collect, the better and bigger your band of survivors will become, this making for an interesting little side project that makes the aspect of leveling up in multiplayer seem  worthwhile and not just for the trophies.

 Multiplayer characters

In conclusion, buy this game! Ha-ha, no, but I deeply enjoyed The Last of Us and all that it had to offer for me to experience and play through. The game brings you into a large and incredibly designed world with so much to see and do, all the while offering a great story that tugs at your heart strings from beginning to end. Joel and Ellie are great characters and make for a unique  video game pairing that games haven’t really done before and I completely loved it from the very first moment the two meet one another. This all coupled with great combat mechanics and enjoyable multiplayer, you won’t find yourself regretting the 60 dollars you pay to play The Last of Us.

Good:

-Excellent story

-Ellie and Joel’s unique and dysfunctional relationship is amazing to watch unfold

-Amazing world to be explored, coupled with stellar graphics

-It’s a survival game like no other

Bad:

-Nothing that I can complain about here folks

Scully Rating: 10 out of 10