Metro Last Light

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“	Last bullet. Last breath. Last chance.	„
— Tagline

Metro Last Light (commonly and acceptably titled: Metro: Last Light - formerly known as Metro 2034, and often abbreviated as simply, Last Light) is a Post-Apocalyptic First Person Shooter, and sequel to Metro 2033 developed by 4A Games and published by Deep Sliver.

Overview

As the sequel Metro 2033, Metro Last Light follows the same gameplay formula. With the player character, Artyom, journeying across linear sections of a Post-Apocalyptic Metro System and an irradiated surface of post-apocalyptic Moscow, hoping to save what's left of humanity, long after World War III. In this inhospitable landscape the player must guide Artyom into following friends, battling dangerous mutants, as well as engaging in either firefights with enemy factions, or complex stealth missions in which remaining unseen is vital for survival.

The story takes place after Metro 2033, with a new story guided by Dmitry Glukhovsky but written in house at 4A-Games. The story continues on from the canonical ending of the previous game, in which Artyom destroyed the mysterious new mutant threat, the Dark Ones. In this setting Artyom and his allies: Khan and many others Rangers, join forces once again to defend D6 from many foes including the Fourth Reich, communists and bandits. With this new installment 4A has introduced a multitude of new weapons, such as the bolt-action rifle, a single-shot pistol, a hand powered chain gun, as well new locations to play in.

The game was released on May 14th, 2013, on Xbox 360, PC through Steam and, unlike Metro 2033, PS3. Metro: Last Light was announced at E3 2011 to appear on the upcoming Nintendo console, the Wii-U, however, one year later at E3 2012 it was confirmed that the Wii-U would not be seeing Metro Last Light.

Plot Synopsis

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“	It is the year 2034. Beneath the ruins of post-apocalyptic Moscow, in the tunnels of the Metro, the remnants of mankind are besieged by deadly threats from outside – and within. Mutants stalk the catacombs beneath the desolate surface, and hunt amidst the poisoned skies above. But rather than stand united, the station-cities of the Metro are locked in a struggle for the ultimate power, a doomsday device from the military vaults of D6. A civil war is stirring that could wipe humanity from the face of the earth forever. As Artyom, burdened by guilt but driven by hope, you hold the key to our survival – the last light in our darkest hour…	„

Metro: Last Light takes place one year after the events of Metro 2033, proceeding from the ending where Artyom chose to call down the missile strike on the Dark Ones. The Rangers have since occupied the D6 military facility, with Artyom having become an official member of the group. Khan, the nomad mystic, arrives at D6 to inform Artyom and the Rangers that a single Dark One survived the missile strike. Khan believes the Dark One is the key to humanity's future, and wants to make peace with it, while Ranger leader Colonel Miller wants to kill the creature due to its potential threat. Miller sends Artyom to the surface with a mission to kill the Dark One; he is accompanied by Anna, Miller's sarcastic daughter and the Rangers' best sniper.

Artyom succeeds in finding the Dark One, who turns out to be a mere child, but the two of them are captured by soldiers of the Nazi Reich. A good-natured communist Red Line soldier, Pavel Morozov, helps Artyom escape the Reich, and the two befriend each other after spending considerable time fighting across the metro tunnels and the wasted surface together. However, when the two reach a Red Line settlement, Pavel is revealed to be a high-ranking officer of the Red Line and allows them to capture Artyom. While escaping captivity, Artyom learns of a plan by the Red Line's head of military intelligence, General Korbut, to capture D6 and take control of the entire metro. Korbut is assisted by Pavel as well as Lesnitsky, a traitorous Ranger who escaped to the Red Line with samples of a bioweapon stolen from D6.

Artyom manages to rescue the Dark One child, with Khan's assistance. After a series of flashbacks where Artyom learns the Dark Ones saved his own life when he was a child, Artyom decides to protect the Dark One. While escorting the Dark One back to Polis, Artyom is confronted by first Lesnitsky and later Pavel. The Dark One uses his powers to read their minds, allowing Artyom to learn of General Korbut's plan to capture D6 and use a bioweapon from the facility to exterminate all human life in the Metro not aligned with the Red Line. After each confrontation, Artyom is given the choice of forgiving his enemy, or taking revenge on them.

The two arrive at Polis, the metro's central station, where a peace settlement between Hansa, Red Line, and Reich is taking place. The Dark One uses his telepathic abilities to make the Red Line leader Chairman Moskvin publicly confess his crimes, including the fact that the peace conference is simply a diversion for General Korbut to attack D6. Artyom, Miller, Khan, and the Rangers make a final stand against Korbut's army, and after they are nearly defeated, plan to detonate D6. As they do so, General Korbut's secret weapon, an armored train breaks through the defensive line and destroys the platform, incapacitating all of the defenders. A heavily injured Artyom awakes to the group surrounded by Korbut and his men, who are preparing to execute them.

There are two endings to the game following this. In the bad ending, Artyom will activate D6's self-destruct device to prevent Korbut from using the facility to wipe out the remnants of humanity, resulting in the deaths of both the Ranger and Red Army. Artyom is survived by Anna, who is shown an unspecified time later telling her and Artyom's child of his father's adventures. In the good ending, Artyom prepares to activate the device, but is stopped by the Dark One child, who arrives along with several other surviving Dark Ones who had been hibernating inside a secret chamber in D6; the Dark Ones defeat Korbut's army, making it unnecessary for Artyom to sacrifice himself and D6. Artyom credits the Dark One child with being humanity's "last light" of hope for his efforts. In both endings, after the events of the game, the Dark One child leaves with the surviving Dark Ones, promising either Anna or Artyom that they would come back to help the world rebuild.

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Gameplay Changes

Story

Scattered throughout the world now are pieces of Artyom's Journal - which outline the thoughts and emotions of the otherwise normally silent protagonist.

World Management

From the first trailers it was shown that Artyom's watch would be significantly different in Last Light. Instead of the, at-times confusing system of the three LEDs and three colored areas one Artyom's dive-watch, Artyom's new watch is digital. The new watch replaces estimated filter time, with concise digital numbers which indicate how much time Artyom has left in his filter - with each filter starting the countdown at exactly five minutes. Replacing the three LEDs for the stealth indicator is now a simple single blue light that states if Artyom can or can't be seen.
- Augmenting this is in stealth missions is a shrill horn sound effect, that plays when Artyom is in danger of being spotted, and must move immediately.

Combat

In response to criticisms of lackluster combat in 2033, weapon reload time, battery charge time and Artyom's movement have all seen an increase in efficiency or "tightness". 4A games has given the in-universe explanation that this is to signify Artyom's expertise with weaponry, now that he is a ranger. These changes have been met with mixed reactions from long-time fans of Metro 2033, with many praising the high-quality controls but criticizing the general ease of combat left by it.
Weapons such as the grenade and the throwing knives are given their own devoted sub menu. Appearing only in the standard difficulties, with the menu open the game slows down about four times. This could be very effective at some times, especially when entering an area where the player suddenly faces an enemy, as it is a very good way to valuate the situation, and get time to think. Besides that, the player can shoot and reload, even when looking down the ironsights. The only drawback is that it is still impossible to aim, but the player can strafe and duck to attempt to hit their target. The sounds also warp in the same way as some of the cinematics, and when smoking the "bong".
Hitmarkers - markers that appear on the HUD when the player successfully hits an enemy, and depict where and how hard the shot hit - are also in the game, however, they, along now with all features of the HUD are disabled in Ranger difficulties.
Metro Last Light sees the inclusion of purchasable weapon mods, which replace the pre-modded weapons found in 2033. Now, Artyom can hold three weapons of any kind (two, in the Ranger difficulties) and modify them to their preference.
In Metro: Last Light, maintaining stealth is easier than in 2033. As the stealth system is simplified with easier enemy AI.

Reception

Metro: Last Light received positive reviews, generally higher than Metro 2033, with most complimenting the game's graphics and story, however, criticizing the game's induction of linear sequences and character animations. Game Informer's Jeff Marchiafava gave the game a rating of 8.75/10, stating that human AI has been greatly improved. IGN's Colin Moriarty stated as verdict that "Metro: Last Light is a bold post-apocalyptic first person shooter adventure uniquely told from the Russian point of view". Last Light's setting and presentation are its strong points, though the last third of its campaign is weaker then everything that came before it stated Colin. He scored it 7.2/10 for consoles and 7.7/10 for the PC. Of the highest reviews, GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd awarded it with a 9.0/10 calling it "an astonishing and moving post-apocalyptic journey", with GameTrailer's Nathan Meunier awarding "one of the best looking and unique shooters of [the] year ... with an incredible atmosphere that really [sticks]", the highest score of 9.1/10. Metro Last Light topped very few 'best of 2013' lists outside those of more dedicated fans. Despite this, it recieved many nominations for Best Shooter of 2013 and was notably awarded as the 4th best FPS of 2013 by Gameranx, 2nd place on Wikia's own Community Choice Awards , and the runner up to the Escapist Magazine's best shooter of 2013.

Retail Versions

Limited edition US — United States Limited Edition bonuses

It was revealed in December that all initial run copies would be the Limited Edition of Metro: Last Light and include Ranger Mode, an extra 100 military-grade rounds, and a Modified Russian Rifle (AKS-74U). In other countries, an RPK-74 is shown with drum magazines. The RPK-74 is available in the US with a GameStop pre-order. Many gaming stores in Poland offer both the AKS-74U and the RPK-17 as part of the deal. Some other countries around the world seem to have this deal, whilst others do not. Although the Limited Edition offer varies from region to region, the features that all of its iterations have in common are the Ranger difficulty modes and the bonus ammunition.

Metro Last Light - Wersja Przedpremierowa PNG — The dual pre-order offer spotted at numerous gaming stores in Poland prior to the game's release.

The Limited Edition caused controversy among many gaming enthusiasts up to and after the release. Many people were upset over the fact of not getting Ranger Mode without pre-ordering, buying a first-run copy in the month of release, or paying $5.00/4.00 euro, for the DLC. Even more-so, it was widely discussed that, unlike the Ranger Pack DLC in Metro 2033, the extra difficulties had originally been designed within the game and then removed for DLC sales. A number of fans and vocal members of the game-community alike further complained when Deep Silver's promotional advertisements stated that the Ranger Mode was "the way the game was meant to be played" - questioning why, if it was the genuine version of the game, it was not bundled with the standard product. An official response by Huw Beynon explained that content had been a mandatory requirement for a pre-order bonus, and rather than remove story elements or missions from the game, they opted to remove an extra difficulty setting, knowing that fans who would most be interested in the setting, would most likely be pre-ordering the game regardless. Furthermore much of the Limited Edition controversy pertaining to frequently frowned upon micro-transactions, could be attributed to the fact that the pre-order bonus had to remain unchanged from the bankrupting THQ's initial policy, lest thousands of Limited Edition pre-orders from multiple vendors have to be refunded for another offer designated by Koch Media.

Downloadable Content

Pre-Release Media

Following the announcement teaser were E3 2011's media releases, during which a trailer and several pieces of concept art had been released along with a small (non-video) walkthrough given to journalists. A twelve minute gameplay demo had been released, detailing Artyom and Khan's (who would later be replaced by Pavel in the game) infiltration into the Fourth Reich, as well as several other interviews.

In the weeks before E3 2012, THQ produced a four-minute long live action short outlining the general panic of when the bombs fell.

At E3 2012, it has produced numerous new videos and interviews outlining new characters, supernatural segments, and the possible return of vengeful Dark One.

In early December, a multitude of interviews were released along with short gameplay segments detailing several metro stations, including Venice; a large station with many canals running through it. Weapon customization was detailed, with retailers selling a myriad of attachments for all weapons, including night-vision sights, silencers, muzzle brakes, and laser sights.

In March 2013, a new trailer was released, titled "Salvation." It depicted poor, restless citizens of various stations in their normal lives in the Metro. It then changes to the subject of the Fourth Reich, showing crowds hailing their commander, the unnamed Führer. Multiple clips of Nazi soldiers training themselves were shown, as well as two soldiers executing prisoners with Kalashes. A short scene is shown in which six men are barricading themselves with riot shields of some sort. A seventh man comes in from between them and sprays fire around with a flame thrower. At the very end, a young boy is shown in the reflection of what appears to be a Dark One's black eye.

Metro Redux

Metro: Last Light is to be remade, along with Metro 2033 for the next-generation consoles and PC. Metro Redux is slated for a 2014, summer release.

Trivia

During the early official trailers, the song "Machine Gun" by Portishead was used.
On May 26, 2012, a new reel of gameplay footage was released on Gametrailers.com, but was quickly removed; fortunately for fans, it had been copied and uploaded it to YouTube.
Multiplayer that was originally in development for the Metro 2033 was put on hold once again. 4A Games made a decision to concentrate on single player campaign first. Developers claim that it might be released as Free-To-Play (F2P) Downloadable Content (DLC) afterwards.^[1]
OXM (Official Xbox Magazine) said in its preview that the game has a comparison to Half Life 2, which is understandable since Metro: Last Lights old publisher THQ said that it rekindles memories to Half Life 2.
On the PC version of Metro Last Light, a successful Alt-Tab can be used to skip the normally, unskip-able logo sequence.

Gallery

Teaser Art

Early Promotional Screenshots

Gameinformer Preview

December 2012

Holiday 2012/2013

March 2013

Post-Release Concept Art

Video

Metro Last Light E3 2012 Stage Demo

Metro Last Light - "Salvation" Gameplay Trailer (Official U.K. Version)

Metro Last Light - Ranger Survival Guide - Chapter 3 - Weapons and Inventory

Metro Last Light - Mobius Trailer

References

↑ Excerpt from an interview with Andrew Prokhorov

[1] Excerpt from an interview with Andrew Prokhorov

[1]