Metro 2033

Metro 2033

Many of the modern American well-known game companies create poorly developed games without the decency or appeal that would be needed to entice several people. Because of this, a handful of nice games from other less popular companies never reach thousands of people. However, this game here did reach me- and though it still may remain not as well known as it should be, it is an amazing game and needs to be known. Today, I’ll be sharing with you my review on 4A games’ ‘Metro 2033’.
Set in the post-apocalyptic ruins of Moscow in the year 2033, all the last remaining Moscow cititizens moved into the large city’s metro tunnels, and over the many years turned it into a fortress; a home against the grim, bitter world lacking life, except for the foul mutants and demons that prowl through the land on the ground. The continous war between the humans and the Dark Ones, the mutants, was nearing an end. With the Dark Ones brutually murdering every human they found, and even lurking throughought the metro station, it was clear that humanity would perish if something was not done. In this game, you play as a twenty year old man named Artyom, who begins a long journey when his friend Hunter sends him on a mission which may decide which specie will win: The Dark Ones, or the humans.
This is a truly detailed, gloomy game with great graphics and a decent feel to it. It does not simply portray gore and screaming and slap it all in your face hoping you would feel something. While it does have lots of gore, it also has a feel of panic or fear. Never knowing what might be crawling in the shaddows, and not knowing wether the mutant that ate the corpse before you is still around is always the correct recipe for a perfect post-apocalyptic game. Oh, and did I mention to you that the game even goes into enough detail to require a gas mask at all times on the surface or in other certain locations? This may seem like an obvious feature, but several post apocalyptic games don’t have this.
The assortment of tools in this game are also really amazing. Like I mentioned, there is not only a gas mask which you have to careful with because it can crack in battle, but it requires air filters that can be bought in stores or found by scavenging. A flashlight and nightvision goggles are also there for you to use, and can each be powered up by pumping pressure into them manually. This is a post-aoycalyptic world- you don’t get high-tech technology.. These tools are a great feature that really help you out and make you feel as if you are actually battling in a bitter Moscow full of anxiety, and panic.

Trust your gas mask and weapon to protect you from the horrors of the ruins of Moscow.

Metro 2033 captures the feeling of desperatness, and has the player economise precious ammunition, and greatly rewards scavenging. Along every path you explore, there will be alot of spare supplies lying around, so you don’t just simply go through a straight path hoping that there will be some spare ammo lying around wherver you go. If you hear the click of your gun’s lack of ammo, then you know you shouldv’e economised ammunition or scavenged around more. Only the smart and strong survive in situations like this.
Apart from scavenging, you can also buy items at shops for a better chance of survival. The metro has several shops at stations, and the only currency used is shiny-pre war bullets that can be found lying around everywhere. Through the game, you will find several different types of weapons, with five main categories for guns: assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, a revolver, or just the good old fashion knife/throwing knife. These can also be bought through stores, and upgraded with attachments such as red dot sight, silencers, or attached knives.
It doesn’t even stop there. Apart from there being the constant need for survival on your mind while you play Metro 2033, there’s also other strange things that make you want to keep playing the game for answers: paranormal activity in several ‘haunted’ locations. There’s also the moments where you step into another universe with ‘The Dark Ones’ whispering something, trying to stop you from reaching a certain goal. But was it? What does this mean?

What is this new phenomenon..?

However, one slight let-down is that Metro 2033 most certainly is not a sandbox game. You don’t have the option to explore the vast ruins of Moscow wherever and whenever you please. The game simply rather makes you to go through particular paths to reach your goal location. Don’t go around expecting an expansive world like Fallout gave you. While this is a slight disappointment, it doesn’t add dull repetative locations. Each and every tunnel you explore has its own eery, and creepy feel to it with varied enemies. There’s also the option of wether you should pass through like a ninja using the shadows as your friend, or attack head on. Several other locations such as the vast ruins of the outside Moscow or pre-war buildings also wait for you to explore. You don’t also just simply do one thing in general such as advance forward, and kill everyone blindly. Every mission varies in size, feel, or even goal in general. This isn’t such a huge problem, but it would have been nice to be able to explore the areas you’ve been through again after beating the game.

Nope, you don’t just walk all the time and kill all hostiles.

This game has several required missions, as well as some optional ones that will make you feel good about yourself when completed, as well as give you karma. Throughout the game, you will get rewarded with karma points for every good thing you do such as avoiding an enemy’s death, or helping out someone in need. At the end of the game, based on the amount of karma points you get, you will either recieve the ‘bad’ ending, or the ‘good’ ending. I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say both endings make sense and aren’t crummy and question-raising.
Alas, a game can’t be completly perfect. The better games usually have a handful of glitches, and this is one of those games. Sometimes, the correct action doesn’t happen when you hit the correct buttons, and in other times cutscenes don’t play through normally and require for you to load your last checkpoint. However, these aren’t huge problems and can easily be forgotten.
The final thing I would like to say about this game is just overall how I felt while playing it. It may have lasted me at least twenty hours on normal mode, but I most certainly do not regret buying it. Like I said, this isn’t a game with random violence and gore, hoping for you to be frightened by it. The atmosphere, the very feel itself of being in such a world- is just right for a great game.

After thinking over it, the glitches are minor, and the inability to explore freely after the game ends isn’t to bad either. This game is great enough to deserve five stars.

Don’t listen to the popular game reviewers such as IGN. This is an amazing game, and if you have an Xbox 360 or a Windows computer, then I definetly recommend getting Metro 2033. It not only lasts a decent amount of time, but it really puts the saying ‘The survival of the fittest’ into action. With a unique story based on Dmitry Glukhovsky’s book Metro 2033, and even an option to play the game in Russian, Metro 2033 is a game you should definitely pick up.

The rage meter shows just how frustrated you can get with this game. The highlighted level is the one this game gets. Here are the levels:

Level 1) It’s all cool. I like this game. Not angry in the slightest bit.

Level 2) This is slightly annoying…

Level 3) It’s getting out of hand…

Level 4) OKAY… Starting to get angry..

Level 5) Excuse me while I go and smash everyone in my lobby’s console. $#@$@$#@$@$!!@#!!(~((!)

2,000 hits = Giveaway

Have you noticed that the blog has just recently hit two thousand total hits? Well, I know I most certainly have and personally, I think that’s good news to see that my blog is gaining traffic. What started out as a simple idea grew into several hours of reviews for you to enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing them for you. I honestly had no idea that I would actually reach such an amount. Though it may not be much, it’s a big step. Maybe later on it’ll be five thousand views- then one day, ten thousand. But that is dozens or maybe even hundreds of reviews away, and maybe even with some game play of each game thrown in as well! Yes, I’ve been considering getting a Roxio Game Capture card, and if I decide to do so, you’ll get some HD game play along with each review. To make you readers enjoy this as much as I do, I’ve decided to host another small 100 Microsoft Point Giveaway.

   100 Microsoft Point Giveaway! To enter, all you have to is subscribe with your e-mail, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Then, leave a comment below. The winner will be contacted through his or her e-mail if he/she is following us and liked us. The contest ends on July 5th, 2012. Good luck! Also, I’ve decided to have even larger giveaway prizes when I reach certain points. Here they are!

Three thousand hits: 200 Microsoft Points

Five thousand hits: 400 Microsoft Points

Ten thousand hits: 800 Microsoft Points

*These will be given away only if the blog is still in my interests and I am actively writing on it.

Metro 2033

Tomorrow, I’ll begin writing a review on Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s  ‘Vietnam’ downloadable content. If you are tired of DLC reviews, then don’t worry- in a few days, you’ll be getting one on ‘Metro 2033’, a interesting post-apocalyptic game developed in Ukraine.

Grand Theft Auto IV [The Lost and Damned]

The Lost and Damned

Hey, welcome back! I’m glad that I finally got back to writing more reviews so that you can be able to know about what you are planning to purchase, or just to see what the game/DLC is like! I’ve been playing alot of Grand Theft Auto IV lately, so I  even got around to buying a downloadable add-on called ‘The Lost and Damned’. After playing it for a few hours, I’ve decided that I’ll kick back into business by reviewing it. Enjoy, and thank you once again for coming by.

The Lost and Damned

The Lost and Damned is a ten dollar downloadable content package that expands the game and allows you to play it as a different character with several new features, missions, and even game physics. This DLC has you playing as the vice president named Johnny of the infamous biker gang of Liberty City. It’s a great way to continue playing Grand Theft Auto IV once you’ve already beaten the original story as it contains several spoilers.

First off, the pack includes a decent amount of  new missions, side missions, and multiplayer game modes for you to play. The story lasts about 7-10 hours, and can extend longer if you decide to complete all the other side missions there are. You play mainly completing tasks to keep the gang alive such as selling drugs, stealing, killing and fighting against your primary rival, The Angels of Death. Apart from that, there are other action filled missions just for money- but don’t worry, although it may sound simple, you actually jump straight into the action just minutes after you begin  playing TLAD. Also, since you are part of a gang, a number of the missions will played alongside with your fellow ‘brothers’, which can be prove to be a great help if you raise their toughness, which can be done by completing missions with them. The story isn’t very appealing as the original one, but still proves to be a decent amount of fun to experience what it’s like to play from Johnny’s point of view since you even meet Niko in a mission where you played as him. Throughout the game, you may have heard of prison breaks and terrorist attacks, and here you get to be the one doing all those things. Awesome!

Secondly, it gives you great new feeling of playing the game. Rockstar decided to add a more rough feeling to the game, and slightly changed the way the game looks. It looks darker, and adds a slightly depressing feeling to the environment. This is very fitting since you are part of a infamous gang, and adds a complete new way of playing GTA IV.  Apart from that, the motorcycle physics have been greatly improved. While playing as Niko, the slightest hit in a motorcycle will send you flying dozens of feet into the air. However, in TLAD you’re glued to the seat in most times, and this makes riding the bikes such an advantage that you won’t ever want to drive a car, which is great because you are supposed to be a ‘biker for life’. Although you aren’t entirely immune to falling off your bike, the times that you are sent  flying into the air from bike crashing will be greatly reduced. Now ain’t that something?

Riding with your brothers for life down the streets is something you’ll be doing alot.

The next great thing that this content pack has to offer is the perks of being in a gang. Instead of being more of a lone wolf such as Niko was, you’ll have alot more perks in being part of a gang. Your friends can drive bikes to you when you are in need, you have  the ability to call them for support in some missions, and they can even sell you guns for discounted prices. You also have a gang clubhouse where you can do all the basic things such as save your game, watch television, get on the internet, or even hang out with other gang members in arm wresting, pool, or cards.

Of course, there’s also new toys such as the sawed of shotgun, automatic 9mm, automatic shotgun (awesomeness), or grenade launcher. It’s a shame that you can’t use these in the original story, but it’s still good to have it here. It feels great to ride roughly on your bike with the new awesome crash resistance while holding onto new weapons, and blasting them away at whoever and whatever you want. Not only that, but there are new radio stations, television shows, etc. There’s also a new air hockey game where you can play it against your gang brothers.

Another great thing I have to say about ‘The Lost and Damned’ is that it has a new way of racing. In races, you will ride in bikes and will be able to knock other players on your left or right side with baseball bats. It’s always fun to race by and smack another player in the face right off their bike, right?

Finally, let’s cover the new multiplayer options. You still access multiplayer through your cell phone, but now you have a ‘Instant Play’ option where you can quickly hop into a game. There are also six new game modes. One is called “Witness protection”, a team based game mode where one squad plays at the Lost, and other as the N.O.O.S.E. who try to protect three witnesses as they make their way to the police station with evidence against the bikers, whose job is to kill them to make sure they don’t squeal. The next mode, “Own the City”, is a territorial game where each team attempts to gain as many territories in the city as possible. There is one problem, however: Each territory your team takes over has its own NPC characters that protect it while you’re off taking over another, so you can’t just steal an enemy’s territory while they’re away without a fight.

Looks like this Lone Wolf is in for a fight.

The third is is motorcycle racing as I described earlier, but in multiplayer. Fourth, is  “Lone Wolf Biker” where a player is the ‘lone wolf’ and has to survive as long as possible with all the other players charging to attempt to take him down. Kill the Lone Wolf, and you become the target. The longest player to survive as the Lone Wolf wins the game. In “Chopper vs. Chopper”, you play as either a pilot in a helicopter or the driver of a motorcycle. If you are the driver, you have to get to as many checkpoints throughout the city as possible, while the pilot simply has to take the biker down.

And finally, the sixth new game mode: “Club Business,” in which  everyone plays as a member of the Lost. Tasks will be announced, and everyone will rush to complete as many of them first in order to win. However, you will gain money by completing tasks and the team with the most cash will in the team-based version of this game mode.

Riding on your motorcycle with your new double barrel out. Lots of fun.

Overall, for ten dollars this is something you’ll want to get if you’re a fan of Grand Theft Auto four and have already played the original story. It feels great to be able to experience how to play as another character with a new gritty look to the city, and get the perks of being in a gang instead of being alone. Plus, when you throw in awesome new ways of riding the motorcycles and all the new things to see, hear, and do in the city, this is a DLC you  should pick up for only ten dollars. I’m having fun seeing the city in its new look, ride on my bike and smash into cars all I want and not fall off, or just play the new missions as the vice president of a vicious biker gang.

Con’s:

• The story isn’t as appealing as the original GTA IV story.

• You still occasionally fly of your bike from the slightest hits.

Pro’s:

• Six great new multiplayer gamemodes.

• New gritty look to the city as well as updated TV shows, websites, radio stations, etc

• New weapons and the great new bike physics

• Experience Johnny point of view in several missions and side tasks.

• New ways of racing, and new games such as air hockey, arm wrestling or cards.

Call of Duty: Black Ops [Rezurrection]

So far, the only thing I’ve ever reviewed was games. Even though there were many games reviewed, and many people got to scoop in information from my reviews, I think that it’s time that maybe I go in and review a few select DLC. Today, I’ll be reviewing Call of Duty: Black Op’s fourth and last DLC, ‘Rezurrection’.

Being the last DLC is probably the reason that Treyarch decided to make it something special, and different from all the others. Thus, they decided to not only include one completely new zombie map just like every other DLC, which was Moon, but to also include four remastered World at War maps, including ‘Nacht Der Untoten, Shi No Numa, Verruckt, and the all time favorite, Der Riese. I’ll start off by reviewing every single map in order of their release and then combining a conclusion to whether this DLC is worth the fifteen dollar pricetag on it.

Call of Duty: Black Ops- Rezurrection

To kick off our list is ‘Nacht Der Untoten’, the smallest, and first zombie map of the Call of Duty series. Originally in World at War, the map had no pack-a-punch, electricity, or perk-a-cola machines. It was known for its small, compact size in the creepy small ruined German building setting. Not only was there a downstairs area, there was an upstairs one where the player could scan incoming zombies and eliminate them in the foggy outside ruins before they come in. It provides a certain amount of older standard wall weapons, such as double barrel shotgun, rifles/sniper rifles, and assault rifles. There’s also one random box that doesn’t move (there is no teddy bear that moves the box). The map is great for quick, intense matches of zombies as it is tiny, and only has three unlock able doors/debris. Much to our despise, Treyarch didn’t even bother to add perks, except for one- Mule Kick. Nor did they include pack-a-punch or electricity. The map itself remains completely the same. There aren’t even any easter eggs, or dogs that provide max ammo. Still, it is a good, fun map.

Next off is ‘Shi No Numa’, the old Japanese swamp village. It’s a medium sized, unordinary zombie map with four different sections with their own huts you could head to. Each has its own special trap, and random perk-a-cola machine. The guns off the walls are of all nations, but mainly German, with favorites such as the ‘Trench gun’, and the ‘BAR’. There is no electricity, or pack-a-punch; however, there is a special zipline cart to let the player escape from the ground from the hundreds of zombie minions (there are no dogs), to the center/main building. This map is a pretty good one- there’s also several easter eggs hidden around the place.

Following that is ‘Verruckt’, a overrun, burned down sanatorium in Germany. It’s a rectangular shaped building, with a small courtyard in the center for the zombies only. The unique part of this map is that the spawn has a door that seperates two groups of players, and can only be opened once the power switch is turned on. The guns on the walls are mainly German, such as the ‘MP40’, but like always there are older World War II weapons of all nations. All of the perks are there, as well as several electrical traps to keep of waves of zombies.

Der Riese, the overrun German factory.

The last remaining remastered World at War map is ‘Der Riese’, yet another German map, yet this time a factory somewhere in Berlin. This map is a favorite among many gamers, and I can see why. It is large, has three teleporters, all the perk-a-colas, and just about everything else that Black Ops zombie maps have. It has several doors to unlock, many German guns off the walls, and pack-a-punch. This map is great for co-op, and provides lots of fun zombie shooting throughout the many rooms and areas of the factory. Easter eggs show that it was overrun and then abandoned in panic. There’s even a dead hand on the power switch. It has dogs every six rounds, and then eventually the zombies and dogs mix together, creating a even greater co-op challenge.

Moon map’s small indoor field with gravity launchers.

And finally, the new Call of Duty: Black Ops map: Moon. It has a cool setting and idea for zombies- the moon. Not only is it that, but there’s is even a small little map back on Earth’s area 51, where you can play a minigame of running away from unlimited zombies until you have enough and step on the teleporter to moon. You are required to keep on a helmet at all times for oxygen, which muffles out the noise and introduces a new way of shooting zombies- that, and no gravity, which means higher jumping. The map is large, and has everything that the other up-to-date zombie maps have, including a new perk called ‘hacker’, which reduces the price of opening doors. There are no dogs, but has many stronger zombies. The guns on the walls are up-to-date, and there are even new, fiction ones such as you see in the picture above. It’s known for its hard challenges, and has a center field where you can jump on gravity launchers that shoot you up in the air. It’s not a great map compared to the others, but certainly does still provide fun.

Is this DLC pack worth it? Maybe not if you have already played the World at War maps. But if you haven’t, and are a zombie fan, this is the DLC pack for you. You can get Call of Duty: Black Op’s fourth map pack, Rezurrection, for only $14.99 from Black Op’s in-game store. I’ve decided to also include a small pro’s and con’s list to every DLC I review in the future, just like the games have their own rage meter. So, here they are:

Pro’s: 

• Four cool remastered zombie maps with new guns, perks, and easter eggs.
• A new zombie map, moon.
• Fitting zombie settings.
• More one-four player co-op/solo zombie slaying.

Con’s:

• Remastered maps aren’t remade to well; they barely changed in actual content.
• Maps are still a bit glitchy here and there.
• Little effort/ideas put into ‘remastering’ the maps.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2- Trailer/Leaked Info!

Yesterday, on May the 1st 2012, Treyarch released the official reveal trailer on the long anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. And, much to gamers’ surprise, it had a new unexpected campaign. It started off with Woods, who was thought to have died, talking and explaining how technology has become stronger over the many years, but people have become weaker, and were completely relying on their computers, drones, robots, missiles, and all other warfare devices that have been created to protect the people. But, then he asks an important question: What do we do when the enemies take over them? It then goes on to show how a huge battle is fought once again against their own technology to get everything back. It does look epic, but then again Modern Warfare 3’s trailer did to, but was it really? No. Being a big fan of Treyarch and not so much of Activision, I’ll still hope that Black Ops 2 will be as awesome as it looks like. I must admit though, it does sort of like a sci-fi game, more like Crysis style, meaning that the Call of Duty series are running out of ideas, and have already turned to futuristic shooters. Check it out for yourself, and tell me what you think in the comments. I’m not sure if I will buy it, but some of you guys might.

There’s also been some leaked info revealed on the official Call of Duty forums, but was later on removed by mods, meaning that the information was true and Treyarch/Activision doesn’t want people to know about it just in case it may lead them to think that the game will suck and they won’t be willing to buy it. But anyways, here’s some of that deleted info for you. This may be false info, but there is a 99.9% it is true.

Gamemodes:

– There will be a new gamemode called ‘Escort’, where there will be a V.I.P./president who will need to be escorted to a certain area of the map (there will be 2-3 areas depending on the map size), without getting killed. The enemy team will need to take him down. Seems like a fun idea. It will be slightly similar to ‘Search and Destroy’, so maybe the games were be more slow paces with no respawning, or maybe a limited  amount of rounds. Let’s hope there is a small time limit to keep it face-paced.

– Modern Warfare 3’s gamemodes called ‘Dropzone’ and ‘Kill Confirmed’ will be in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

– ‘Team Defender’ and ‘Infected’ will not be there.

Point Streaks/Killstreak:

– Bomb plant will be 2 points

– A Neutral flag is worth 1 point streak.

– Capturing an enemy flag is worth 2 points.

– A Flag assist capture is 1 point.

-The RC-XD will not be in Black Ops 2. This is a bit relaxing as I was constantly being killed by random toy cars. It was fun, but wasn’t when you were a victim of it.

– There will be a new Heat Vision killstreak reward. When you get enough kills, your player will put on an infrared scope on your primary gun, excluding shotguns. It will be able to see through some walls.

– Some kind of new care-package like killstreak, with 5  points needed but will include things such as ammo, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, a minigun, or body armor (hopefully only explosive resistant). The ammo in the new special killstreak might mean Scavenger will leave, but I certainly hope not.

Perks:

–  This is confusing, but the Specialist streak has been modified, and since it is not a point streak this is strange, but who knows- maybe it is in CoD 9.

– 2nd kill in Specialist gets you one (1) perk.

– 4th kill in Specialist will get you two (2) more perks.

– 6th kill will get you three (3) more perks.

– 8th kill will get you four (4) more perks.

– There will be a new perk called Speed which reduces the time it takes to ‘aim down the sight’.

– There are two versions a perk can upgrade to, each requiring its own challenges. Once one of them is unlocked, the player can select that as his/hers perk pro. Once selected, the only way to chose the other option is to prestige.

Ranks:

– There will be 15 prestiges, with 50 ranks in every prestige.

– Every 2 prestiges, there is a 5 rank increase. This means that in the last prestige, there will be 90 levels.

Removed:

– No M.O.A.Bs/Nukes.

– No Last Stand/Second Chance.

– No more death streaks.

– There is no longer a flamethrower attachment.

– Aim assist for sniper rifles will be gone. There will be less sway.

– Your character’s look won’t be based on the perks you chose (see below for more info)

– There won’t be any more grenade launchers in hardcore mode. Only vehicle guided rocket launchers will be allowed as well. No more camping noobs with RPGs. Awesome!

Combat training:

– It will return in Black Ops 2.

– Its difficulty is no longer based on how long the bots take to start shooting.

– Bots now have an advanced A.I. system.

Other:

– Your chracter’s look will be a combination of all perks/killstreaks.

– Elite will be returning as Elite 2.0. Combat recording has been changed/renamed as ‘Elite Stats’. Specific lobbies for clan matches to level up clans, and clan tournaments will now be there. Sweet!

– Hardcore mode is focused on a bit more, so it will be a tad bit better.

I typed this all myself for you guys. I hope you find it useful. Feel free to use it, but please credit my blog with a link to it. It would help. Thanks.