Genre: First-Person Shooter
Developer: 4A Games
Publisher: THQ

In an almost "Dune" or "The Hobbit"-like way, Dmitry Glukhovsky's "Metro 2033" novel introduced a new fantasy world, with its own history and lore. Aptly titled after the book, this video game adaptation's pitch-dark, rail tie, spider web-infested tunnels and dilapidated stations do an adequate job of painting what may have been in the author's mind as he penned his work. Some of the more lens flare-laden scenes are even downright screenshot-genic, similar to another survival-oriented game in Ubisoft's "Zombi U".

Clearly intended for an American audience, the ethnic Russian voice acting straddles and tallies between the serious and the comical, sounding an almost "Borat"-like tone in the most extreme examples of the latter. The game's soundtrack, variously filled with generic ambient "tension tracks", accoustic guitar, and accordion-filled Soviet tunes, serves a similar role: scare, and amuse.

As a game which veritably alternates its limited-scope stage designs between mutant-crushing shooter gameplay, and stealth-focused "shoot out the lights like Sam Fisher" boards, neither are particularly sophisticated: there is no light or stealth gauge, so staying out of sight takes some guesswork. Likewise, the gunplay doesn't provide particularly satisfying feedback. At least, the game's stealth-oriented levels provide multiple paths, while the gas mask and filter mechanic makes the overworld escapades pleasantly tension-filled.

Where more contemporary post-apocalyptic releases, such as Techland's "Dying Light", opt for either partial or fully open world mechanics, Metro 2033 is a strictly linear affair, playing most like the "Half-Life" or "Call of Duty" campaigns. While its willing game world and visceral aesthetic is well done, the simplistic gunplay and half-handed stealth mechanics can only carry the action so far.