Metro: Last Light

Metro: Last Light
Promotional artwork for Metro: Last Light
Developer(s)	4A Games
Publisher(s)	Deep Silver
Engine	4A Engine
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 Xbox 360
Release date(s)	NA May 14, 2013 EU May 17, 2013
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player
Media/distribution	Optical disc, download

Metro: Last Light (formerly Metro 2034) is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ukrainian studio 4A Games and published by Deep Silver for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released in May 2013. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world and features action-oriented gameplay with a combination of survival horror elements.
Previously announced as Metro 2034,the game is a sequel to Metro 2033, and although author Dmitry Glukhovsky has apparently been working with the developers, it bears no relation to the book Metro 2034. Initially, the game was to be published under THQ and expected to be released in the middle of 2012; it was announced on February 2, 2012, that the game would be delayed until the first quarter of 2013, in March 1, 2013 the game was delayed again until May. Following THQ's closure in January 2013, the intellectual property was acquired by video game publisher Deep Silver. A PlayStation 4 version of the game has been announced. Although no release date was given, the developer has stated it will most likely not be a launch title for the platform.

 

Synopsis

The game is set in the same post-apocalyptic future as its predecessor, Metro 2033. In it, mankind is struggling to survive beneath the ruins of Moscow, in the tunnels of the Metro, away from the deadly threats outside. People and animals who have been exposed to the poisonous substances filling the skies have become mutants who stalk the catacombs and hunt its inhabitants. The survivors are fighting against each other for the remaining resources instead of standing together to fight these dangerous creatures. They all covet an ultimate weapon: a powerful doomsday device from the military vaults of D6. Civil war among the survivors seems imminent and might lead to the end of humanity.
The player is cast as 'Artyom' in Metro: Last Light and has to find a way to make sense of the chaos and be the last light in humanity's darkest hour. The game is story-driven and lets the players experience combat situations where they have to fight with an arsenal of exotic hand-made weapons and fight against both human and mutant foes to progress in the game. The world of Metro: Last Light is designed to be an immersible, atmospheric one. Like Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light also has a hidden karma system that affects your ending.

Plot

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 publically 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, send in orders to activate the destruction of D6. As the orders are sent in, General Korbut commandeers the train armed with the self-destruct device and rams it into their station, 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 Line armies. 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.

Gameplay 

Development

 

Minimum Recommended Microsoft Windows Operating system Windows XP (32-bit), Vista, 7 or 8 Windows Vista (64-bit), 7 or 8 CPU 2.2 GHz Dual Core e.g. Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz Quad Core e.g. Intel Core i5, i7 Memory 2GB 4GB (8GB for optimum settings) Graphics hardware DirectX 9, Shader Model 3 compliant e.g. nVidia GTS 250 (or AMD equivalent e.g. HD Radeon 4000 series) or higher DirectX 11, Shader Model 5 compliant e.g. nVidia GTX 580/660 Ti (or AMD equivalent e.g. 7870) or higher (nVidia GTX 690 / nVidia Titan for optimum settings)

The game was originally shown at the 2011 E3 show, and was included in the Wii U show-reel, though THQ has since stated that the game may not be released for the platform.
Speaking to NowGamer regarding the possibility of the game coming to the Wii U, 4A Games chief technical officer Oles Shishkovtsov told the publication that the Wii U has a "horrible, slow CPU". His colleague Huw Beynon reiterated the sentiment, telling the publication there would not be a Wii U version of Metro: Last Light, because the studio "couldn't justify the effort required. We had an early look at it, we thought we could probably do it, but in terms of the impact we would make on the overall quality of the game -- potentially to its detriment -- we just figured it wasn't worth pursuing at this time," Beynon said in the interview. "It's something we might return to. I really couldn't make any promises, though. Given the size of the team, and compared to where we were last time, just developing for the PlayStation 3 is a significant addition."
The live action trailer for Metro: Last Light has attracted significant attention, with about 4 million views in total. Since the release of the first live action film they have released 3 more following the lives of 3 characters inside the Metro. These live-action short films were released in late November/early December 2012.

4A Games also made clear that the game will not ship with online mode, since the team is focused on producing the single player mode. However, the possibilities on having a multiplayer mode are not discarded and it could be released after the game's arrival.

The game's original publisher, THQ, entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2012. The publishing rights to the Metro franchise (and Last Light) were sold in an auction on January 22, 2013 to Deep Silver, publisher of the Dead Island franchise, who pushed the release date of Metro: Last Light back to May 14.


Metro: Last Light features technology which boasts of lighting effects and improved physics claimed to set a new graphical benchmark on the PC and consoles.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
Publication	Score
Game Informer	8.75/10
GameSpot	9.0/10
GameTrailers	9.1/10
IGN	7.2/10 (X360, PS3) 7.7/10 (PC)
Joystiq

Metro: Last Light received positive reviews, with most complimenting the game's graphics and story, but also criticizing the game's induction of linear sequences. Game Informer's Jeff Marchiafava gave the game a rating of 8.75/10, stating that human AI has been greatly improved. He also explained that the game "features tighter controls and improved sound design for its arsenal, which now puts the gunplay on par with most triple-A shooters". However, Marchiafava felt that the monster battles were not as interesting. He also criticized the voice acting and character animation. Despite this, the upgraded stealth mechanics and colorful atmosphere were the strongest parts of the game. He explained that "Metro: Last Light fixes most of its predecessor's flaws while also improving upon its strengths".
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 than everything that came before it. If you want a fun first-person shooter that doesn't rise to the greatness of single player-centric adventures like BioShock but is still fun in its own right, then Last Light may just be for you. He scored it 7.2/10 for consoles while he later gave the PC version a 7.7/10 for its superior graphics. GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd awarded it with more positive score with a 9.0/10 calling it "an astonishing and moving postapocalyptic journey".
Polish gaming website Gry-Online gave the game a high rating of 9/10. "Metro: Last Light certainly isn't just another AAA shooter aimed at a typical gamer. The game's strength lies in what its viscera are filled to the brim with – mature, brutal and ruthless content". The story, gameplay mechanics, stealth elements, atmosphere, presentation, environments and audiovisual binding were praised by reviewer Krystian Smoszna as Last Light's best qualities, whilst minor technical issues (including uneven enemy AI) were highlighted as the game's main flaw.

 ^Video