So I'm at 3k posts now woo (am I goliath now?) and I just figured I'd write something since that seems to be the thing to do in Blogs, especially since this year is a year of milestones for me (hitting 25, getting married, moving to a new city, publishing my first first author paper, GETTING 3K posts on TL). It would be an even better year if VP/TL/MUFC manage to make top 3 at TI3 and maybe the best year if I manage to go to TI3. I've been posting here for approximately 4 years now and been visiting for 5. Originally I joined to watch BW proleague (RIP) and be one of 20 STX fans and have stuck around, mostly for DOTA 2. Even with 3k posts on TL I feel like I'm fairly anonymous on here, maybe an indication of my post quality/flavorlessness? Even so, TL is probably my most visited site online because ultimately I like watching esports and the TL community is best community for intelligent young males from the ages of 18-30, and is becoming probably the best site for western DOTA 2 coverage (props to the TL DOTA 2 writing squad).
So given the generally useless nature of my posts I decided to make a useful(?) one for once and talk about another game that is near and dear to my heart, Metro 2033 and maybe convince some people to give it a shot.
Play this while reading
What is Metro 2033? And why should I give a f*ck about a low budget eastern european game? Paraphrased from wiki: Released in 2010, Metro 2033 is a post-apocalyptic FPS that takes place mostly in the subway tunnels of Moscow. Loosely based on a novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky, you play Artyom who is sent out on a mission to save the world from the Dark Ones, fighting through humans, and mutants alike.
Wait,doesn't Fallout * S.T.A.L.K.E.R.? == Metro 2033?
No, not even close. All share the post-apocalyptic landscape, but Metro is a linear, story focused game. In fact, I would say that Metro is much closer in spirit to Half-Life 2.
Okay, so it's a linear story focused game. Plenty of those, why should I bother installing?
-Limited Resources: Nothing is infinite in Metro 2033 except for your knife. Ammo is scarce (if you're not careful), your flashlight must be charged by hand, even the air you breathe on the surface is dependent on having a fresh air filter handy. Currency is military grade ammo so if you're running low on shitty metro made ammo you can always use your cash as bullets, but every MG bullet you fire is one less for you to use at the next station. Ammo scarcity in this world leads to weapons like my favorite gun, the Tihar airgun. Shooting powderless ball bearings instead of 5.45 mm cartridges is super cheap but you have to pump it up between shots which can be suboptimal in firefights .
Pump it up!
--Atmosphere: Here's what most people love about Metro. Being based on a book, the world has been really thought through and fleshed out in great detail. People living in the subway system of Moscow makes sense, driven underneath by the threat of nuclear death and caged in the metro by the harsh, irradiated surface. Humans, with all their pettiness, squabble over what little they have while being whittled away by the elements of the new world. Essentially post-apocalyptic done right, and best of all, set in the darkness of the subway. Nothing like walking into a pitch black tunnel with god knows what waiting for you when you only have a few rounds left in your shotgun and then making it through and finally finding a friendly human settlement.
Light... maybe a friendly face finally? Or more trouble
-Combat: Stealth gaming has always been fun for me and I feel like while Metro's combat system isn't perfect, it's pretty damn good. Shoot out lights, crawl in the dark, avoid traps, take people out silently or avoid them, but if you fuck up once, they will come for you. And they won't see a dead guy and be scared for 30 seconds and then go back to their regular patrol. Sometimes it can be a bit annoying how omniscient your enemies are when you fail to kill a guy in <2 seconds but hey, nothing is perfect right? Makes it all the more satisfying when you go through a full bandit camp without being seen.
Summary: Play this game for a truly immersive and atmospheric experience. Don't play if you like to faceroll games at easy/normal because it loses all the appeal in doing so. And play this game in preparation for it's sequel coming out soon, Metro: Last Light.
What to do if you're playing metro for the first time: -Play ranger hardcore. No crosshair or HUD. You die much quicker but your guns are also much more lethal. -Volt driver OP, don't use it, it makes the game stupid -Change the default 45 degree FOV to 60+. It's nauseating at default -I highly suggest you read the book, it's not bad and sets up the game well and helps in understanding the ending much better. -Set language to Russian with English subs. Voice acting is much better for the Russians (and it just makes more sense right?) - And most of all:
Fuck those amoebas. By the time I got to them, I had bled all my ammo, and I couldn't just make a mad dash because my AI "friend" had bricks for legs. Probably the one time I changed the difficulty from ranger hardcore, if only because there was no way in hell I'd be getting out of there without the difficulty change.
Great game, one of the few games I actually finished the singleplayer for. The athmosphere is just amazing. The one thing bugs me about pretty much every game nowadays is that the singleplayer is just too easy. But ranger hardcore was just the right amount of challenging to be fun. Oh yeah, and fuck those... I died a good 20 times there haha.
I don't understand why people including you make such a big deal about how many posts you did. It's just a counter. Do people believe it has some kind of prestige? That aside. I liked your story man!
Metro 2033 is one of the best singleplayer games ive ever played. It's insane how well the story is and how incredibly awesome it feels lurking down in these deep tunnels exploring around.
On May 02 2013 03:55 llIH wrote: I don't understand why people including you make such a big deal about how many posts you did. It's just a counter. Do people believe it has some kind of prestige? That aside. I liked your story man!
I dunno, just seems like a big nice round number that makes you think you've posted a lot -> reflect on your time spent posting.
And I'm pleasantly surprised so many people here have played Metro 2033, the thread for Last Light in the sports and games section is pretty quiet for a game about to be released. I'm more hyped for Last Light than Bioshock Infinite.
On May 02 2013 03:55 llIH wrote: I don't understand why people including you make such a big deal about how many posts you did. It's just a counter. Do people believe it has some kind of prestige? That aside. I liked your story man!
I dunno, just seems like a big nice round number that makes you think you've posted a lot -> reflect on your time spent posting.
And I'm pleasantly surprised so many people here have played Metro 2033, the thread for Last Light in the sports and games section is pretty quiet for a game about to be released. I'm more hyped for Last Light than Bioshock Infinite.
Actually Metro 2033 was hyped up as gpu killer on overclock.net when it was released and the story was said to be good. Wasn't there another sequel? I could've swore that I remember reading about it and thinking that I haven't played metro 2033 yet and the sequel is already coming out >< Congrats on 3k! I missed my 2k post but I'm still deciding what to do for a blog :D
Congratulations on 3000 posts! In regards to Metro 2033, I think I will wait until it and its sequel come bundled together or drop in price. This is also so I can upgrade my computer and better experience Metro in all its beauty.
On May 02 2013 03:55 llIH wrote: I don't understand why people including you make such a big deal about how many posts you did. It's just a counter. Do people believe it has some kind of prestige? That aside. I liked your story man!
I dunno, just seems like a big nice round number that makes you think you've posted a lot -> reflect on your time spent posting.
This is pretty much the reason for it. It's a neat reminder of, "back in my day, ZYXW happened and was the norm, look how it's all changed."
Sidenote: Also I personally don't believe that putting a ton of effort so that you are completely known of TL is something for everyone, so don't feel remorselful ZeaL. I personally think that for the people that absolutely adore the site, it's great to give back, but for people who just enjoy frequenting, commenting, and browsing the site because of how great a place it is, it is better to just sit back and relax on it . Everyone makes contributions through good comments, but the E-Sports life and the TL life in general are not for everyone.
On May 02 2013 04:47 JacobNX01a wrote: I love the metro game, but the book is the best thing I've ever read in my life.
That's interestesting, because the same book is the worst piece of garbage i've read in my life.
The game could probaby be fun, the premise of the book should be well suited for a video game.
I guess everyone has their own opinions, it was a fun read in my opinion.
On May 02 2013 07:26 DenTenker wrote: Congratulations on 3000 posts! In regards to Metro 2033, I think I will wait until it and its sequel come bundled together or drop in price. This is also so I can upgrade my computer and better experience Metro in all its beauty.
Thanks . Yeah, I'm actually looking to upgrade my graphics card at some point soon to run Last Light (crazy recommended specs)
On May 02 2013 03:55 llIH wrote: I don't understand why people including you make such a big deal about how many posts you did. It's just a counter. Do people believe it has some kind of prestige? That aside. I liked your story man!
I dunno, just seems like a big nice round number that makes you think you've posted a lot -> reflect on your time spent posting.
This is pretty much the reason for it. It's a neat reminder of, "back in my day, ZYXW happened and was the norm, look how it's all changed."
Sidenote: Also I personally don't believe that putting a ton of effort so that you are completely known of TL is something for everyone, so don't feel remorselful ZeaL. I personally think that for the people that absolutely adore the site, it's great to give back, but for people who just enjoy frequenting, commenting, and browsing the site because of how great a place it is, it is better to just sit back and relax on it . Everyone makes contributions through good comments, but the E-Sports life and the TL life in general are not for everyone.
Yeah, I don't stress out too much about it. I haven't been temp banned yet (though I did get a well deserved warning) so at least I'm not shitting up the place haha.
Loved Metro 2033, pumped for last light. Picked Metro 2033 up for like 5€ on summer sale, freaking steal. The game is a bit short but still amazing. It's like playing a movie and is the first game in a long time that had me actually freaking out at times. It's actually also the first FPS since like... ever, that´s actually somewhat difficult and challenging.