Moscow Or Bust

"Thanks, International Monetary Fund!"

Reviewed: Metro 2033. Published by THQ for X-Box 360 (2010)

This is one moody dystopia in the Moscow subway, that's for sure. The depths are crawling with refugees, soldiers, fascists, ghosts and mutants, all vying for supremacy in these hopeless tunnels.

If you've read the novel (its vision of post-apocalyptic humanity forced underground isn't a work of genius, but it's striking), you'll be in for an even more immersive treat. The game has liberally adapted its source material, even down to reutilizing dialogue. This is science fiction of the Russian-bleak-as-all-'ell variety; it owes more than a passing debt to the Strugatsky Brothers' unforgettable novel Roadside Picnic as well as to the spiritual dolor of Tarkovsky's film adaptation Stalker.

As a pure FPS, it's frantic and exhilarating. Weapons have a rusty, scavenged quality, lethal junk that has outlasted the finer works of man. Enemies range from monsters to monstrous people -- the game leaves it to you to decide which is worse. I liked the flow of battles and the way they're woven into the environments, which are important to the way certain creatures attack. The above-ground levels in frozen Moscow make a nice departure from the

underground in the way air management is essential and by introducing a welcome stealth element.

But it is always the sense, best captured by the Strugatskys and in recent times by Cormac McCarthy, of social relations in grim corners that sets Metro 2033 above the dull bang-bang gaming genre and at least glances at richer realms of storytelling. As games (the Elder Scrolls series is one good example) even crudely engage the idea of society, they move well ahead of today's Hollywood movies whose boring, nihilistic visions treat the social landscape as nothing but many-limbed decor.

Frankly I loved the game -- that's far more than I can say for most I play, each more forgettable than the last. Here is a stunning blend of backstory and action. A great deal of sweat has gone into getting its details right, the feeling right. It's nearly perfect up until its final dark moment.