Seneste anmeldelser af pasbsenski

Don't buy this game, not even if it's cheap. Even with performance mods it's utterly unplayable. A massive ♥♥♥♥-up of a port.

For the last couple of years, shooting games have taken a heavy focus on offering intense multiplayer experiences rather than nicely paced single player ones. Many games have tried to offer something fresh to such a clichéd genre, and where some fail miserably, Metro succeeds.

4A Games' previous effort, Metro 2033, felt kind of confusing as it forced you to perform certain tasks that proved nearly impossible (stealth which was heavily encouraged on higher difficulties was outrageous) due to the limitations of a slightly flawed and buggy engine. Still, the title showed promise thanks to its incredible atmosphere, outstanding graphics, original story and its several gameplay "gimmicks" that weren't exactly game changing, but still offered something fresh to an oversaturated trend. Has 4A managed to improve on this formula? Hell yes, and Metro: Last Light is one of the greatest single player shooters that I couldn’t recommend enough.

The game puts you in the skin of Artyom, Metro 2033's protagonist, who after dealing with the "problem" of the first title, is told that it still hasn't been "solved" completely. While attempting to “solve” this problem once and for all, he is captured by the Nazis. Here is where everything starts to twist, in a series of plots and conspiracies between Reds and Nazis that ends in a predictable war for the control of the D6, occupied by the Rangers. To be honest, the story isn't exactly breathtaking and feels forced, but 4A is fully aware of it and compensates with some of the most believable environments, sound direction, characters and atmosphere that one can experience.

Gun combat is extremely engaging and addictive with some very cleverly designed weapons that encourage you to try them all. Battles are a beauty to watch, as everything, even concrete blocks or wooden objects that seem unbreakable shatter into bits and pieces before your very eyes. This means that points of cover only last as much as they can stand firepower, so shootouts are extremely dynamic. The stealth system which was painful in 2033 has been improved and revamped. Soldiers no longer pinpoint your exact location when you miss a target with your throwing knife, but this comes at a cost, which is that the enemy AI is great at times and incredibly stupid at others. They will efficiently find good points of cover and work with each other to eliminate you, but they will get stuck behind them more than once which makes them easy to eliminate. The stealth system feels unnatural at times, since you can stand in front of somebody under the shadow and still not be detected.

Now all that has been said up until now have been aspects of the game that don’t really stand out. It’s in the sheer amount of detail on every single aspect of the game where Metro: Last Light shines at its brightest. The cities, posts and settlements you encounter along the game are thriving with life; dialogues between people living in those communities are constant and there is always something to do, whether it’s paying a prostitute for a lap dance or winning a kid’s teddy bear on a shooting game so you can bring it back to him. Every single character you get to know has their own unique personality and traits that make most of them memorable. Another example is how great levels are designed, especially because they can be approached in more than one way (sometimes more than two) deciding to take the “pacifist” approach without killing any human enemy in the game (a la Deus Ex) or going guns blazing and shooting every moving target you can find. The game never tells you about decision making, but it’s there on every event, be it helping strangers, eliminating a whole squad that’s after you or taking care of surrendered foes. It’s great that every decision has its consequences, if it weren’t for the fact that there are only two different endings, instead of being able to see the consequences for yourself during gameplay (like in Dishonored). When it comes to non-human enemies, these are a bit more varied than in the last installment. Not only will you encounter the Nosalis as previously seen on 2033, but also different variations like the flying ones or the Rhino. Other completely new mutants such as the Spiderbugs or the Shrimp can be found in different environments and fighting them is quite fun as well (using the flashlight on Spiderbugs reminds me of Alan Wake).

Overall, 4A manages to create a game with varied and perfectly paced gameplay. On one chapter you’ll be driving a railcar scavenging the metro while killing Spiderbugs. On another you’ll be escaping from the Nazis or the Reds only to go back up to the surface and encounter Demons and Shrimp alike while you wait for a moving platform to carry you away. Depending on the enemies you’re fighting against, you’ll have to adjust the way you approach them. If they’re human, you’ll want to be stealthy because hiding in the shadows is much easier. If they’re mutant however, either you try to avoid them or shoot them with whatever is more effective. This makes the game surprisingly fresh as there is never just one way beat a chapter; besides the game being linear and having to follow a straight path, you are allowed to make small decisions that although small, are abundant.

The reason why Metro is such a beloved franchise is because of all the sheer amount of effort that is put into the titles. Even though it has its flaws both in-game and out (Ranger mode being part of DLC is one of the douchiest things that I have ever witnessed in gaming) they can and will be overlooked because of how epic, atmospheric, engaging, varied and huge the game feels.

Risen, like most of Piranha Bite's previous efforts, is kind of a misinterpreted RPG. First of all, the game doesn't just throw you into the world knowing certain basic skills (like sneaking, pickpocketing, lock-picking, etc). Anyone expecting "Skyrim with pirates" is going to be terribly disappointed, not because Risen is a bad game in itself, but because it's made to appeal a hardcore RPG crowd that enjoys games with more depth on characters, quest completion, exploration and looting. Risen excels in adding depth to all these elements, but that's not without its obvious flaws.

Combat, while rewarding, feels excessively clunky. The camera usually tends to go a bit crazy when tackling with more than one enemy and animations look unnatural. It isn't until you begin to train on fighting skills and learn decisive combat moves like parrying when it starts to get fun and challenging.

During the first couple of hours you're going to feel really lost. Without the help of quest markers you're going to have to find out how to continue with the quest on your own, which encourages you to rely on yourself instead of following a guided path with the help of a medieval GPS tracking system. There are no exclamation or interrogation marks on top of people's heads, so talking to them and finding out is the only way to begin quests. Memorizing where each character lives/works is recommended because you'll go back to them again and again on different missions, though Risen doesn't make that process easy either since almost all of the characters look exactly alike with some exceptions like hair color or clothes. Instead, you'll remember them because they each serve a different purpose in the community they belong to and feel like an important part of the world.

Certainly, what I'm enjoying most about the game is the decision making. The island is mainly divided into three factions: The Inquisition who believe the artefacts from the temples that have just risen should be kept away because of the unknown power that lies within them; the Don's Men, who don't believe that the artefacts have any hidden power and instead want to loot these temples to sell them for gold; and the novices and mages who were trained by the Inquisition but do not want to become part of the Order; they sort of go by their own principles. The conflicts between both opposing factions are shown throughout the whole game and you will constantly be asking yourself which is actually the one you feel at ease with. The Inquisition, while imposing very restrictive laws and obliging every foreigner to enlist as a Warrior of the Order, certainly has a point when it comes to keeping the artefacts safe in case they have some hidden power. The Don, while being much less restrictive and welcoming, are all petty thieves who abuse shop owners for "protection" money. Each of them tries to lure you into joining their forces and give very good arguments (for example, the Don's men constantly tell you how the Inquisition doesn't really care about the island or the poor, while these same people are extorting money and commiting terrible crimes; on the other hand, the Inquisition still preaches about saving the people but are still very restrictive in certain aspects).

When it comes to the looting system in this game, it isn't bad nor impressive either, it just serves its purpose: you collect things and then if you're experienced enough you can craft something with them.

Graphically, the game is a hit and miss. The environments are lush and vibrant with life. The jungles look impressive because of the amount of vegetation everywhere, and shader/shadow effects look great too. Still, pop-up textures are fairly common here and there and characters look somewhat ugly.

With all this said, Risen makes up for a believable and immersive experience due mainly to its story, its characters, and its rewarding quest-making, but can only be enjoyed if you can overlook its flaws.