Don't you love that feeling - waiting for years for the game to be released and then finally playing it. Too bad it only happens so rarely but these moments are ever so precious. Anyways.
The story takes place a year after the events of the first game. The Metro factions are mobilizing to fight and take over the D-6 bunker with all its military goodies. You are sent to kill the last remaining Dark One....
The narrative is still here except it's more defined and refined. The story is mostly presented the same way as in the first game except with some added flashbacks and twists. The airplane sequence for instance, gave me goosebumps and almost brought a tear to the eye. I didn't expect that.
The Dev. Team once again did an outstanding job with the atmosphere. The details to the machinery, the tools, the make-shift equipment, it's all there. The graphics are pretty much the same as in the first game with minor improvements. One thing I can say for certain is that this game features the best fire and water effects than in any other game. The dialogue between NPCs is sometimes pretty long and is always interesting to listen to. You get to meet new characters and cross paths with the old ones. They also added a substantial amount of various NPC models and only after looking real hard did I manage to find twins. The game retains its dystopian feel that's interwoven with some black humor jokes, cultural references (largely unchanged Nazi and Communist ideologies) as well as signs of the new emergent civilization - the theater sequence was particularly appealing. The game is also noticeably longer than the first one so you are getting your money's worth.
The negatives include but are not limited to: Not being able to see your legs, not being able to see your reflection in the mirror and not being able to speak a single word (even though this is Artyom's story too). The instant someone is killed their head flight dies with them for some unknown reason. But at least this time around we can actually cast a shadow AND the bodies of the slain enemies no longer disappear, for the most part.
The game has some gritty and genuinely creepy WTF moments. The old monsters are more vicious and the new monsters are quite disgusting, truly. I could do without those evil vine monsters, they just don't sit right with me. In addition, the human enemies die from one or two bullets which is more than I could say for most shooters. The human enemies take cover, roll over, throw grenades, call in back up, retreat and advance. They tease you and they lure you out.
For the most part, the game is as linear as the first one. There is also more exploration to do in some chapters than others. The game mechanics remain unchanged. The stealth system still works pretty well and there are a few close-kill animations added. Not only that, you now have the option of knocking people out instead of slicing their throat.
There are a few new weapons. You can still do some minor customizations to almost each one of them which is certainly welcome, only if, you hadn't spent the first quarter of the game without your primary starting weapon since you keep getting captured over and over again...."sigh"
The engine has been optimized pretty well. I was able to get 60 FPS on my GTX 680 while recording with Fraps and while playing in 3D. (I get half that running same hardware on the first game).
I've been playing on the Hardcore Ranger Mode and so far it's paying off. You can't just run around and slice monsters with your knife when you run out of bullets, two hits and you are dead, you can't see your bullet count and you can barely even discern whether you are using make-shift or the military-grade type of ammo. I do find it disturbing that they are charging $ 5 for the difficulty setting. Although, that point has nothing to do with the quality of the game. Make sure to add the line "r_base_fov 80" here %LOCALAPPDATA%4A GamesMetro LL to increase your field of view. It doesn't break the visual depiction of Artyom's arms too much. Make the cfg file read-only as well after you make the changes.
Overall, this a unique experience that was very much worth waiting for. The dread, the shudder, the melancholy, the distant clanking noises and the sound of Steven King's: "The MIST arachnids" will often send chills down your spine. The sheer feeling of sadness that this game radiates cannot be understated. What these Metro games do is allow you to experience a possible future (minus the mutants perhaps), so please support this developer. Make sure to listen to every dialogue and visit every last corner of this engineering marvel that stands as a potential savior of humanity, or in the least, as the protractor of its existence...