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    Metro Redux

    Game » consists of 19 releases. Released Aug 26, 2014

    Metro Redux is a big overhaul of Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light that includes significant visual and gameplay upgrades for a more uniform experience across both games.

    Oh Man These Games Are Really Great! How About the Books?

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    SethMode

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    So, I picked up Redux a LONG time ago and FINALLY made myself sit down and play them and...holy shit! All of the people that I trust singing their praises (most notably Kleptok) were right on the mark. I've enjoyed the hell out of them, and loved the stories and their bleak tone. Some of the stealth has been...eyhhh but since it's only really tied to achievements I haven't been too bothered by it. The quiet moments feel wonderful, the NPC dialogue is great, and while all of the character models, in particular the children, look a little horrifying at times, I'm just totally immersed in the world.

    So, with all of that said, as the thread title states: has anyone read the books and if so, what are your thoughts? Worth picking up if you're a fan of the game? I'm English speaking only, so keep in mind that the translation would also play a factor. I eagerly look forward to some input because I'm super excited to dig into more of this, considering there seemed to be a fair amount of lore here just based on the journal entries and whatnot in these games.

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    Toastburner_B

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    I tried to read the Kindle version a few years back, and I didn't finish it. It seemed like the translation wasn't great and it had a number of typos.

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    SethMode

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    @toastburner_b: That is such a bummer. Did you enjoy the games when you played them? Just trying to get the full picture. I thought that the writing was pretty good in the games for the most part, despite the usual "This is Russian translated to English so we all sound a little like we're from 80's action movie yes?" vibe.

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    Toastburner_B

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    @sethmode: I haven't really played the games, but I've meant to. I played a couple of hours of Last Light and liked it, but haven't got back to it. I picked up the book because I was interested in the setting, and I tend to read more than I game.

    Truth be told I can't say for certain the translation was bad. I just assumed it was because the first-person narration was rambling in a way that didn't seem natural.

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    SethMode

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    Soulglove

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    Metro 2033 is a fantastic read. I have it on paperback, and I didn't see the poor translation or typos claimed to be in the e-book version. Several of the events from the two released games are in the first book, but in the games they seem jumbled and randomly placed. A lot of the book has long descriptions of what's going on in the main character's head, which is fine since the Metro is terrifying and desolate at the same time. Metro 2034 does not follow the same characters, and Metro 2035 takes place after Last Light where you have Artyom and Anna already together. There are plenty of great moments and situations the game doesn't have that I don't really want to spoil.

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    impartialgecko

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    Metro 2033 is really something. It's much slower and more contemplative than the game. I have yet to read 2034 as the first book didn't seem like it needed a sequel, but apparently the second game is actually a direct sequel to both events of the firat game and book.

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    Wakapeil

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    I've read both 2033 and 2034 in swedish and they were okay. They are a bit different from published western novels. I recommend checking out this interview with the author if you are interested in the Metro franchise (https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/metro-dmitry-glukhovsky-interview/)

    I found this part particularly interesting:

    "After writing 2034, I appealed to authors across the world to help create this universe and to write their own stories set elsewhere,” he explains. “Maybe also in the subway of Moscow, but wherever. It’s the same world that I describe in my book and in the game, but my book just focuses on the subway of Moscow. It doesn’t speak of St. Petersburg, or Siberia, or the north, or Europe, or the States.”

    I also like his stance on the american movie version set in Washington DC.

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    Froghourt

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    #9  Edited By Froghourt

    I read 2033 years ago, my experience was that the translation was a little funky but serviceable, and the book really is a trip. The shit that happens in it is really unexpected and weird in a good way.

    Also, if you love world building it is defintely a book for you! I haven't read any of the others yet.

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    NTM

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    #10  Edited By NTM

    No opinion on the books as I haven't read them (I know a few of the differences between books and game, but not enough about them to give an opinion [Artyom only kills one person in the book]), but I love the games myself and Exodus is one of my most anticipated games of the year. I'm glad there's someone else on here that likes it as well. I know there are probably others, but I've gotten the feeling that others on here aren't that into it (or... maybe it was just Dan doing the Redux quick look). While redundant, I just wanted to add that I think what they did with Redux is great. The gameplay and visuals being on par with Last Light were a nice update.

    There's more to like than dislike, but I am just disappointed that the music was changed around in some spots which made some moments less impactful, and from what I remember, the child voice acting was switched out. I remember the kids in the original 2033 sounded like kids, while in Redux it sounded like adults trying to sound like kids. It is also jarring that they put all that work into it and yet didn't change some of the core characters' voice work to mesh with Last Light. There was also a piece of dialogue taken out in it in the beginning that made me chuckle where a guy is cleaning up around his pigs. It's a small thing but still disappointing to see nonetheless. I also believe now that I misremembered, but I swore that the music that was in the original 2033 was taken out in spots and simply used the Last Light soundtrack, which also disappointed me despite liking Last Light's music fine.

    Last Light also retains a glitch that can send you back to the start of the swamp stage when you're at the end, which is why I stopped playing it again on the hardest difficulty last time around. The games are really good on hard as long as you know what the buttons do. I'll most likely go back to Last Light when Exodus has a final release date. Oh, and lastly, I really like the gameplay; stealth and shooting combined. Stealth is simple but enjoyable to me, and the shooting feels pretty good in my opinion. The slower paced, heavier feeling to running around with weapons feels good, though if you're wanting a fast-paced, Call of Duty kind of thing I can see why some aren't into it. The only downside to the original 2033 to me was its stealth as there were no takedowns, it was mainly about using your throwing knife.

    The Metro games are definitely some of my favorite first-person games which I go back to every now and then. While I can't retain it, I have done it multiple times, and some people seem to approve of using the Russian VO instead of the English VO as it potentially makes it more immersive. I would be more inclined to do so if they kept the subtitles for everything, but the incidental dialogue doesn't have subtitles.

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    RetroMetal

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    Last time I looked into them on Amazon/Kindle I believe they were still working on the translation. Like you could get a small portion of the book but not the complete book? Something along those lines. It was years ago and it's fallen off my radar since.

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    SethMode

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    #12  Edited By SethMode

    @ntm: agree with almost everything you've said, although I never played the originals so I have no music frame of reference and I thankfully never hit that bug. I don't mind the VO all that much, it's fine. Just, sometimes it feels lime they should be speaking Russian so I can see why the Russian VO with subtitles might work better for some people. I am kind of curious about going back to check out the original 2033 to see the differences now, I liked it that much.

    @retrometal: unless they are re-translating them, there is definitely already an English translation. I have the Audible version, no less!

    Thanks for all of the great feedback. I feel like I am almost at the end of Last Light now and can't wait for Exodus. Feel like they're super underrated games, at least by the GB crew.

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    Toastburner_B

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    @sethmode said:

    @retrometal: unless they are re-translating them, there is definitely already an English translation. I have the Audible version, no less!

    I just looked, and it looks like the Kindle edition (the one I bought some years ago) is no longer available on Amazon. I'd like to think it is because they are giving it another translation/copy-edit pass, but if it has been years like like @retrometal says then I'm not going to hold out hope. Maybe I'll give the paperback a try one day since people say it doesn't have the problems the ebook did.

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    SethMode

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    #14  Edited By SethMode
    @sethmode said:

    @retrometal: unless they are re-translating them, there is definitely already an English translation. I have the Audible version, no less!

    I just looked, and it looks like the Kindle edition (the one I bought some years ago) is no longer available on Amazon. I'd like to think it is because they are giving it another translation/copy-edit pass, but if it has been years like like @retrometal says then I'm not going to hold out hope. Maybe I'll give the paperback a try one day since people say it doesn't have the problems the ebook did.

    Interesting! I wonder if it has anything to do with Exodus coming up? Surely with the way Microsoft if jumping behind that with the JuanX you'd think Glukhovsky and his publisher(s) would want to capitalize.

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    NTM

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    @sethmode: Yeah, the bug just hits at random times (so, if you replay Last Light, it may or may not happen). It's when you're fighting the Bog Shrimp just before getting to the church on the level Nightfall, where the only option is to restart the stage. That's probably my least favorite aspect of all of Metro. It happened on last-gen consoles, and also happened on the One version I have.

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    SethMode

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    @ntm: I finished Last Light between our posts and man, I really REALLY loved that game. I hate throwing the term around, but it did feel a lot like Half Life 2 to me, between the pacing of the shooting and the quiet moments. And BOY WAS IT WEIRD IN WAYS I WAS TOTALLY ON BOARD WITH! haha

    That tunnel of arms man. That was some wild shit.

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    NTM

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    @sethmode: Oh, I'm glad I didn't really spoil anything then. I thought you had finished the game already. Glad you enjoyed it. And yeah, it is similar to Half-Life. When it comes to the books or original 2033, while you can certainly delve deeper with both, you could just read about it elsewhere or watch some YouTube videos. I also recommend playing the games on their hardest difficulty; it's not too hard but is potentially more immerse. At least, I think it is. The only 'issue' is if you forget what the buttons do as there is no HUD whatsoever, even for the quick time event moments. It's also neat because the watch Artyom wears is different, from digital to analog. I either do spartan and easy, which is more or less a shooter if you want it to be, or preferably survival and I think it's called ranger hardcore (whatever the hardest option is). It'll kind of force you to go about situations differently. I'm also curious, though it doesn't really matter, which endings did you get in both games? I actually appreciate that it doesn't really matter which one you got since there are canonical endings, like in the first the bad ending is canonical, while Last Light's good ending is canon.

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