Metro: Last Light Redux (PC)

Developer:

4A Games

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Release Date:

2014 (Original 2013)

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Systems:

Win, PS4, Xbone, Stadia, Switch (Original: Win, PS3, X360)

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This week on Super Adventures, I've got the same problem I had last week when I wrote about Metro 2033 Redux, except worse. Metro: Last Light Redux has also gotten a free next-gen graphics update and this time it's already out so I'm showing off an outdated release. If I'd known it was coming I would've either played the game later or published this sooner.

I actually played this right after finishing Metro 2033, so that the gameplay would be fresh in my mind and I could compare them. Though I wasn't entirely hyped about the idea as I'd been hiking through claustrophobic rail tunnels in the dark for 15 hours so far. The game's got that BioShock 2 problem, where players have already thoroughly explored the setting and seen everything. An art deco metropolis on the ocean floor is only a novelty once, and decaying train stations aren't even all that impressive the first time around. Even if the lighting is pretty sometimes.

They can't even blame it on the novel, as this time the game wasn't based on a book. Though Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky did write the story outline and the dialogue, so it's about as legit as you can get.

Okay, I'm going to show off a decent amount of the game, though I'm going to be vague about things to avoid spoiling the story too much (and to keep it to just one part). This will have big SPOILERS for Metro 2033 however.

Metro 2033 Redux (PC)

Developer:

4A Games

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Release Date:

2014 (Original: 2010)

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Systems:

Win, Xbone, PS4, Stadia, Switch, macOS, Linux (Original: Win, X360)

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Metro 2033 is getting a free next-gen update tomorrow with higher-quality lighting, more environmental detail, 4K textures... all kinds of stuff. Though I didn't learn about this until after I'd played and written about the game. Whoops.

So this week on Super Adventures, I'll be checking out the 2014 Redux version of post-apocalyptic first-person shooter Metro 2033, by Ukrainian developer 4A Games. This was their very first game, though a bunch of them had worked on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, so they had a bit of experience. It was based on journalist Dmitry Glukhovsky's novel of the same name, but it was his very first book, so you don't have to read the other 2,032 Metro novels to understand what's going on.

Metro 2033 originally came out for Windows and Xbox 360 and that's it. That wasn't much fun for the PlayStation and Nintendo owners who wanted to go get mauled in a spooky cold subway tunnel too, but their turn eventually came around when the game got a reworked Redux re-release. Funny thing is, Redux was released in 2014, one year after the calamity in the backstory that left the world in ruins, so it had become an alternate history story in the meantime. Though, as the title indicates, the action takes place in 2033. Wow, if I'd just waited seven more years I could've published this on the actual date. I really did play the game too early.

I was kind of eager to finally try this and also dreading it, as I'd heard that it's harsh and challenging, and I'd played S.T.A.L.K.E.R. so I could believe it. Even typing in "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." is arduous, that's how uncompromising that game is. But I'd been replaying some Half-Life 2 and it got me in the mood for an hour or two of post-apocalyptic shooting, so I decided to finally pull the trigger.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (Amiga)

Developer:

Psygnosis

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Release Date:

1994

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Systems:

Amiga + eight other systems

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Today on Super Adventures, Keanu Reeves week continues with Bram Stoker's Dracula on the Amiga! I said I was only going to play three Keanu Reeves games, and this would be the second of them, but things get a little complicated with this one.

Bram Stoker's Dracula was a multiplatform title released to tie in with the 1992 Gary Oldman movie, but not all platforms got the same game. In fact it seems like there's actually five different games here, split across nine different systems. It came out on Amiga, SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Gear, Master System, NES, Game Boy, Sega CD and DOS PCs, so poor C64 owners were left out this time.

Nine systems in one article is a bit much, so I'm going to focus on the Amiga game mostly and try not to get too carried away with writing about the other versions, but I have to at least take a look at them. Yeah okay, I didn't show off all the different Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure games yesterday, I only played the home computer versions, but in my defence I was busy finishing the entire game three times over.

I'll also try not to spoil too much about the movie, but I get the feeling that's not going to be an issue here.

Animorphs (GBC) - Guest Post

This week on Super Adventures, legendary guest poster mecha-neko returns out of nowhere to show off a Game Boy Color game about people who turn into animals going around catching animals so that they have more animals to turn into, or something.

Developer:

Runny-Fun

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Release Date:

2000

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Systems:

Game Boy Color

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What's up, docs? I'm guest poster mecha-neko who is a cat. You're tuned into Super Adventures in Gaming, where I'm gonna play Animorphs, an RPG on the Game Boy Color.

Be warned that this post contains flashing animations, and gratuitous images of a cheap cash-in title based on a kids book.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (GBC)

Today I'm taking a quick look at the Game Boy Color version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in countries without philosophers (I guess).

Wikipedia claims that there are actually five different games based on this one book and movie, on eight different systems, and I don't see any reason to doubt it or actually bother to do any further research beyond that. Someone asked me to play the GBC version and that's just what I'm going to do.

Actually it just says 'Harry Potter GBC' in my notes so I suppose it's possible I was asked to play the game based on the second book (the last GBC game ever released in North America, random trivia fans!) But I've already made this cool animated title screen image so I'm committed now.