It's not like me to get my hopes up for a new release.  Being the cynical bastard I am, I expect games to disappoint me on a regular basis, and generally keep my expectations in check.  Metro 2033 however struck some kind of nerve that mitigated my usual ability to look at games rationally, and I built a certain amount of hype up for the game.

Going into it I knew that drawing comparisons with the STALKER series wouldn't work; the developers of Metro were very blunt in stating the game was a focused, story-driven single player title.  In short, it's linear and it's damn proud of it.  It's much more accurate to compare Metro to Half Life 2 in that regard.  However from a tech perspective it's easy to weigh Metro against STALKER, because both have engine issues, framerate problems and crash constantly without considerable tweaking.

Here's a quick pro-con rundown of Metro 2033 for prospective buyers out there:

PRO

• Visuals are excellent on High and Very High settings
• Level design is solid and about as varied as you can get given the setting
• Weapons are unique and for the most part fun to use (see below)
• Loot is physically represented on enemies, so looting ammo removes pouches etc from bodies
• Lots of really great cinematics, primarily from first person.  Scripted events are well done
• Storyline and presentation (combination of visuals, sound design, cinematics) are great
• Utility functions are quick to use and unobtrustive.  Changing filters/charging flashlight etc
• The HUD stays out of the way, the watch and clipboard are great in-world interface items

CON

• Engine has framerate issues, and running on Normal or Low can cause crazy graphical anomalies
• AI has a tendency to see you even in pitch black environments, when they lack NV goggles
• Damage model is frustrating, sometimes requiring several direct head shots on humans
• Voice acting is lackluster, and facial animations don't sync well
• The "ammo as currency" thing isn't as interesting as it sounded pre-release
• The FOV out of the box is godawful, but fixable using a config file

To elaborate on the damage model and weapon issues, the big one is that shotguns are TOTALLY USELESS in this game.  Your basic double barrel is only a last-ditch weapon early in the game, and as soon as you get the semi-auto revolver type shotgun you never bother with it again.  Unfortunately when you do get this "better" shotgun you quickly realize it's still a giant pile of crap and five direct hits to the upper chest or head on a human target (armored or unarmored alike) results in you dying because the guy shrugs it off and blasts you.  You're much better off replacing that damned thing with the ball bearing pneumatic rifle or arrow gun.  Anything that isn't a useless shotgun.

Also mini-rant here, but why do games arbitrarily make suppressed variants of the same gun do half as much damage?  Using a suppressor cuts down on your velocity, the impact of which is entirely dependent on the caliber.  Sub-sonic ammunition generally loses power at range, and usually that means outside of 150 yards or so.  In a game like Metro where your longest shots are easily inside 75 yards, there would be no appreciable difference between a suppressed weapon and one without a can on it.  Besides, it's not like you need balance in a single player game.  In short, stop making suppressed guns super weak because they really aren't.