With THQ in bankruptcy, the sequel continues development at 4A Games.
Huw Beynon is part of the 4A Games development team working on Metro Last Light, the sequel to THQ’s Metro 2033. The first-person shooter is set in a post-apocalyptic Moscow that’s filled with all types of horror. Beynon explains what’s in store for gamers in this exclusive interview.
What improvements have you added to this game based on fan reaction to Metro 2033?
Metro 2033 was something of a cult hit for THQ. It has a huge fan base who love the atmosphere, the immersion, the storytelling, everything that we did really well in the first game. At the same time, there were a few very valid criticisms of the first game. Some of our core mechanics we didn't execute quite as well as we might have done. We had very sophisticated AI and stealth system in there that were a little bit rough around the edges from time to time, where they broke that immersion for the player.
A huge focus for Last Light is to go back and pretty much rebuild all of those systems from the ground up to make them more consistent, more predictable, so the payer can use stealth, they can understand what the AI is going to do, and also have a much more rewarding experience from the weapons.
What's going on in this world?
Last Light is set just over 20 years from now, two decades after an apocalyptic nuclear war has annihilated mankind from the surface of the planet. The last remnants of man have descended into the subway tunnels beneath Moscow, which was actually purposely built to be a nuclear bunker by the paranoid Soviet Union. All the stations down there are hermetically sealed, there are bunkers with supplies to keep the population surviving for months if not years down there.
