Nuclear war eh? It always seems to be getting in the way of things, whether you’re roaming the post-apocalyptic wastelands in Fallout or sending a nuclear missile over to flatten Manchester in Civilization you can guarantee someone will come out of it in less than ideal circumstances. In 4A Games’ Metro 2033 the residents of Moscow had taken to the city’s subway system to save themselves from the nuclear war that kicked off a few years before the game occurred. Metro: Last Light picks up the theme and sets you up with the previous game’s main character Artyom a few years after he used a handful of nuclear weapons to wipe out the nest of Dark Ones – the mutated survivors of the initial nuclear war.

You see it turns out that despite the moderately excessive methods used to clear out the Dark Ones, not all of them were killed. Last Light begins with you taking to the surface to hunt down a remaining mutant, but after a short hunting session things take a turn for the worse and so begins a story of unlikely partnerships, double crossing and desperation. Your character is clearly the strong and silent type – don’t expect Bioshock Infinite levels of discussions here – but that doesn’t seem to matter, as it’s the conversations that other characters have that push the story onward.

By eavesdropping on the chats that other folk are having you pick up on secrets, little bits of information that make your life slightly easier or open your eyes to new ways of trying things out. It’s an interesting way to drive the narrative  and apart from the short diary-style snippets of information given between the main sections of the game it’s the only real way you’ll be finding out what’s going on. It makes for some truly atmospheric gameplay, and sneaking around is made all the more important when you might interrupt a conversation that could help you out. But the sneaking is far more important when it comes to staying alive. Trying to shoot your way through a room full of human enemies will have your gunfire returned tenfold and your chance of survival cut to something approaching zero. Instead you take to the shadows, trying desperately to stay undetected by silently throwing knives to kill them, knocking them out where they won’t be found and avoiding the patrolling flashlights with immense care. Even finding a ladder to a higher platform provides some respite from the potential problems below, with the consequences for being spotted generally becoming very deadly very quickly – unlike other stealth games these guys don’t forget about you after a few seconds of fruitless searching. It’s a very nervous way to play, and works beautifully.

This atmosphere is enhanced by the locations in the game, a mix of grubby and overcrowded Metro stations, dark and dangerous underground railway lines and the overground shell of a city which has been torn apart by nuclear weapons. The whole look and feel of the game perfectly portrays the shocking state of life in the city, and it’s not even as if getting out of the tunnels and above ground makes life any easier.

While you’re out in the open it’s not just the mutants you need to worry about. The radiation in the air means that breathing under your own steam isn’t a good idea – in fact you’ll be dead within seconds. So you’ll be needing a protective mask to filter the air, which brings about another problem when you realise they become useless over time. You’ll want to sneak around when you’re out in the open to stay out of the way, but spend too long doing so and you’ll use up all of your filters and be choking for air. It’s a tough balancing act between keeping quiet and keeping mobile; you won’t be finding many of these filters perched conveniently on top of a nearby fence post after all. Grabbing everything you can when you have chance is vital considering you never know when you might get caught in a battle and need a minute or two extra out of your filters, and one shooty section outside a church sticks in my mind as a fierce and unforgiving example of that.

This idea of being trapped in an area until you clear the bad guys is repeated a few times through the game, and these section which feel like a more stereotypical FPS don’t shine in the same way the stealth does. At best they’re enough to raise the heart-rate a bit while you run around and panic about what’s chasing you. At worst they’re a source of massive frustration, with a section waiting for a lift to descend causing me far too much grief and frustration to be classed as remotely enjoyable.

If nothing else these sections only enhance the desperate issue of scarce ammo, panic-ridden scrambles to reload and even more panic when you unload all 4 barrels of your pimped up shotgun into a nearby wall, suddenly realising you totally missed something which is intent on removing your face. These moments though are split by some of the most atmospherically quiet moments you’ll find in a game – hook up a surround sound system and the echoes through the tunnels will not only totally disorientate your sense but give you no idea where the nearby scratching and shouting is coming from. It’s a surprisingly engrossing extra experience which takes your creeping around in the dark and turns it into something that puts you more on edge than you’d have thought possible.

Ultimately playing Metro: Last Light will give you a vast range of emotions. Fear, sadness, relief and frustration all flood through you as you make your way through the Metro tunnels and across barren nuclear wasteland, and yet it’s the desperation that hits you the hardest. The way people are forced to live underground in constant fear, the way you find corpses of those unlucky enough to get caught by a mutant or just overcome by the toxic environment they’ve tried to explore… you even start to feel quite protective about some of the characters you come across, something which only makes certain events all the more hard hitting. It’s an exhilarating experience, one which will delight and sometimes frustrate in equal measures, but very much worth playing.

Reviewed on PS3

Codemasters have recently announced a few details about their upcoming DLC options, one of which is the great looking Indycar pack. This short trailer shows off action with the Dallara IndyCar racing at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. GRID2 is out next week, so keep a look out for our review soon!

Deep Silver today announced that 4A Games will be supporting the critically acclaimed Metro: Last Light with a series of original single player content packs throughout the summer.

· The ‘Faction Pack’ and the ‘Chronicles Pack’ will include new, original single player gameplay that expands on the Metro: Last Light universe and story

· The ‘Tower Pack’ will present a unique solo challenge to Metro veterans

· Meanwhile, the ‘Developer Pack’ will give creative players some interesting tools with which to explore the world of Metro…

“Artyom’s story may have been concluded in Metro: Last Light, but there are other characters with stories to tell, some familiar locations that fans of the Metro series wanted to revisit, and some new challenges that 4A wanted to explore,” said Andrew Prokhorov, Creative Director at 4A Games. “Since completing the game we have been working on these new stories and hope to release them throughout the summer.”

The first chapter will be the ‘Faction Pack’ , set for release in June 2013.

Metro fans can pre-purchase all future DLC at a discount with the Season Pass, now available on Steam, XBox Live and PSN. The Season Pass also grants an additional weapon, the deadly Abzats, a semi-automatic shotgun rifle with a devastating secondary fire mode that unleashes six shells in one blast. The Metro: Last Light Season pass is available to download now from Xbox Live, PSN and Steam for $14.99 / £11.99 / €14.99 or 1200 MSP now.

PlayStation Plus subscribers are entitled to an additional 25% discount on the Season Pass between May 21st and June 4th in the US and May 22nd and June 5th In Europe and the rest of the world.

Bored of the current batch of modern and futuristic shooters? If so, the latest Call of Juarez title is likely to sit nicely with you. Right here is the launch trailer, just in time for this week’s release for download. We’ve been playing it for our review (which will be online soon) so keep an eye out to see what we think!

Keeping an eye on Ubisoft’s next sneak-em-up? Well that’s good, because right here is the latest trailer featuring some great looking co-op action. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist offers a two player co-op mode with 4 mission types across 14 maps with 2 player split-screen.

Play as Sam Fisher or Isaac Briggs (a CIA operative) and work as a duo : help your teammate access parts of the maps you couldn’t access on your own, create your own tactics depending on your play style and watch each other’s back as you complete missions.

When I was a young kid I had one thing in mind when I played at being a soldier with my friends – loud guns, big explosions and generally being an over the top idiot. We’d leave the playground at school exhausted after throwing myself around, throwing pretend grenades about the place and getting killed in lots of very loud ways. It was great fun. With Army of Two: Devil’s Cartel we’ve got a game that works as a nice metaphor for those crazy 15 minute primary school wars that took place on a daily basis: loud, slightly excessive and not impressing those with something more real to play with.

This latest version of Army of Two hasn’t received a very warm welcome from several corners of the gaming world, and on the surface it’s easy to see why. The shooting action feels a little generic, the cover system is clumsy at times and once the main campaign is dealt with there’s not a great deal to keep you coming back for more. And yet despite this there’s something very pleasing about playing it: Army of Two takes us back to a time when games were designed for fun, not for profit.

In the main, Army of Two is a big game of chase. Your two main characters – Alpha and Beta – spend the whole game hunting down a bad guy who somehow manages to always stay a step ahead and escape at the last minute. Along the way a few other sub-plots crop up which, despite not being the most imaginative, are entertaining enough to keep you intrigued. There’s plenty of banter between the cast, with the two guys also keeping in contact with others over their headsets and throwing plenty of childish insults that, even though you know they’re quite cheesy and immature you can’t help but enjoy them. There are some fun comments about games too, such as one guy pointing out “red barrels always explode, have you never played a video game?”

Combat utilises a cover system, with destructible scenery which forces you to think about where you’re taking cover. Hide behind a car and you can guarantee the enemy will concentrate its fire on the vehicle and blow it up, knocking you for six in the process. Other objects hold up slightly better, but it’s rare to find something that will withstand prolonged enemy fire so keeping on the move is key. It can be tough though to accurately use the cover system, and it’s certainly not as slick as the likes of Uncharted or Ghost Recon in terms of dashing from cover to cover. It’s also incredibly easy to accidentally sprint to cover quite a distance away, leaving yourself open to getting shot at from other directions.

But it’s shooting at people yourself where the rewards lie, and being Army of Two there are extra rewards available for working as a team. Drawing fire for your partner to make the kills, flanking enemies, even taking enemies by surprise will earn you extra in-game currency. It’s a clever idea, but annoyingly it’s a clever idea that doesn’t work. While intentional acts go mostly rewarded (sneaking up on the bad guys is great fun) you also get credited for things you don’t actually do – how can I get a bonus for a surprise kill when the guy was sprinting at me at full speed swinging a machete at me? I guess he didn’t expect me to take the top of his head off, that’s the only explanation I can think of…

That said, however you kill people you start to fill up your Overkill meter. Both you and your partner have one of these meters, and activating a full one gives you temporary invincibility, unlimited ammo and as many grenades as you can chuck in the time given. Activating both characters’ meters at the same time gives you both an insane amount of firepower, shredding walls, sending enemies flying and generally causing explosive chaos in every direction. It’s impossible to resist the urge to sprint into the middle of a crowd of enemies, activate the Overkill and go nuts – and this is where the game is at its most enjoyable. It’s where the feeling of having done it all before subsides for a little moment and starts to feel exactly like what you imagined when you were lining up your playground friend before letting them have it with a barrage of imaginary gunfire.

But is that enough to make this a game you should rush out and buy? Possibly, but I’m not convinced. It’s quite a pretty game, especially when you enter a graveyard lit by candles and take a moment to look around and realise how impressive it all is, but again it won’t be winning any awards for that. If you’ve got a friend who will want to play through with you then it takes a step up in enjoyment (there’s even split screen play, something criminally missing from most games nowadays) and when you’re playing online there’s no obvious lag or other issues. Sadly if you’re playing an open game and someone tries to join you’ll be dropped back at the start of the level, so it pays to think ahead and arrange your games beforehand. Even without someone else your partner’s AI is pretty impressive, taking his fair share of kills and helping to draw fire from you when you’re in a bit of a tricky situation.

It’s a little awkward to sum up Army of Two: Devil’s Cartel. On one hand games like this are important, giving bursts of satisfaction rarely seen in more serious-faced shooters that we tend to see being released every 4 days. But for a game focused on co-op it seems odd that you can play much of the game forgetting you’ve even got a partner, and the scoring system for your amazing and utterly accidental teamwork becomes slightly farcical before too long. It’s an enjoyable game to play, but that’s mainly because of the numerous times you get to fire up your Overkill and go nuts by blowing up as much stuff as you can find in the space of 30 seconds or so. It nearly enough to forget about the fiddly cover system, and nearly enough to ignore the bizarre way online co-op is handled, but ultimately the fun from shooting stuff just about persuades you to play this through to the end. It probably won’t persuade you to go back and do it all again though, which when you think about the possibilities available to a 2 player co-op title is a huge shame.

Reviewed on PS3

We all remember Worms, it’s been knocking around since 1995. That’s when those amazing people over at Team17 came up with this great idea of having worms battle each other to the death, with all sorts of crazy weapons. I can still remember my friends and I huddled around my Amiga 500+, spending time picking names for our highly trained worm combatants, and then starting the game and trying to blow each other up, or if that failed, setting up guards to try and build shelters. I look back on those days with great fondness, and I’m very happy to see that as we moved forward so did the Worms games.  So we reach 2013, and what have those great people over at Team 17 done? They have only gone and released this great pack for Xbox called Worms: The Revolution Collection.

Not much has changed over the years to this winning formula. What you will notice when you first load the game up, is that on the disc is Worms 2 Armageddon with a supply crate full of DLC for your playing pleasure.  There really is a huge amount of extras to play with, more weapons to beat the living snot of your friends, or the AI and much, much more. To follow that, the lovely people at Team 17 have also put in Worms Revolution, which is a step up from Worms 2 Armageddon.  With all new HD graphics it’s displayed in a lovely 2.5D which really adds depth to the game and gives more interesting levels.  Once again it comes with a bucket load of DLC which brings even more life to the game with more maps and weapons. This truly is a great collection.  If you’re a big Worms fan like me, then this is a must have, not just for you but for your friends as well, the endless fun you will have will be crazy. In total you get 5 DLC Packs which is amazing, I don’t know many games that would give away that many extras. One thing I did really like was the physics that has been added to Worms Revolution, and also the puzzle modes, but what really makes it for me is the ability to get online and play with other people over Xbox Live. This really opens the game up and it gets better the more people you add into the mix. Let’s not forget though that these aren’t new games, and it’s not out of the question that you may have picked these up or played them some time ago.

Overall this is great for the price of £22.99.  If you have never played Worms at all, then this is a great place to start, even if a few of you might have played all of these before. These 2 great games on disc with all this DLC available in them will keep you playing for ages. If like me, you’re an old hand to the Worms franchise, then this will hold a special place in your heart. It’s so nice to see that in this day and age, this style of game is still being brought out and people are still enjoying it.

Reviewed on XBox 360

We don’t really need to say much about Assassin’s Creed IV by now, so I’ll cut to the chase and just tell you that the video below features some great looking boaty action, as well as a glimpse into some of the more land-based environments you’ll be finding. It’s safe to say this is looking pretty handy…

Want to know where you’ll be heading when GRID2 hits the shelves in a couple of weeks? Lucky you – we’ve got the full track list released today by Codemasters. Hooray! Not only that, there’s a new trailer below as well showing off some of the Asian locations including a rather lovely looking Hong Kong circuit.

Enjoy!

America:

Indianapolis:
- GP Circuit [Day]
- Infield Circuit [Day]
- Sport Circuit [Day]
- North Circuit [Day] [Pre-Order Bonus]
- Oval Circuit [Day] [Pre-Order Bonus]

California:
- Big Sur [Day]
- Big Sur [Night]
- Bixby Pass [Day]
- Bixby Pass [Night]
- Pebble Beach Drive [Day]
- Pebble Beach Drive [Night]
- Redwood Approach [Day]
- Redwood Approach [Night]
- Pacific Way [Sunset]

Miami:
- Causeway Approach [Day]
- Causeway Approach [Night]
- Collins Park Ring [Day]
- Collins Park Ring [Night]
- Downtown Speedway [Day]
- Downtown Speedway [Night]
- South Point Bay [Day]
- South Point Bay [Night]
- Art Deco Loop [Sunset]
- Ocean Drive [Sunset]
- LiveRoutes [Day]

Chicago:
- Lake Shore Point [Day]
- Lake Shore Point [Night]
- The Loop [Day]
- The Loop [Night]
- Underpass Ring [Day]
- Underpass Ring [Night]
- Wabash Run [Day]
- Wabash Run [Night]
- Marina City [Sunset]
- Riverside [Sunset]
- LiveRoutes [Day]

Europe:

Brands Hatch, UK:
- Indy Circuit [Day]
- Indy Circuit Reversed [Day]
- GP Circuit [Day] [Pre-Order Bonus]
- GP Circuit Reversed [Day] [Pre-Order Bonus]

Algarve, Portugal:
- Club Circuit [Day]
- GP Circuit [Day]
- National Circuit [Day]
- Sport Circuit [Day]

Barcelona:
- Columbus Pass [Day]
- Columbus Pass [Night]
- High Street [Day]
- High Street [Night]
- Marine Gate [Day]
- Marine Gate [Night]
- Memorial Gate [Day]
- Memorial Gate [Night]
- Columbus Bay [Sunset]
- Fountain Loop [Sunset]
- LiveRoutes [Day]

Red Bull Ring:
- North Circuit [Day]
- North Circuit Reversed [Day]
- South Circuit [Day]
- South Circuit Reversed [Day]
- GP Circuit [Day]
- GP Circuit Reversed [Day]

Paris, France:
- Arc De Triomphe [Day]
- Arc De Triomphe [Night]
- Avenue De New-York [Day]
- Avenue De New-York [Night]
- Circuit De La Seine [Day]
- Circuit De La Seine [Night]
- Pont De L’alma [Day]
- Pont De L’alma [Night]
- Champs Elysees [Sunset]
- Le Trocadero [Sunset]
- LiveRoutes [Day]

Cote d’Azur, France:
- La Turbie [Day]
- La Turbie [Night]
- Leopolda [Day]
- Leopoldar [Night]
- Route d’Azur [Day]
- Route d’Azur [Night]
- Saint-Laurent [Day]
- Saint-Laurent [Night]
- Cabrillo Highway [Sunset]
- Route De Corniche [Sunset]

Asia:

Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi:

- Championship Circuit [Day] [Pre-Order Bonus]
- Championship Circuit [Night]
- GP Circuit [Day] [Pre-Order Bonus]
- GP Circuit [Night]
- International Circuit [Day] [Pre-Order Bonus]
- International Circuit [Night]
- Paddock Circuit [Day] [Pre-Order Bonus]
- Paddock Circuit [Night]
- South Circuit [Day] [Pre-Order Bonus]
- South Circuit [Night]

Okutama, Japan:
- Mizu Mountain [Day]
- Mizu Mountain [Night]
- Tatsu Valley [Day]
- Tatsu Valley [Night]
- Tenshi Way [Day]
- Tenshi Way [Night]
- Shinto Shrine [Day]
- Shinto Shrine [Night]
- Sakura Pass [Sunset]
- Torii Rush [Sunset]

Dubai, United Arab Emirates:
- Al Sufouh Strip [Day]
- Al Sufouh Strip [Night]
- Gulf Approach [Day]
- Gulf Approach [Night]
- Jumeirah Beach [Day]
- Jumeirah Beach [Night]
- Nakheel Vista [Day]
- Nakheel Vista [Night]
- Hattan Way [Sunset]
- Orra Quay Loop [Sunset]
- LiveRoutes [Day]

Hong Kong, China:
- Kowloon Climb [Day]
- Kowloon Climb [Night]
- Magazine Gap [Day]
- Magazine Gap [Night]
- Peak Road Descent [Day]
- Peak Road Descent [Night]
- Wan Chai Gap [Day]
- Wan Chai Gap [Night]
- Ap Lei Chau [Sunset]
- Pok Fu Lam [Sunset]

Every so often something comes along that you just can’t resist taking on to review. The latest temptress comes in the form of a gorgeous 160-odd page coffee table book covering one of the most incredible gaming successes in recent times: Angry Birds. Hatching a Universe looks at the entire series of Angry Birds games, taking you way back to how the original idea came to light, through development and design and all the way up to the most recent games in the series with Angry Birds Star Wars. Totally devoid of screenshots or any kind of ego-massaging, even I was surprised with just how high the quality was throughout.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise really – the guys who have come up with these games are intent on flawless design, ticking boxes on the finer points in order to make sure their products are as amazing as possible. The contents of Hatching a Universe include sketches, cartoon strips, designs of stages and the world they’re from as well as a host of other goodies. Another nice touch comes with the attached extras dotted through the book – alongside several other goodies, sets of stickers (that are actually quite cool and retro-looking in parts), postcards and cut-out card nets of the birds for you to pop out and turn into throwable cubes are all present and correct, each one bring an “oooooh, aaaaaah” as you find your latest hidden extra.

On top of all this are your staff pieces, places where the guys behind the games explain some behind the scenes magic or share stories about how certain games, levels or characters came to exist. Some of this is genuinely fascinating stuff, giving an insight into just how much time and effort has gone into making the series so successful and enjoyed by so many. Those who assumed it was a simple game that had probably been knocked together in a few days will certainly find a lot to learn.

But this is, essentially, an art book. It’s a book to leave strategically hanging around when a few friends come over. This is unlike the art books we’ve seen recently with things like Dead Space and Halo which need a certain type of gamer to appreciate them – everyone knows what Angry Birds is, everyone recognises the characters, and pretty much everyone will reach for the book and flick through it. And chances are, when they do, everyone will learn something new each time.

I’ve taken a few photos which you can see on this page, and they do far more to explain the beauty of Hatching a Universe than I ever could using these word things. But even being a touch under £30 (which might widen a few eyes) it’s good value for money, and if you’re the kind of person who can’t sit still for 5 minutes without reaching for your nearest version of Angry Birds then you’d be a bit crazy to leave this on the shelf. An extremely impressive offering, and one I’ll certainly be showing it off whenever the opportunity arises.

Published by Titan Books (EU)
Price: £29.99
Release Date: 24th may 2013
Buy Now at Amazon