Rock, Paper, Shotgun

OK, hold onto the floppier parts of your brain, because this is about to get a bit complicated. So remember how THQ went bankrupt and fell into bed with “stalking horse bidder” Clearlake Capital? Well, the primary intent of all that was to keep THQ in one piece while dealing with that nasty little “having basically no money” thing, but – at the 11th hour – there was a twist. Creditors decided THQ’s all-or-nothing sales approach wasn’t fair to them (it’d probably pull in less money, after all), and a US bankruptcy court judge agreed. So now THQ’s gone from monolithic one-gulp meal to easily chopped up buffet, and rumor has it that a number of major players are interested in various series, games, and franchises.

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Oh boy. Remember how things haven’t been going so hot for THQ lately? If you’ve somehow forgotten, do you remember your name or any key facts about yourself? Have you hit your head or recently traveled forward to this time period? Are you an amnesiac, infant, or ghost? AT ANY RATE, we’ve finally reached the expected conclusion of this rather depressing series of events, but – as ever – there’s a twist. In spite of how the word “bankrupt” – which is derived from the root “bank account ruptured and screamed in agony as warm monetary lifeblood erupted from its depleted tubules” – often connotates, THQ isn’t doomed yet. Instead, it’s merely employed some tricksy business maneuvers to dodge an avalanche of debt. For now, though, your favorite game series are safe.

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God probably died. That’s the most prominent point put forth by a new Metro: Last Light trailer’s wearily somber narrator, and it pretty much sets the tone for the whole game. Society’s in shambles, monsters and radiation seep from every crevice, and everything above ground has turned gray for some reason. Except things that were gray before. They’re now double-gray. Pretty dismal, huh? And by the looks of things, Metro will leave your PC’s insides looking like the bleeding ruins of a bombed-out Russia too. By which I mean it’s completely gorgeous. Just in an awfully depressing type of way.

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Troubled THQ, as they must be sick of being called, have more bad news. Three of their biggest games have take a slip on this unseasonably early Wintry weather, with South Park, Metro: Last Light, and Company Of Heroes 2 all being announced as falling into the farther reaches of the future. But in better news – as Polygon spotted – it’s confirmed that a new Saints Row is definitely happening, along with the mysterious game from Turtle Rock, and a Homefront 2 for some reason.

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This is scandalous! When I buy a shooter, I expect – nay, demand – for it to include a multiplayer mode that makes a mockery of the carefully-created fiction, is defined by the hollow pursuit of unlocks and is so rapidly abandoned by its players that it’s near-impossible to find a match about a fortnight after release. So hearing that Metro 2033 sequel Last Light has dropped its multiplayer really grinds my gears.

(It doesn’t. It seems like a very smart thing for a singleplayer-focused shooter to do).
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Usually when I watch long sequences from unreleased games I’m squinting, wearing my analytical face, trying to work out where the gap between hype and reality is most obvious, trying to see what might be true and what might be marketing. The E3 video of Metro: Last Light, just now released for wider consumption, is thirteen and a half minutes long and I didn’t squint once, I’m not even sure I blinked judging by the film of dust I’m now scraping out of my eyes. It looks and sounds absolutely stunning, and the wait until the Q1 2013 release suddenly seems extremely long indeed.

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For whatever reason, the gaming industry’s become obsessed with live-action adaptations lately. I don’t claim to understand it, but in the grand scheme of these things – which ranges from the rather impressive Ghost Recon Alpha to the, well, very, very silly Dragon Age: Redemption series – Metro: Last Light‘s tiny, stream-powered screen debut is actually pretty great. Even better, it’s not a million years long like the above examples, so you can watch it without fear of glancing up only to see the smoking, much-grayer-than-you-remember-it ruins of your own civilization mournfully resting in front of you. Without spoiling too much, I’ll just say that it’s rather intense – even if the “It’s the end of the world everyone FREAK OUT” scene has definitely been done before. Heat up some popcorn until it’s nothing more than a charred, butter-flavored crater and check out the full trailer after the break.

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