Got a chance to play it for about 3 hours last night.

Visuals are outstanding. It's nice to see another close quarter engine perform so well, other than Unreal. The models and their animation are some of the best I've seen, and the lighting is awesome. I'm impressed the 360 can handle this, just goes to show that even though the hardware is 5 years old, it's still quite versatile.

Load times are very fast, which is nice because when you die, you reload from a previous checkpoints. And checkpoints are generous and are setup in a smart way (/eye RB6 Vegas). And while a new area is loading, you have a narrative to read/listen to, so it goes by even faster.

You can choose to listen to the Russian voices and have english subtitles which is a nice feature.

I'm not sure what others are talking about when they say the shooting is weak. Maybe I just don't see it. I also don't play games like CoD or anything, so maybe my basis for comparison is different. One thing to keep in mind, is that you're using makeshift weaponry and dirty ammunition. Specially at first, your guns are basically garbage. The first SMG looses it's accuracy after just a few shots, but this is to be expected. Shoot a monster or human in the face with it, and he'll go down fast. If you're quick enough to aim with the handgun (magnum I think), you can peg them off from a distance quite easily. Most of the non-human enemies I've fought get close really fast, and if you've got a few of them pouncing on you, it can get really difficult trying to kill them off.

I haven't had a chance to use stealth much, most of the areas I've gone through so far are fairly linear and scripted, and I have an AI buddy tagging along, so I can't take my time. Hoping that this aspect comes into play soon, as that's what I was expecting from this game having watched the previews.

I've also run into a few traps and they kill you instantly. So far, gameplay is quite frantic, because you're trying to get from point A to point B wearing a gas mask with a limited filter. Bear in mind I've only played about 3 hours so far, so I can't really speak for the rest of the experience.

I've seen a few places mention RPG elements, but I haven't experienced these as of yet. Currency is basically military grade ammo you find lying around, and you can buy stuff with it or exchange it for dirty ammo at a higher ratio. So far I've only found a few different types of guns, so I imagine this gets developed later on.

I also have to comment on the HUD and the fact that there is none. Very cool for the immersion factor. Anything you do, from charging your flashlight or pumping the airgun you have to do manually and you see your character doing it. Even when checking your objectives, you take out your lighter, fire it up and peer at your notepad. Very cool stuff, and that's what Metro 2033 is good at; making you feel like you're there.

Looking forward to spending more time playing the game, and plan on doing a full review once I've completed it.