Metro: Last Light won't be a "flawed masterpiece"

Metro: Last Light will build on the success of Metro 2033, taking fan feedback into account and ramping up its most memorable features - including a minimalist HUD approach.

"We did listen to all the feedback," THQ's Mark Madsen told Gamespot.

"There were some issues with the stealth, our enemy AI, sometimes the weapons didn't feel quite right, the ammunition as currency wasn't clearly explained to everyone," he admitted.

"That - and then some - has all been taken into account, and we're going down line by line and addressing it and making sure that when Metro: Last Light does ship, it isn't considered a flawed masterpiece."

Madsen said the team at 4A Games is keen to strip the game's HUD back as far as possible, taking the in-game cues of Metro 2033 to the point where almost nothing else is needed.

"I think that really is the final step in immersing you into this world. Really looking at this from the perspective of, how can we strip everything back and make the player feel like they're completely immersed in the atmosphere?" he said.

"It's not to say that we're going to ship the game entirely HUD-less, we're tweaking that right now, but we just want to take a minimalist approach will making sure everything that is pertinent to the game is communicated effectively.

"There are various means to communicate to the player without a HUD staring at them from the screen at all time. So there are audio and visual cues when you shoot one of your enemies. Sometimes that enemy might have heavy armour, and we'll give you an audio cue, such as a pinging sound, so you know that you're hitting armour and not flesh or vice versa."

Madsen also referenced Metro 2033' visual ammunition system, where each bullet was visible inside magazines, feeding out as you fired.

Metro: Last Light is expected on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 some time in 2012, with a Wii U version also planned.