S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

The Good
The recent releases of Pathologic and The Witcher proved that some developers from Eastern Europe had enough creative power to be able to compete with their colleagues from the West. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is yet another proof of this rise from beyond the former Iron Curtain.

There is really a lot to like about S.T.A.L.K.E.R.; the moment you fire up the game you feel that you are invited to something special. The "Fallout meets Oblivion" idea is certainly one that can make a dedicated gamer drool. Even though S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is far from being a true hybrid of those two games, it certainly takes steps in the right direction.

The first thing you notice when you being to play the game is the exceptionally strong personality of its world. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is particularly atmospheric and has great graphics; but the unique effect is achieved mostly by following a certain style in the world design, which is instantly recognizable and is one of the game's most valuable assets.

The game's world immediately betrays the post-Soviet origin of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.; in fact, it is one of the few games I've ever played that uses absolutely authentic Soviet style. The rusty vehicles, the architecture of the buildings, many objects, even the nature itself - everything reminded me of Soviet Union, where I was born and spent the first ten years of my life. Certain things evoked a strange kind of nostalgia in me. I remember an abandoned train in the Garbage area. It looks exactly like the trains that were used for suburban railways in Soviet Union (and are still used in ex-Soviet countries, at least in some of them). This nearly photorealistic representation of a rarely used style is attractive in a bizarre way.

Those Soviet reminiscences are mixed with sci-fi elements: radioactivity everywhere, weird "anomalies", mutants, etc., resulting in a decidedly original and quite unforgettable style. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is therefore one of those games you'd want to play just in order to feel its unique vibe.

Even if S.T.A.L.K.E.R. were an ordinary FPS, it would be interesting to play because of this setting. But the game tries to expand the boundaries of the genre - not always in a convincing way, but still with plenty of efficient results.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is in a certain sense the antipodes of Half-Life: the latter is linear and scripted, while the former doesn't have any setpieces at all and is also remarkably open-ended for a shooter. In this sense, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. surpasses Deus Ex, the ultimate FPS-RPG hybrid. Deus Ex had more role-playing elements than the Ukrainian work, and they were more coherent and better implemented; but its story progression was linear, just like in any other FPS. The fact you could switch sides and find different ways within a level didn't change the overall necessity to do the levels in a pre-established succession.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R., on the other hand, allows you to do whatever you want and generally go wherever you want. Its game world is seamless, not level-based, just like in an open-ended RPG. You can just walk around and explore the game world for hours, without undertaking any missions. You can do main storyline missions in different order. You can ignore them and do some side missions first. In fact, even the story missions are structured in such a way that some of them are not required to finish the game. Even though the "Kill Strelok" mission is your "main quest", it can be easily disintegrated during the gameplay; you can even ignore it entirely and still be able to complete the game! Of course, the "true" ending can be reached only if you pursue this mission, and without doing it, the story of the game won't make much sense; but it's up to the player to decide how to handle this.

This freedom, coupled with an interesting, unusual world to explore, is easily the game's chief appeal. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a game in which exploration is more important than following a story. Of course, this story does exist, and is in fact quite good if you bother to uncover it: there is even a very cool plot twist in the middle, and the final confrontation is fittingly majestic and is very heavy on story development. But, much like Elder Scrolls games, the meaning of gameplay here is "bathing" in the atmosphere, walking around, doing stuff on your own, being drawn into the game world and forgetting the reality around you.

There are plenty of other cool things in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. There is a full day and night cycle, just like in RPGs. The many NPCs who populate the Zone belong to different groups that constantly fight each other. It is possible for the player to join two of those groups, the ones that have a distinct ethical idea behind their actions. It is theoretically possible just to kill everyone, except the very few givers of pivotal missions that will allow the player to access new areas. There is a huge amount of missions - I could only wish their quality would match their quantity. There are real hunger and stamina parameters; you can't run forever, like in most other games, and you'll also need to eat from time to time. There are artifacts you can hunt for, scattered around the game world, usually near dangerous places called "anomalies", some of which can instantly kill you if you are not careful. Those artifacts increase some of your parameters and decrease others; by cleverly combining them, you'll be able to customize your character to a certain degree. There is also weapon degradation, which is much more realistic and by far less frustrating than the one used in System Shock 2.

The combat system is surprisingly realistic, coming close to simulation-style shooters. The AI is highly advanced; I never saw enemies do stupid things that are typically exploited in most other FPSs. Killing enemies require real skill. Even on the easiest difficulty level, you can get yourself killed in a matter of seconds. I was never interested in realistic shooters, and I found S.T.A.L.K.E.R. very hard; but whenever I wasn't frustrated, I had great moments with this realism. There always seem to be different ways out of tough situations. The sneaking system works quite well, and if you are patient enough, you can eliminate enemies without being noticed. Also, since the game world is so large, in many parts you can just run away if you feel the battle is too hard. I remember how I managed to infiltrate a military base and steal important documents, only to find soldiers guarding every possible exit. All attempts to confront them resulted in quick death. I already decided to reload a previously saved game and ran up to the roof in order to commit spectacular suicide. But then I discovered a ladder leading down from the roof; overjoyed, I ran over to it, and before the soldiers could realize what was happening, I was running like mad to cover, and from there to the gate and into freedom, with deafening gunshots echoing in my head.

That's how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. works: you experience it in different ways. It is highly probable that the story I just shared here never happened to you; you might have tackled this mission in a totally different way, or maybe not tackled it at all. Needless to say how much replay value this design philosophy adds to the game. Many shooters are good for one playthrough and are quickly forgotten afterwards; but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was destined for a long life.

The Bad
The more ambitious a game is, the easier it is to notice its flaws. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is no exception: it is a title that promises a lot, therefore all its flaws become more visible, as if they were viewed with a magnifying lens. Unfortunately, there are quite a few of them. Even though the game still manages to draw the player in thanks to its exciting premise and its unique vibe, it is not exactly the ultimate FPS-RPG hybrid it was supposed to be.

It's not that the two genres don't work well together. The examples of System Shock 2 and especially Deus Ex show that such games can be done, and can be done really well. But while S.T.A.L.K.E.R. goes even further in certain aspects (side missions and large world), it neglects some key elements of both genres.

As a first-person shooter, it lacks focus, variety, and scripting. Of course, it is extremely hard to keep suspense when your goal is to have an open-ended world and non-obligatory missions. Maybe the developers were a tad too ambitious to think of both those objectives. But the fact is that the FPS gameplay in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., with all its realism, doesn't quite have the necessary urgency. I'm not demanding a Half-Life 2-kind of ride here, but running around and having to shoot annoying enemies who all look and act alike no matter what faction they belong to gets repetitive more quickly than you would imagine. The problem is that the enemies in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. were most probably conceived as experience-giving random RPG foes; but since there is no experience system of any sort, it is just pointless to wander around and shoot without being treated to cleverly designed levels with interesting setpieces and suspenseful progression.

Unfortunately, most of the game is dedicated to just that. The dialogues with the NPCs are uninteresting and repetitive; the NPCs themselves have little personality and are for the most part simply useless. At least in Morrowind, which had perhaps equally uninteresting NPCs, there was much more background information and more things to find (for example books). In S.T.A.L.K.E.R., everything you can find is somehow combat-related, which makes the already shallow RPG angle even shallower. The necessity of traversing huge areas in order to advance the story somehow, talk to dull characters, and fight hordes of tough enemies without being properly rewarded puts the player's motivation in question.

The side missions are boring to the extreme; after the initial joy of having them I quickly understood that they were all going to be of the same: kill some guys, bring some items, come back for the reward. I'm not sure it's entirely fair to criticize S.T.A.L.K.E.R. for that - after all, other FPSs don't have any side missions at all; but that just brings me back to what I said above - the higher the expectations, the bigger the disappointment. It's great to have side missions, but why make them so dull? Even the side quests of Morrowind were more interesting! In fact, the two games have a lot of common. They are great to play, but you won't always be compelled to complete them.

The Bottom Line
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a very ambitious game. It delivered less than it had initially promised, leading to unnecessary disappointment. Perhaps it can be summed up with "it could have been so more"; but that wouldn't do justice to what the game has achieved even without going all the way. It is flawed, and it's not always fun to play; but it is a commendable effort, and a landmark experiment. Its personality and its many creative touches make it a one of a kind experience - certainly one you wouldn't want to miss.

The Good
Review Version: v1.0
Review Date: July 28, 2009.
Review Length: 10 page(s).
Game Version: v1.0
Tech Specs Used: Intel Core 2 6300 1.86 Ghz CPU, 3 GB Memory, 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT Video Card.

Difficulty Setting Used: Master.
Finished: Yes, 4 out of (rumor has it) 7 possible endings:
[1] I want the zone to disappear; [2] I want to be rich; [3] Join the C-Conscious; [4] Destroy the C-Conscious.
Last time played: June, 2009.

Preferred main weapon: Vintar BC Silent Sniper Rifle.
Preferred side arm: Big Ben (Special).
Preferred artifact: Mama’s Beads (5% bulletproof cap).
Faction supported: Tried Freedom; Freedom and Duty; and finally killed all of them. :)
Favorite Pastime: Blind dog hunting with grenades.
Most feared enemy: Bloodsuckers and anyone with a rocket launcher.
Last or highest statistics: 3486
[Stalkers killed: 2050; Mutants killed: 796; Quests completed: 697]

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Foreword
Note: This section may be skipped

First person shooters aren’t really my kind of genre. Despite having periods in my life where one of the best enjoyments before returning to the dorm was having the highest frag kill count at the end of the day, a certain encounter with a “sniper” on multiplayer games who head-shot me with a Desert Eagle pistol from way across the map made me decide that despite his excellent shooting skills, that bloke seriously needs to get a life. Ironic, since I was the one carrying the sniper rifle. :p But more importantly, it seems that I should get a life too. Or so I thought. :)

Frankly, if I knew what this game was about, I probably wouldn’t get it in the first place. I was “fooled” by the incorrect genre listing on MobyGames that this game is an RPG [correction pending]. So, I bought on the premise that I’m getting a game where I shoot things and develop my character so I can shoot more things. ;p

Apparently S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has reached a certain amount of fame among the would-be-gaming nerds and has even been rumored to be nominated for the most prestigious award in our nerd slang: a classic. Surely such a rumor must be confirmed, if only to dismiss the possibility that this game is yet another marketing hype. But then again, apparently the Russians developed this game, and as far as Eastern Europe (or Asia according to MobyGames, see forums for further details :p) is concerned, they don’t have enough cash flow to fund such a marketing scheme, additionally also not enough dumb adolescents to actually believe it even if they did. :p But then again, the publisher is THQ.

Introduction Guide
Note: This section may also be skipped

If you haven’t played the game and would like to know what it’s about, here a rough summary on what to expect. It’s a First-Person Shooter (FPS), which means that you shoot things from an angle where you cannot see yourself (i.e. First-Person). As a shooter, you can expect certain standard issue weaponry from N.A.T.O. or the Warsaw Pact. Sci-fi weapons exist (though few), and other specially upgraded weapons. Besides shooting things, gameplay usually consists on finishing the main quests, or if the player so chooses, finishing sub-quests (for money, or other item rewards) offered by various Non-Player Characters (NPCs).

And in case you’re wonder, yes, the game has sniper rifles. Whoopee!

The venue is set in the area surrounding the remnants of Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2011. The plot contains fictional elements of the “what-if” variants in regard to life forms being effected by highly contaminated radioactive waste, to the point where their genes are altered, ultimately turning them into monster-like mutants. It may contain a mild horror theme, but then again, I’m a wuss when it comes to dark corridors with strange noises. :p

The fallout of Chernobyl created a contaminated area immediately quarantined by the military. Anomalies started to emerge in the “Zone,” as well as valuable “artifacts” (items with somewhat magical-like properties, created by the anomalies) sought by the scientific community. Although under quarantine, due to roaming mutants, contamination and whatever secret projects rumored to be conducted in the Zone, many fool-hardy individuals, dubbed as stalkers, brave the zone to obtain these artifacts and sell them to the highest bidder.

Some of these stalkers later became organized into factions. Some factions may be befriended (by completing quests), thus offering additional quests or weapons/items for sale. Each NPC is a member of a particular faction. Killing an NPC will decrease the friendliness of the mentioned faction. Reputation ranges from Friend to Enemy. The “enemy reputation” will warrant members of the faction to shoot you on sight. Excluding the mutants, there are 6 humanoid factions: Loner, Duty, Freedom, Military, Bandits, and Monolith. Loners are technically non-faction. Killing them only makes enemies with their immediate friends within a line of sight. Duty and Freedom offer quests and hate each other’s guts. Befriending one (choice depending) may result in the other faction disliking you. The Military, Bandits and the Monolith factions are always considered enemies, and reputation towards them cannot be improved.

The science fiction (sci-fi) element of the game is anomalies and artifacts. Anomalies are er…anomalies that seem to defy the basic laws of physics. Anomalies usually can be visually seen, for example by a curious gust of wind in a certain spot, which almost looks supernatural in nature. Anomalies are dangerous, different anomalies may inflict different ways of damaging you or enemies/NPCs foolish enough to venture near it. Artifacts are er…artifacts created by anomalies. These artifacts contain properties which will affect your character. Most artifacts have bonuses with a certain price to pay for those bonuses. For example, an artifact when equipped may offer a slight resistance towards bullets, at the cost of radiation building up in you (thus, gradually damaging your health). Another different artifact-type may gradually decrease radiation, but lower your resistance towards fire. Thus, equipping several different artifacts may overall achieve maximum bonus for minimum cost. Rare artifacts however, often have no disadvantages, but rare in this game usually means there is only one or two throughout the entire game. Up to 5 artifacts may be equipped simultaneously.

Other features in the game are hunger daemons (not quite sure if you have to eat, never died of starvation before), inventory weight encumbrance, night/daytime cycling – weather included, one rifle slot plus one sidearm slot, armor, ability to carry bodies (not quite sure what for, but it’s fun regardless), ability to barter and talk with most NPCs, ability to store items, headshot kill, radioactive poisoning, and stamina (cannot run when tired). All of which, if I’m bored enough, will one day have their own MobyGames game group. :)

Endnote, the over-all goal in this game is to discover the mystery behind the Zone (besides shooting everything that moves strangely along the way).

First Impressions

Gloomy. Not really my favorite atmosphere, but then again we are talking about Chernobyl. A cheerful setting at an abandoned nuclear power plant would no doubt be inappropriate of moronic proportions. :)

Despite the grayness of it all, the gloom-atmosphere does indeed capture the imagination for person(s) residing outside the former iron curtain following its collapse. Broken down Soviet machinery, signs of economic recess, and remnants of Cold War weaponry. The only thing missing would be a drunken CIA agent in the background. :p

The beginning intro immediately captures this “idea,” a death truck filled with (obviously) dead bodies. Yep. This doesn’t look good. Especially when you figured out that you’re one of those bodies, though not very dead, despite qualifying as a Russian zombie, malnutrition and all.

So, now you’re in-game. The gloomy main menu itself gives the impression that your idea of a luxury meal is pile of stale canned meat. You’re alive, have amnesia (saw that one coming), and your only clue to your identity is to kill some Russian bloke. Sounds easy enough, how many Russians can there be in Chernobyl anyways? :p

Then it hits you. The music. Melancholy with a capital M. Yikes, if the atmosphere wasn’t depressing enough, the fantastic music would even make the most hardcore Russian zombie cry. Surprisingly, the music is mostly extraordinary every step of the way, especially when someone picks up a guitar and goes acoustic. Not the kind of feature I would expect from an FPS game, but regardless, whoever made those compositions has, without a doubt, great taste. Subjectively speaking of course.

Adventure - Russian-Style

Hello. Why do I have quests? Isn’t this supposed to be an FPS? Interesting. After talking to the first NPC, he offers quests to be completed. Hmm. This game may not turn out to be not-so-stupid after all. A lot of quests, which one to take? Maybe later. Explore first, missions second (except for the main quest). Standard rule in adventure gaming.

So, you’re a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Not quite sure what that means, but apparently it’s an equivalent to a scavenger. Makes sense. A lot of blokes here. All armed. His shot gun is longer that my pistol. That somewhat wrecks your self-esteem. Oh, well. How do I get out of this run-down village?

Amazing. First thing I noticed in the game when adventuring was the grass. All moving simultaneously as if the wind was blowing fiercely. The graphics throughout the game are surprisingly detailed, although this is more apparent in other areas such as building complexes. Well, at this point of my nagging, I’m sure you’ll get the idea, as far as atmosphere goes, this game has all of my 5 thumbs up. Thus far, you can travel around to most areas to your heart’s leisure. Certain areas are crawling with mutants, most animals are easy to kill; the humanoid versions can get quite nasty. Other places are filled with bandits or soldiers who make the game feel like an FPS again.

Many a non-linear style adventure game allows the player to travel anywhere, anytime, usually unrestricted. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is partially linear. Although the player can travel to certain areas, there really isn’t any point, as the main plot only develops by finishing assigned main quests. Although it depends on personal taste, I prefer “directed-storytelling” than a free flow story, if only to fully appreciate which direction the story teller wants the player to experience.

Shooting Things

Although the adventuring and quests part of the games, almost make the FPS elements of this game a sub-genre rather than a main-genre, don’t be fooled. The enemy artificial intelligence (AI) is pretty advanced, despite some bugs here and there. The AI pretty much knows how to maneuver and hide, sometimes even flanking. They do make use of obstacles, and usually prioritize (for those with guns) in finding cover rather than other FPS games where the AI just rushes forwards to you guns blazing.

Damage is realistic enough, depending on your armor and the weapon the enemy has, usually can hurt you pretty bad, pretty fast. So the Rambo-style of gameplay for adolescent eggheads by “shoot first”-“shoot fast”-“shoot a lot”-“aim later”, doesn’t really work very well in this game. And that's a good thing.

The Bad
After fully exploring the game, you can tell that this was one ambitious project. As far as the detailed graphics go, you can probably assume that heavy research was conducted for the game to be visually realistic. But as most ambitious projects usually end up in games, more than often, screw-ups do occur when meeting the deadline of not so patient but usually realistic publishers.

However, amazing enough, what blunders the game did have does not warrant any trashing enough to make me go berserk. So, well done, despite minor irritations here in there. A lot of irritations actually, but at least it didn’t make me want to throw out my monitor to the former Soviet Union.

Let’s get irritated.

Sub-Quest Screw-ups

Somewhat figured that this would be problematic. The sub-quests in the game is by far, the most problematic and bug-infested issue in the game. But despite the bugs, there are some features of the quests that are extremely annoying. Sub-quests have a time-limit. Usually 24 hour’s in-game time. Seems like a long while, not so when you’re busy gunning down bandits and soldiers while playing catch with mutant doggies and grenades. Time does fly fast when everywhere you go, you leave a trail of empty bullet shells, so when suddenly you realize you have only 3 hours left to finish the mission, and you haven’t even started, well, why use a time limit anyway? I’ll get it done, when it’s done. Having a “failed mission” in my statistic report does not bode well for my insides.

Other sub-quests are forced upon you without your consent. When entering certain areas, these missions require you to fend off attackers. Which is probably fine, but sometimes, to successfully complete the mission, you have to back-track off your intended course. Well, back to the majority of buggy screw-ups:

• Some sub-quests cannot be completed regardless what you do;
• Some sub-quests cannot be completed if you try an alternative method/sequence than the obvious one;
• Some sub-quests seemed to have misplaced their intended objects or persons;
• Some NPCs seem to have forgotten that I just completed the retrieve armor/weapon mission, that they are in possession of that item thus not really retrievable, yet they’re offering it again;
• Some sub-quests require objects that are located in areas that I currently cannot enter. No warning either.

To be perfectly honest, most of the sub-quests are quite boring, if not for possible special items, or ego talking to increase your statistical score. Although, many sub-quests can be constantly repeated, this may give you something to do if you’re bored. NPC Barter Screw-Up The good news is you can barter with any NPC stalker in the game. The bad news is, they mostly have nothing or junk to trade. Not quite sure why no one wants to trade bullets. Certain bullet types are hard to find and may only be purchased at far off locations like at the Yantar science lab. Weapon Zooming Screw-Up The logic is easy enough. When you zoom in a weapon, you’d like to see the target from a closer and better perspective. Unfortunately, for weapons without a sniper scope, zooming in blocks your view, become the weapon is in the way. Unfortunately, the developers, although trying to make zooming realistic with real-life, failed to notice that firing a weapon with your hands and firing a weapon with a mouse are two different experiences. When you use a weapon in real-life, you hands can instinctually coordinate with your eyes and memorize the intended spot you want to fire. This does not apply in a virtual setting using a mouse. Firstly because you will have trouble identifying the exit point of the bullet, since there isn’t a little red dot, and for some weapons (usually side arms) it’s usually unclear where the exit point bullet is, as the gun barrel takes up a lot of space between you and the enemy. This is even worse when the weapon has a high recoil rate, constantly re-aiming to the same spot that you can’t see very well. Basically this issue ends if the ability to zoom-in is marked by a little red dot or cross-hair that should indicate the intended exit point of the bullet. It may not be realistic, but always remember that in games, gameplay comes first, realistic comes later. Weapon Delay Screw-Up When you change weapons, either to rifle or sidearm, there is a 2-3 second visual delay of you somewhat re-arming the weapon. Not much use for visual eye-candy when you’re in the middle of a gunfight. Especially irritating when you’re throwing a grenade, change the weapon, and you have to endure the 2-3 second clickety-click delay, when you only have that much time to shoot at an enemy suddenly emerging in front of you. Can’t tell you how many times I died in those 2-3 seconds. Grenade Throwing Screw-Up Well, technically it’s due to my poor throwing and aiming skills. But when you see an enemy, and the enemy meets the cross-hair, you’d think that the grenade would hit near the target and not the right-wall beside you (sometimes you wish you were left-handed :p). Get’s worse when you’re trying to throw grenades out the window. Interior decorating anyone? Blood red in currently in. :p Usual 3D Screw-Ups Still the same issues. Enemies or NPCs getting stuck in walls. Bullets penetrating walls. Walking through walls (though extremely rare, usually just the weapon is seen through the wall). Hmm. Why are the walls always problematic? Should’ve hired a better mason and more expensive bricks. :p PDA Map Screw-Up Scrolling/zooming in-out of the map leads you to areas you’d rather not go to. Scrolling forward zooms you out, scrolling backward zooms you in. Entering the map does not automatically center zoom on you, and when you roll-over you mouse over a quest-area symbol, and your player icon is too close to that quest area, you cannot view the description of the quest. Faction Screw-Up Unless you plan carefully, befriending the Freedom faction and completing their designated quests, will permanently become an annoying feature for you throughout the game. Why? Well, because if you suddenly find yourself having the Duty faction as the enemy, you won’t be able to enter the Bar town without a fight, since it’s crawling with Duty stalkers. Only did I discover later that completing quests from both factions in order to raise your reputation simultaneously can you get away with quests requiring you to murder either faction members. Inventory “not-really-a-screw-up” Feature Well, one of the first thing’s you notice is that you can only equip one rifle. Not quite sure why, since I’m carrying 2 assault rifles, one sniper rifle, one sub-machine gun, one shotgun, 2 side-arms and a lot of bullets. Rambo would be envious. So, to use a different weapon, you have to manually go into the inventory screen and replace the active rifle/sidearm. Nice to know that the game inventory doesn’t pause in single player, so much trying to change the weapon quickly. Stupid bandit popping-out of nowhere. Additionally, the encumbrance, though possibly realistic, is just darn irritating. Especially when you’re a greedy stalker like me, overburdened with Kalashnikov assault rifles to sell. Not able to run, walking obviously takes to long, and apparently you can’t hot-wire that abandoned tank either. The Chernobyl Screw-Up
Warning this section may contain possible spoilers! Near the end-game, you finally reach Chernobyl. This is quite odd, since before entering here, there was a minor sequence where you could see this arena-like area swarming with Wild Boar mutants, anomalies, and Monolith snipers. Somehow it got skipped. Dang it. Anyway, the Chernobyl battlefield is the stuff FPS dreams are made of. Obviously, most developers have yet to realize that the most fascinating map is a big wide flat area with various minor obstacles. Not those dark damp confusing passageways…or is that just me? :p So, here we are. Military soldiers everywhere, Monolith disciples armed with snipers and rocket launchers, Military gunships flying around, either shooting you, getting blown to bits by the Monolith, or even more interesting, getting destroyed by anomalies. So what’s the problem? Three things:

[1] Point of no return
Well, a warning would be nice. I hate it when developers do that. Especially the first time around, I realized I just ran out of bullets (yikes, and I had 700 to begin with). :p [2] Hey, where are the others?
If everyone is trying to reach the center of the zone, where did all the Loner, Duty, and Freedom stalkers run off to? Now we only the Military and Monolith factions around. Not that I’m really complaining, but I was expecting EVERYONE to be here. [3] Time Limit
I really, really, really hate it when developers do that. It’s me against everyone else (choppers included), I’m a bit busy right now. Can I please kill everyone and everything in sight? I’m having the time of my life here, so why did you developers put in a %!#%!$ time limit here. Gawd, this was a severely disappointing plot design. Did I mention I really hate it when they do that?
Throws a grenade to whomever came up with this stupid plot idea.

End-Game Plot Screw-Up
Warning this section contains spoilers! Well, depending on your personal choices, it’s more likely you’ll end up with one of the minor Wish Granter endings. The problem with the Wish Granter endings is that you’ll probably have no idea what the overall plot was about in the first place, which obviously will make you feel severely empty with that “huh, that’s it?” sensation and look on your face when you finish the game. Additionally, entering the end-game phase, there’s this creepy Russian (I assume) voice-over in the background repeatedly saying something that sounds like this, though my hearing isn’t as what it used to be (in no particular order): Vaznragav-dyonbudi toyke-agil
Tvai-yat-zeisdis, idi-kamen-nye
Prishsloviene yavizhud tvaize lange
Tvaiyezelangi skor-itsfo-nietze, idi-kamen-nye
Puszagar lasam laviek, idi-kamen-nye
Idi-kamen-nye, tri-abri-tyosh-tosh-toza-sluzh-nuvayez If you don’t understand Russian and additionally as there aren’t any sub-titles to help you out, then it’s basically your closest bet on what to say to Russian chicks. :p At least, dear comrade. Please tell me what idi-kameny-nye means. The most possibly satisfying ending (and takes much longer) is if you refuse to join the C-Conscious. Although the ending still sucks, the game is more satisfying if you are able to see more than 2 ending cut-scenes. Unfortunately, you probably won’t know there are multiple endings to begin with. Last but not Least After killing possibly several hundred stalkers, you have the best rifle around (personal preference), heavy armor, rare artifact, a butt-load full of bullets, and an almost perfect head-shot kill track record; you’re basically a biological Russian assault vehicle. Then you discover something lacking. There aren’t enough people to shoot at. :(

**The Bottom Line**
So, why is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. a classic? Simply because it takes the average FPS genre and pushes it to the next level. And suddenly you find an FPS that isn’t simply just about running around and shooting things. Enjoy your visit as a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
The intelligent FPS game.
Na zdoróvye!

The Good
The Graphics: Not spectacular, but the art design stands out and they work hand in hand with other elements to create a visually appealing and surreal setting in the zone.

Sound: The sound will immerse you into the bizarre surroundings of the zone, and will even sometimes go farther than any of the horrific mutants in creating a genuine atmosphere and feel of terror. The strange sounds emanating throughout the zone along with the stark uninviting and harsh wind is guaranteed to keep you on your toes.

Combat: The combat is great, realistic and very involving. It can be tough, but it only helps immerse you further due to the realism and genuine feeling that you have to take care of yourself and survive, using any method possible be it a bigger gun or patching yourself up before the battle.

The Game World: The game world is easily the best part, The Zone is a well defined and scary place, and is wide open for exploration... at your own risk. The game sucked me in more than any other "sandbox" type game, as the complex system of the zone is so well balanced and unique. You will have the desire to explore, but the dangers of the Zone will keep you on edge too.

"Hybrid" gameplay:

Is it a first person shooter with RPG elements? Is it an RPG with guns? It's hard to say. To me, it feels like a cross between a lite-RPG, a military simulator, a horror game, an adventure game, and of course a shooter. This hybrid of gameplay blends seamlessly with the equally unique system of the zone, you will make a name for yourself, affect the world, and truly feel like you are trying to survive from crazed militants and frightening mutants and the deadly "anomalies" that are strewn across the zone.

The Bad
Mediocre Voice Acting: No one really seems to put any effort into their roles, and just grunts out lines. It's also inconsistent, important characters will speak English but others will speak Russian, and sometimes a glitch will cause them to just revert to Russian which can be confusing for someone like me who doesn't speak Russian.

Bugs, Bugs, and More Bugs: The engine needs some serious retooling. There are too many glitches to note, the list I attempted to compile consisted of over 300 giant bugs... and this is after several patches. It also has a strangely steep system requirement due to poor threading of the engine. It's also a bummer to have an intense fight crash on you.

Difficulty: STALKER's difficulty can be daunting at first. I almost wanted to hate the game because I had to do the first mission 20 times on the "Rookie" setting. There is almost no tutorial and you are thrust into the game rather jarringly, so you have to learn the game through lots and LOTS of trial. If you have patience, you will soon adapt to the difficulty and you will adapt to the zone, but the initial difficulty can make the game have a slow and sometimes frustrating start.

Disappointing story: The story had lots of ideas going for it, but it never really went anywhere. It doesn't help that the character you play as has no characteristics at all. The endings are also a disappointment. There are moments that the story is interesting, but usually those moments relate more to new areas of the zone and events in the zone, and less about the characters story. I also felt let down as, while I know this is not a direct adaptation of "The Roadside Picnic" or the film "Stalker," I feel like it could have used the more philosophical elements of those stories to greater effect.

Graphics are as bad as they are good: Like I said, STALKER looks good from the artistic standpoint, and looks very surreal and neat, but when you look at the game from the technical standpoint, its not impressive at all. Animations are stiff, facial expressions sort of jerk around unblinkingly, lighting is slightly off, and some textures are just very low resolution and sometimes jaggy.

The Bottom Line
Stalker is a game that is impossible to describe. The best way to describe it is if you have played the game "Deus Ex;" Imagine Deus Ex, but with a more realistic weapons system, a sandbox world, and mutants. It's similar to that, but even then, it defies categorization. Stalker is one of the most unique games in years, if not ever. It's hard to explain, it's hard to even understand, but it will suck you in and compel you to play through many times over.

If you are open minded, and want a change of pace from other shooters, STALKER will bring you that change and despite its problems, the amazing and memorizing game world will win you over and make up for almost all of the flaws (Except maybe the constant crashes, which usually happen during the best parts). Check out this game if you have not already!