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

[Leisher]

Picked this up last weekend after seeing high review scores. I'm nowhere near the end, but here's my initial thoughts:

This is a FPS with RPG elements...kinda. So far I haven't seen any skill boosts or anything like that. Thus, the RPG elements would have to be equipment based. Unless people just think since there's a storyline with missions, it MUST be an RPG, as those are kind of foreign to FPSs. I'm experiencing so real gain in skills, just new equipment.

First things first, this game is fucking hard. I mean FUCKING hard. Seriously, it's hard. Everyone understand?

I'm playing on the second difficulty level, or what I guess would be "normal", and it's a straight up motherfucker. (I'm cursing a lot to get the point across that this damn thing is hard. Get it yet?) The game seems to default to the hardest level.

However, to this point I love it. I absolutely love the atmosphere. I love the mood, the mutants, the other STALKERS, the storyline, the military, the other factions, how trade works, how you get jobs, yada, yada, yada.

They even put serious physical limits on the game that'll make people like Cakedaddy super happy. There's an equipment weight limit of 50lbs (or some unit of measurement) and if you hit it, your ability to move, run, and jump is drastically altered. That impact gets more drastic the more you increase your equipment weight to 60lbs. Hit 60lbs and you're not moving.

When you run, you tire and eventually have to stop. More weight equals less running. Even walking with lots of weight will tire you out. In a cool move, jumping reduces your stamina. Thus, nobody is running around just hitting their jump button to make themselves harder to hit.

This means you really need to limit what you carry into battle. More so when you consider that running around is a key component in battle.

Did I mention battles are hard?

Ok, battles aren't impossible, but due to a flaw, it does force some hurried tactics which means a lot of death and reloading.

Basically, the map is filled with Stalkers who aren't your friends or neutral to you. These guys will wander around and typically head for important spots on the map. So let's say you're assaulting a choke point that you need to get past, don't take too long or more bad guys are going to come into the mix.

Despite the difficulty level, I'm having fun with it so far and would recommend it. It seems like there's an infinite amount of gameplay available if you take your time. Not sure how long the actual storyline is though.

[GORDON]

Our STALKER must must be kind of a wimp. We never went on a hike with less than 50 pounds on our backs, and we weren't allowed to slow down.

STALKER must be ex-Navy, or something.

[Leisher]

Well, I'm not sure on the weight so I put pounds. Everything in the game is metric and I don't care enough to look past the numbers.

Also, these guys aren't necessarily military folks. Consider the majority of them to be treasure hunters and such.

It's actually cool in that way as military units you run into will work as a group, while any ragtag band of STALKERS you see will have no plan and won't use cover as effectively as they should.

As an example: In one mission, I am infiltrating a house with some STALKERS and they literally run right at it as a group and not using cover. In another, I ambush some peeps with a military guy and we use cover, timing, and tactics.

Speaking of the game though, I met a mutant in an underground tunnel last night. I put 4 shotgun shells into him and he smiled while killing me. That pissed me off and my second attempt with a full AK clip into his face worked better.

[GORDON]

Heh.

I was just nitpicking and not being funny while doing it.

[Leisher]

I knew you were kidding. I was actually going to respond back somehow to bash the Marines, but by the time I was done writing I couldn't think of anything.

All I had at that point was another Navy joke and they pretty much tell themselves.

[Leisher]

More thoughts...

I'm pretty far along now. I think I'm getting close to Chernobyl, so the end must be coming. Maybe not. I'm guessing I still have a lot of hours to go.

Now let's see...the difficulty is still high, but my skillz are growing along with my equipment so peeps fear me now. Well, they don't really, but they should. I believe I can stand toe to toe with anyone now and be ok...except for sniper fire to my head. That hurts.

One of the hardest things to adapt to has been the "leave it all behind" philosophy regarding in game weapons, ammo, equipment, etc. I'm an old school RPGer so I feel the need to mule it all back to the traders for cash. Speaking of cash, don't worry about it. Ever. I cannot imagine having cash flow issues in this game. Everything you need, is out there for you to take, not pay for.

That's probably one of the coolest things about this game. You will rarely find ammo, guns, etc. laying around. You can get this stuff in four ways:
-Trade for it. Nobody has unlimited items to trade you. Nobody. That's cool on a lot of levels. It forces you to get ammo elsewhere. (Traders do have unlimited cash though, thus you can always dump stuff off.) Did I mention that although there are "traders", you can trade with anyone in the game? (Also of note, traders carry VERY limited amounts of ammo.)
-Kill for it. Bandits are everywhere. Need some ammo? Take it from them.
-Raid stashes. Stashes are where AI players hide their ammo and supplies. Know how to find stashes? Kill people and sometimes they have info on them about the location of a stash. (There is a bug where stashes don't properly respawn unless you totally clear it of items. Even then I'll find it doesn't register as being looted. Never really an issue though as you'll start ignoring them unless they're close.)
-Run jobs (missions). Running missions will reward you with cash and/or items.

Besides the normal equipment (guns, ammo, armor, health, etc.), two other things need mentioning, food and artifacts. Yes, you must eat food, but don't fear, it has never been an issue for me. Even on a long mission where food was scarce because of the *******, it still wasn't an issue.

Artifacts are a whole other thing. Each artifact gives you benefits when you attach it to your belt, however many also have a negative effect. One might stop your bleeding by 200%, but make you 20% more vulnerable to radiation and 10% more vulnerable to bullets. Do NOT discount these items. They will save your ass. Early on, most of the artifacts are worthless, but as you move on they become something special. I found two of a certain artifact and I noticed a HUGE difference in damage levels I was taking even though they were only good for a 5% bump each against that certain damage type.

Artifacts are also worth tons of cash.

Going back to ammo, weapons, armor, etc. Each mission will most likely require a different load out. Early on you'll see that most everyone carries the same types of guns, but as you move through the landscape you'll find different weapons, which means different ammo needs. You will not always be able to use your favorite weapon because you will run out of ammo and nobody in that area will be "resupplying" you. Also, some areas require that you wear different armor. That bulletproof suit you have on might be great for fighting bandits, but now you're going underground with lots of anomalies, radiation, and things that don't use guns. Might be time to try on a different suit.

One thing that'll get your attention is the creatures that inhabit this land. No, they're not tooooo varied, but they "feel right" when trying to give this world some life. They'll scatter to the sounds of gun fire unless they're already attacking you. They'll compete with one another. Get injured. Attack other species. Eat corpses. You know, nature stuff. Again, they're not really that varied, but they do provide some atmosphere.

The storyline so far has been top notch, but I will admit that I'm not loving what I see coming as the ending. Unless it's explained in a REALLY good way, it's kind of hokey. Plus, there's a negative in that there are multiple endings based on who you are, money, etc. Still that's ok because I'm loving the gameplay.

Jobs are a difficult breed so be careful as you have a rep to protect. Get jobs from traders, leaders, and sometimes random peeps. These jobs could be fetch missions, assassinations, etc. however I've yet to see ANY mission that didn't involve killing something. Don't grab too many jobs at once. Some have restrictive time limits on them.

Actually, jobs are probably the weakest part of the game. yes, they theoretically could be played endlessly. However, they don't give you enough detail before you have to accept or decline. It'd be nice if more jobs were offered and more details were given so you could plan a bunch of jobs in an area instead of agreeing to two jobs that you later find out will take you all over the map.

There's a miniradar on the bottom left of the screen that's great. Friends and neutral parties are ALWAYS visible, as are corpses. Monsters and animals are never visible. Enemy STALKERS or other humans will show up as red dots only when you have clear sight of them. If they're behind a bush or building, they will not appear on your radar. Since they will try to outmaneuver you, this adds a lot to the game.

This game reminds me a LOT of Fallout, only as an FPS.

Overall, I'd give STALKER a strong 8 out of 10 right now and recommend it to any FPS fan and even any RPG fan who doesn't mind a bit of action.

[Leisher]

I'm making my way to Chernobyl in game (I think I'm nearing the end) and I realized I forgot to discuss something in my review.

This game has boatloads of atmosphere. It "out doomed DOOM". The environments here are much, much better than any in DOOM III. On top of that, they don't use mass rushes with various monsters to try and scare you. The story, setting, visuals, and sounds do it and they do it with far fewer "monsters".

I'm also really impressed with the AI. Sure, there are a few tricks here and there, but overall, it has acted very well. They try to flank you, find cover, will try and hit you with head shots, etc.

[GORDON]

Bought it, loaded it, have played for about an hour.

[GORDON]

Into the 2nd "level," or whatever... "Do you want to proced to the next level?"

This game plays like a cross between Far Cry and....................

well, it's like a slightly weaker Far Cry.

I wish I wish I wish I had a sniper rifle. I could clear gangs out instead of sprinting by them.

[Leisher]

well, it's like a slightly weaker Far Cry.

I don't really agree with that. I mean, they're both FPSs, but that's about it. Sure they have human enemies and some mutants, but what else is similar? FarCry didn't have wild life, allies, civilization, trading, etc.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is Fallout as an FPS.

Into the 2nd "level," or whatever... "Do you want to proced to the next level?"

You're hustling through much faster than I did. Did you do any of the missions people gave you? Two guys in the camp outside the trader will give you missions (maybe more), the trader himself has several missions. I'm pretty sure other people around the first level will give you missions as well. They're not necessary to do, but you'll get more weapons and such. It depends on your play style though. Theoretically, there's infinite play there as they'll continue to repeat missions forever. Or you could just skip them all and stick to the main story. Me, I like to see the world the developer built. I'll do some missions just to get off the main story for a bit. Be careful though as most of those missions are timed and it affects your rep if you fail them.

I loved the second area. It felt like a legit war zone with its shifting front lines.

There is a point in the next zone that you might want a tip on or one of two major factions will turn hostile to you. If you want the help, ask me before you start dealing with the rift between Freedom and Duty.

I wish I wish I wish I had a sniper rifle. I could clear gangs out instead of sprinting by them.

You should've/could've left the first level with a good rifle with a scope. Just remember, heads shots, head shots, head shots.

[GORDON]

well, it's like a slightly weaker Far Cry.

I don't really agree with that. I mean, they're both FPSs, but that's about it. Sure they have human enemies and some mutants, but what else is similar? FarCry didn't have wild life, allies, civilization, trading, etc.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is Fallout as an FPS.

The radar showing the locations of other people, turning yellow and red as they notice you... mostly. And the "snoop and poop" nature of the gameplay, as opposed to Doom. If I wanted to I could sneak past most encounters to get to where my arrow was pointing. In Doom... if it moved you had to kill it. In Stalker, I would just sprint past hostile wildlife and such, instead of wasting ammo on it.

Far Cry did have hostile wildlife.

I've done a few off-storyline missions, but not many.

[Leisher]

The radar showing the locations of other people, turning yellow and red as they notice you... mostly. And the "snoop and poop" nature of the gameplay, as opposed to Doom. If I wanted to I could sneak past most encounters to get to where my arrow was pointing. In Doom... if it moved you had to kill it. In Stalker, I would just sprint past hostile wildlife and such, instead of wasting ammo on it.

Far Cry did have hostile wildlife.

Ah..ok. To me it's still more like Fallout. Allies, enemies, wildlife, missions, trading, how you get ammo, etc.

It's funny your point is one of the things that made me change my normal play style in FPSs. Normally, I'd clear a level completely, but in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. you can't do that because new wildlife and other humans constantly move into the zone.

So the good news is that you have a constantly refreshing ammo supply. The bad news is that you have constantly refreshing enemies.

I also like how certain camps might be hostile or friendly when you first encounter it and then be the exact opposite later.

As for the side missions, most are fed ex with shooting or simple shooting missions, but the cool ones are the assassination missions. They get tricky when the guy is in a group of other people you have no desire to kill or fight.

The best thing about a few side missions is that they set the mood of the zone. Usually, you get these from people and not traders. Defending camps, infiltrating the army's camp, etc. are some examples of that sort of mission.

I'm replaying through Half-Life 2 right now and it's an interesting contrast. I'm thinking HL3 will have to get off the "rails" or suffer criticism.

[GORDON]

Now granted, I like how the mission system is designed. The last time I did any serious mission running was in Neverwinter Nights, and in that you just get vague clues about where to go and what to do in your journal. In STALKER it checks off each stage of the mission, and whenever you want you get a nice "Go here" arrow in your radar to tell you where to go for the next phase, and how far it is.

Keeps me from having to make mission notes on a clipboard... which I wouldn't do and then I'd lose interest when I forget all the little facts.

And I agree with your "Half Life 2 feels awfully linear in comparison" comment.



Edited By GORDON on 1181429892