"And I'll wait another six if I have to"

S.T.A.L.K.E.R don't ask what it stands for, just know this .... STALKER is one of the best FPS you will ever play. Lets begin.

Overview
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is one of a rare breed of game, FPS meets RPG Hybrid, such as System Shock or Deus EX. You are a no named S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl dropped off in an almost non uninhabited area outside of Chernobyl, a little area famous for a 1986 Nuclear power plant meltdown. You need to find out who you are as you battle through humans, mutants and the paranormal, and you have a huge wide open area to get it done with.

Story
8.5/10
The story is this, you are an unamed person who is brought to an area outside of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, you know one thing, "Kill Strelok". The story is told out through a few quick frantic cutscenes and chats you have with various NPC's. There are multiple endings to the game, which gives many reasons to play through the game again and again... but one bad note, the endings don't give much closure

Gameplay
10/10
The back bone of any game. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is VERY unique. Those familar with games such as System Shock and Deus EX will be very familar with the RPG-ish elements. You have a HUGE (can relate to Oblivion in a since) area to run around in collecting items, talking to npc's, looting stashes. There is no one path to follow, no one way to play the game. Want to be a hero and help everyone you meet by doing quests? Go ahead. Want to be evil in human form and run around slaughtering everybody? You can do this. Also, it pays to mention, this game has the best AI since farcry... probably even better.

This is an FPS so I should get to the guns, you have a HUGE array of guns ( took me three play throughs to use all of them ! ) with various stats, ammo, looks, etc. This game makes full use of physics, from bullets ricocheting off of walls, unmatched recoil of weapons, and glorious explosions.

To quickly sum it up, you can run around in a wide open, realistic, life like area doing tons of quests and unravling an ever growing plot.

Graphics
10/10
Now before you say ANYTHING, hear me out. Sure these aren't Crysis graphics, but seriously not many games can compete. The sky, the shadows, the grass, the trees, the people, the guns EVERYTHING looks great. The game can also be rendered in DX8 if you have an older system. Now think of this, the game has been in production for six + years... the graphics had to take MANY changes in the process.... the graphics are amazing for the amount of times changed, and compete perfectly with FEAR, HL2, Doom3.

Sound
10/10
Amazing. Bullets ricocheting, people conversing, eerie mutant noises, and music make this game a sonic wonder.

Mutiplayer
7.5/10
S.T.A.L.K.E.R has some great mutliplayer. Picture Counter Strike's realism and buy system, huge ugh ... Rainbow Six-ish? Arsenals, and Unreal Tournaments fast pace.... combine it all with GREAT maps and you got the multiplayer. You basically have a time limit to go kill everyone, and while you are killing you can rank up and earn money to buy better weapons. here are some lag issues to be worked out, but nothing that keeps the game from unplayable. The multiplayer isn't anything that will become huge like say Counter Strike, but it is still worth playing.

Lets wrap this up, I wanna get back to playing.

Pro-
Amazing AI
Get that feeling of "survival"
Beautiful world
Amazing guns, bullets, physics
Really "different" story
ONLY 40$ !

Con -
The endings aren't very satisfying
Major bugs for some people
Stealth mechanics are lack luster.

Well thats it, go get stalker... if you are a fan of FPS, RPG's, and PC gaming in general! You have gotten over your WoW and Oblvion fix... now get ready for your new drug, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl ... AND ITS ONLY 40$. Go now.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/07