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

"A brutal, horrifying survival horror experience."

Story: The story presented in Stalker is tongue in cheek: A dry, dark experience with an ironic--and unexpected--slew of endings. You won't be smiling at any point in this dark presentation to the Zone. It starts off with a car full of dead bodies barreling down a highway on a stormy night and crashes violently. The next morning a Stalker (A loner/scavenger supporting no one but himself is what a Stalker is) is seen running to the crash, scouting for goods. He finds a live body from the pile, and brings him to a man who says he's The Marked One and then you take control of said Marked One. Your PDA says to kill a man named Strelok, and that's where you're thrown into the gloomy and dark world of The Zone. This may sound unappealing, but the mystery behind it all is the driving force as well as the ever present and always monumental atmosphere. There are no main characters, hardly any cut scenes and the story progresses very rapidly but this works just right. You never find out more then you need and if played incorrectly the ending doesn't solve a thing besides give you a smile from the deadpan humor.

Some conventional problems exist with this is presentation: A silent Protagonist, no Antagonist, no supporting cast and no real depth. This sounds unusual but it works, I assure you. Stalker's main selling point in this department is the insane depth located in the folklore and back story of the Zone as well as the bitter irony of it all. I would have liked more back story on the very few main characters and I would have enjoyed a longer game in total, but you can't get everything. What you get isn't flashy, but it is masterful. The ending(s) fit the game perfectly.



Sound: More times then not sound sits on the back burner, and it never does more then its asked of but in Stalker sound is one of the most important roles in the atmosphere of the game. There is virtually no music, simply a haunting violin/bass line that fluctuates as you wander aimlessly through dim forests and open fields of gray and fog. This,eerie animal sounds, ambient noises and weather effects creates one of the spookiest atmospheres in gaming history. The sound of a pack of dogs barking in hunger, the fatal click of your gun jamming or the whisper of bandits hiding in the dark--Its all here and its all important to your survival. The sound is another world in this game and it drives the feeling of dread home.

On a technical side, the sound has some glaring bugs. That cool bass line also can drive 5.1 owners insane, since it fills up most sub-woofer usage and blocks out almost any other sound. Headphones solve this problem but not being able to hear the birds chirping or the growls of something much more sinister over the constant bass is just simply annoying. This can be turned off, but that also cans most of the atmosphere...until night time. I just wish the sound was toned down a bit so we can enjoy our speakers.

That is a minor chip on a fantastic experience. The sound is one of the driving points in the game and you will be hard pressed to forget some of the voices, monster effects, and ambient effects in this entire game.



Graphics: Anybody who says this game is ugly is out of their skull. Sure Crysis looks brilliant, other games have better looking trees or animations or something, but I dare you to find one with such an atmosphere. The engine uses itself to the fullest and renders a breath taking look at the lonely world of The Zone. Gnarled trees coming out of the ground like broken hands, decrepit towers silhouetted against a hazy sunrise moonlight seeping through rusted and missing material in an immense abandoned hangar. The level design, environment and atmosphere in this game is beyond what most people have seen in a game. The Stalker's themselves have varying uniforms and look surprisingly well detailed with various gear, equipment and decals over their bodies but the animations leave more than a little to be desired. The lighting engine is also phenomenal, rendering shadows on everything in real time from every source of light in massive environments. The weather changes with day and night cycles as well as rolling fog storms, thunder storms, dust kickups and more. Bottom line: this game looks very, very good.

I must warn you, the requirements are steep. Though this game features a Static mode which cuts shadows, advanced lighting and high resolution textures it still isn't recommended since it eats away at the atmosphere more then it should. You'll need a powerful computer to play this game at its fullest.



Game play: A sort-of sandbox survival horror explains this nicely. No, its not an RPG: It has few RPG elements and those elements are more like power ups then skills. This game is cold hearted and fierce, dropping you in a n angry and lonely world and expecting you to survive. The experience is much, much slower than casual FPS fans are used to as you'll spend most of your time scavenging, looting, running and partaking in prolonged firefights wasting your preciously gathered bullets.

Immediately you're thrown in with a pea shooter and told to take out bandits with some allies. The firefight that ensues isn't flashy but its brutal and dramatic. The AI will take cover, flank, maneuver and attempt to out think you; they want to live as badly as you. And they think like you too. They don't shoot while running, they reload behind cover, they pick up superior dropped weapons--They have it all. The AI is an equal opponent, and they're fun to fight. Rather than being cannon fodder each enemy will attempt to survive as much as you. They have a life cycle, and want to keep it.

Accuracy is another realistic and simply stunning feature of the game thats not suited for everyone. Not every shot will be dead center of your cross hair. Iron sights will improve this, but you still won't have laser guided bullets. Recoil and wind drag greatly effect your accuracy and where you're aiming isn't where your bullet will land. Muzzle volocity, the type of bullet, weather, and your stamina will all effect this. Some casual gamers might be put off by this, but this is a realistic game and is as much of a survival horror game as an FPS will get. You will have to scavenge for ammo, food and medical supplies.

Another thing about the AI is they have a cycle. In the morning they will walk around, scavenge for items, raid camps and explore for new territory. In mid after noon-night time they camp out, holster their weapons and sit around a fire. Sometimes they play guitar, sometimes they talk (In Russian.). This is very interesting, and makes for unpredictability. That's the main selling point of this game I want to share with you. Anything will happen. A camp you're in could be attacked by any moment, or they could leave at any moment. A monster could appear and kill you all, or a storm could hit. You could be sitting around a camp fire enjoying an energy drink and bread, listening to someone play the guitar or harmonica, when suddenly bandits will raid your camp or a leader will give orders to everyone to move out. Don't get comfortable cause nothing is scripted in Stalker. Five other Stalkers could show up and camp, or a crazy sniper could kill you all out of the clear blue.

I'll wrap up with progression and quests, and some of the RPG elements. You survive the Zone by doing side quests: Fetching items, killing people--The usual fare. There are main story quests and dozens of side quests, and both are optional. Depends on your playing style and interest. You can also get money from Artifacts, which are two sided blades. Most of the time they'll boost radiation, killing you slowly, but they also have positive elements. Some boost bullet proof capabilities while giving you radiation, others take away radiation while making you bleed easier. Balance them well and you'll do very good in The Zone. Alternately you can sell them all and buy weapons and armor, of which there is a multitude to chose from. There are more then thirty guns and a good fifteen or so suits in the game, and they all act and look and feel different. And there's one for every gamer. An exoskeleton and NATO assault rifle for those killing machines, and a silenced sniper rifle and leather outfit for those sneaky people. Its up to how you play the game and there's an option for everybody here.



Its worth noting the mod community for this game is one of the top there is, featuring hundreds of mods that adjust difficulty, graphics, performance, and add left out content and *way* more. I recommend playing un-modded once, then get some great ones for replayability.



Replay: Very rich, an avalanche of mods and patches plus alternate routes and different playing styles will effect the game each time you play. I've clocked over five hundred hours and I'm not bored yet. Now that should tell you something.



Rent or buy/Final: Buying this game is something you will not regret and it can be found for as low as 10 dollars. It is worth every penny of 50 and it can be found for much, much lower. If you find this rare gem its worth it for sure.





Misc: Massive update putting my review in its final version. Expanded on all categories, made it easier to read, etc. Final update

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/26/08, Updated 10/09/09

Game Release: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (US, 03/20/07)