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

"An amazing game which is worth every moment of your time."

Alright. This game is one of the best, if not underrated, games of 2007 and 2008, and there are a lot of reasons to support this statement. It's a very well made and thought out game, created by the very talented GSC Game World.

Graphics: 10/10

Lets start off with the one thing most people judge games by nowadays: The graphics. This is no Crysis, but the graphics are still simply stunning. The shadows are beautifully emulated, and look perfectly realistic. The lighting in this game is superb, and unmatched by today's standards. The textures are detailed, and with a few adjustments they are extremely crisp and sharp. You can read the text on signs, you can see the wrinkles on Sidrovich's face, and the guns look like their real life counterparts. The models are very realistic, and almost everything in the game has physics acting on it, such as weapons, ammo boxes, and bodies. The ragdolls are realistic and fun to play with, as you can drag them around. Shoot someone in their head and they'll fall back forcefully, or shoot them in the gut and watch them slump over. Having a grenade explode near one and they'll be sent flying, a very satisfying sight to see. The game is a very nice sight for ones who can play it on high settings, and it still looks nice on lower ones, too. The requirements are somewhat demanding, but the game offers older systems the option to play in DirectX 8, allowing a wide range of PC Gamers to play, and enjoy, this game.

Gameplay: 10/10

The gameplay is pretty much perfectly polished and complete. There is so much to do in the game other than the main storyline that you will be engrossed for hours to come. You can pick how you want to play the game, be it looter, scavenger, murderer, or hero. The firefights are very fun, and also challenging at the same time. The enemy will flank you, throw grenades, and call for backup, which makes for very realistic and grotesque engagements. Your weapons do not necessarily have an impact on how effective your attacks are, because as long as you can shoot someone in their head, then you can kill them. There are very realistic bullet ballistics, varying from bullet drop to bullet ricochet. Grenades send out varying waves of realistic shrapnel, making them more effective than your average 'just an explosion' grenades in other games. Each encounter with an enemy is almost always different, as the AI is very intelligent and realistic. Hardcore gamers won't have too much of a problem playing the game on the Master difficulty, even though it's much harder than the standard difficulty. In the game, you explore, get artifacts, which are basically items forged by The Zone that have positive and negative effects, depending on which you get. You follow the storyline, get quests from fellow Stalkers, and generally play it the way you want. Your actions define the how you will end, or how you will prosper.

Controls: 10/10

The controls are very nice. W moves forward, S moves backwards, A strafes left, and D strafes right. F uses items in the game world, Q makes you lean left, and E makes you lean right. Pressing the space bar makes you jump, and holding control makes you crouch. If you hold control and shift at the same time, you crouch even lower. Press shift and your character breaks into a sprint, press P and you open your PDA, and press I and you open your inventory. Rolling your scroll wheel up or down selects weapons, aswell as having the extra option of pressing 1-8 to select various weapons and items. Pressing 9-0 changes firemodes, but I recommend rebinding this to keys more accessible. You reload your weapon with R, and turn on your flashlight with L. Pressing Y will change the type of ammo being used in your weapon, if you have different kinds. Left click attacks with the currently selected weapon, and right click will use the ironsights or scope on most weapons. The controls are very nice, seeing as most vital buttons are close to the movement keys. If you don't like the way the controls are set up by default, you have the option to rebind each and every one.

Storyline: 9/10

Okay, the storyline is a bit hard to understand, I admit it. If you listen closely, though, you can get a pretty good outline of what's happening. You are found supposedly dead in a 'death truck', which are used to transport the dead. The truck you're in gets hit by lightning, it crashes, and someone comes and finds you to still be alive. He brings you to Sidrovich, a obese trader in which you get a lot of quests from, who identifies you as a S.T.A.L.K.E.R, and opens your PDA. It says one thing, and one thing only: Kill Strelok. As you a wake up, you have strong amnesia, and set out to recover your memories and find out who you are. As you progress through the game, your past unfolds, and you find out who you truly are.

Sound: 10/10

The sound in this game is unmatched. You can hear every sound, and each sound is breathtakingly accurate. The birds chirping in the distance, gunfire from all around, and helicopters' rotors all sound exceptional. The voices in the game are very varied, as with the gun sounds. The sound is very atmospheric, adding to the horror feel of the game, and making you sit on edge most of the game. Every sound is unique, and there are many different songs that Stalkers play with guitars or harmonicas around campfires.

Multiplayer: ?/10

I have not tried the multiplayer, as I much prefer the singleplayer, but from what I've heard it's pretty good.

Moddability: 9/10

There are an abundant amount of mods for this game, and some of the ones I've seen I would have thought to be impossible to accomplish. Many mods add to the general replayability of the game, increasing it tenfold, such as the Freeplay mod, which allows you to play after beating the game. There's mods that add weapons, such as the Mosin Nagant, or the MP7A3. I recommend getting the Oblivion Lost mod, as it adds so much to the game that I can't play S.T.A.L.K.E.R without it.

Replay Value: 9/10

The game has many endings depending on how you chose to play through the game, making the replay value skyrocket. There are many places to go to, many guns to acquire, and many different artifacts to find. There is simply so many things to do in the game that it lasts very long, as I've been playing for almost five months. You can play how you want, and because of that, the replay value is very high.

Overall Score: 9/10

The game is extremely well made and thought out, and mods for it make the replay value immense. It has a few bugs here and there, but the patches fix most, of not all. The requirements are a bit steep, but players with older systems can enjoy the game's gameplay without having to worry about graphics much. I recommend every curious PC gamer to try this game out, as it is a very engrossing and deep game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/29/08

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