It's been a long time since I picked up an FPS/RPG that functioned in almost every way you'd want an FPS/RPG to function. That's pretty much the reason 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl' made my entire 3 and a half nights of playing it a non-stop and nearly inspirational experience. GSC Game World, a company out of the Ukraine who made some pretty interesting RTS games back in the day, gives us a totally new and unique experience, meshing the exploration and realism aspects of the Operation Flashpoint games with the RPG feel of the Deus Ex series. But that's only part of the appeal that makes S.T.A.L.K.E.R, arguably, one of the best FPS/RPG games to be released.
Let's get a rundown on the storyline of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. You play as an amnesiac adventurer, adventurer being a term to deviate from their more colloquial nomenclature of S.T.A.L.K.E.R's. S.T.A.L.K.E.R is pretty much one great big abbreviation for Scavengers, Trespassers, Adventurers, Loners, Killers, Explorers and Robbers. These STALKER's reside in the wildernesses and broke-down old ruins of the Zone of Alienation surrounding the fallout zone of the Chernobyl incident. Back to the main idea, your STALKER's memory is gone and he's gotta get it back by finding out who Strelok is. The only thing he DOES know about this Strelok character is that he's supposed to kill them, according to the PDA found on his person. So, you lead the "Marked One", as he's known amongst the populace of the Zone, across the forgotten ruins of the Chernobyl alienation zone to get to the title character herself and kill Strelok. Sounds easy enough, right? Screw what you thought about easy.
--Gameplay-- S.T.A.L.K.E.R plays a lot like you would expect an FPS/RPG to play while still maintaining a form all its own. The environment is separated into different areas. Some are named according to their functions, others are named for their real-life counterparts. The Marked One's journey leads you across the Zone of Alienation, through faithfully recreated places such as the Red Forest and even up into the abandoned city of Prypiat. There's even more to discover underground, with some places Marked One comes upon hiding secret entrances to the dangerous remnants of the Zone's turbulent past.
Now, when I used the word 'dangerous' to describe the underground, I felt the need to overstate just how dangerous the Zone is. With the X-Ray engine's capabilities in physics and AI, the Marked One's worst enemies are YOUR worst enemies. Elevation matters even more than you might think. Each bullet you fire at an enemy carries physical weight to it. When firing a weapon, you'll have to be aware of the dropshot, as ballistics in STALKER are mostly as real as it gets. Gunfighting is the most prominent factor the game. Constantly you'll find yourself in contact with more than one vicious bandit or mutant, when I say vicious, I mean vicious. The mutants can act just like the humans can, only they're tougher to kill and twice as likely to completely destroy you. But, when it boils down to it, the ones you should worry about most are the ones shooting guns at you. For instance, if you get into a heavy gunfight and back yourself into a corner, expect to load a save game immediately. Enemies will flank your position, creep out from beneath cover to shoot at you, and even find alternate routes to surprise attack you. Attackers are merciless in their efforts to bring you down, and, unsurprisingly, you should never expect to beat this game without dying at the hands of a crazed mutant. Well-placed shots from enemies lead to blood loss, which can spell trouble for you if your fresh out of bandages.
Pretty much every item in the game has weight to it when carried. It's possible to carry as many as 3 weapons with space still for a fourth, at the expense of carrying less med-packs or food stuffs. Even though this might not seem like a hard choice to make, you should remember that every single item holds particular significance to your survival. Dropping a few health packs for a sub-machine gun? Bad idea.
I felt like it was worth mentioning that I played this game on Novice difficulty and ended up loading a saved game roughly 30-40 times. Yeah. It's that harsh.
--Overall-- Badass, big ass location ripe for the pickin's? Check. Pretty realistic game world capable of being immersed into? Check. Chernobyl? Check. It would seem that S.T.A.L.K.E.R has it all. A new age RPG/FPS that's still new age even if it's five years old. It gives you a character, gives you a goal, then tells you to have at it. And while the combat is too hard to sink oneself into, there hasn't been one sour-faced 'game over' yet. Only somewhat disappointed ones.
All in all, S.T.A.L.K.E.R is one of the coolest, most immersive and innovative games I've played. It takes everything that Fallout wished it could be and shoves it into a radiation-laden room, locking the door behind it. With the nearly horrifying atmosphere underground and the captivating wasteland up above, the Zone is certainly one of my new top ten favorite video game locations. It's safe to say that if you're looking for a game that has survival, intensity and overall fun packed into it, then S.T.A.L.K.E.R will probably not disappoint you.
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