Product Description

STALKER: Oblivion Lost combines the first-person action, role-playing and survival-horror genres set in the disaster zone of the Chernobyl nuclear facility. As a stalker, the player earns a living exploring the underground laboratories, abandoned military bases and radioactive forests of the Chernobyl Zone in search of artefacts and anomalous formations to sell to underground dealers and scientists in research camps on the border. As the game progresses, the player will explore new areas, procure items and weapons and interact with a number of strange characters as they come to discover what truly lies at the heart of the Chernobyl disaster.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2135 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: THQ
• Released on: 2007-03-23
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platforms: Windows NT, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP

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Although it hasn’t quite reached the legendary levels of delay of Duke Nukem Forever, you could still be forgiven for wondering whether S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will ever come out. Thankfully the months and years of hold-ups look like being worth it, with a unique mix of first person shoot ‘em-up and role-playing game. The idea is that there’s been more trouble at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, causing bizarre mutations and other stranger phenomenon (the unusual storyline is highly influenced by Russian Sci-Fi classic Roadside Picnic).

The game’s open ended gameplay casts you as a "Stalker", a professional mercenary who makes a living salvaging items from the Chernobyl area and selling them, adding an Elite style trading element that further differentiates the game from the norm. Another atypical feature is plenty of non-player characters you can talk to and interrogate at length, receiving missions and even joining various different guilds. You not only have multiple options in any conversation but can also vary your tone from aggressive to friendly or disrespectful.

The game’s action credentials don’t take a back seat though, with excellent graphics using the developers own proprietary "X-Ray" graphic engine and the renowned Havok physics engine. Naturally there’s plenty of weapons, both manmade and otherwise, as well as a wide range of vehicles to commandeer and use over the 30 square kilometres of game world. Hopefully this will prove that the adage about the best things coming to those that wait applies to video games too.
HARRISON DENT

Manufacturer's Description:

On the afternoon of April 12 in 2006, a massive explosion shattered the Chernobyl area. The Zone, as the area got to be known, was characterized by anomalous energy disturbances, rendering even the most advanced form of protective suits worthless to would be rescue teams. Months passed and nothing could be done. The military quarantined the area to prevent unauthorized entry and perhaps even reassure the local populace that the area was under control and confinement. Almost 4 years after the initial event, expeditions can now safely traverse several kilometers deep into the Zone. Among these are the Stalkers, poachers that enter the zone searching for artifacts and anomalous formations that are highly sought after by certain organizations and groups. The player controls a Stalker, venturing into the Zone in order to acquire information, technology and artifacts to sell and possibly put a mysterious puzzle together. Avoiding the dangers within and the military because as a Stalker you are effectively a thief, and the army that has quarantined the area, don't take kindly to trespassers. Within the Zone you will have to detect and avoid the bizarre phenomenon's (anomalies) that plague the area, avoid or eliminate various kinds of mutants and you can even expect competition from other Stalkers.

The story of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a hypothesis based on real events that took place in the 1980s. During this time, a huge antenna was built in Chernobyl to emit radio-waves some experts believed were psychoactive. Some of our photos taken during the trip to Chernobyl captured the structure of the antenna far away on the horizon. According to several unsubstantiated rumours, the emission was directed into Western Europe – and that it was indeed a covert military experiment to determine the psychotropic impact on the human psyche. These rumours have been loosely proven and are the kind of experiments that the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. storyline is built around. We touch upon fact, fiction and conspiracy theory, where the lines are blurred, presenting a credible less salubrious undercurrent. It is the story of a post-apocalyptic world littered with its own tragedies, heroes and laws - a ‘what if’ scenario loosely rooted in reality. More poignantly it represents a disturbing window into a future that could still grace this earth. In 2006, a second explosion occurs at Chernobyl, followed by strange occurrences - flashes of bright light, raucous thunder, lighting, earthquakes – all coming from the hub of the exclusion zone. While common belief is ‘the reactor has exploded again’, nobody knows for sure. Scientists who go in to research the occurrences disappear without trace, as do their followers. Clearly, the exclusion zone becomes a dangerous place. Witnesses report spots of ‘invisible’ deadly energy consuming the area. Ultimately, the government, given little alternative, cordon off the area and seal it from intrusion until a solution is found. As time passes, the Zone continues to be active and even grows by several kilometers in size. In 2008 eerie mutant creatures appear at the borders of the Zone, with the army, driven by fear, forcing their retreat through firepower. At the same time, curiosity among civilians in the area grows as they become more intrigued by the occurrences, myths and rumour that pervade within the Zone. Some of the more courageous decide to venture into the Zone, sneaking through the army cordons. Many die, but those who manage to return bring back not only unbelievable stories, but also ‘artefacts’ (bearings of the Zone - objects which have absorbed its anomalous energy), which instantly command a high price from curious scientists, corporations and the like. Since then, more and more have tried their luck in the Zone. Those who go into the Zone in search of artifacts and fortune soon pick up the moniker of ‘stalkers’. The game begins in 2012 as you, the player, is found comatose in the Zone after a brutal crash. You appear to be one of the stalkers, but have lost all memory of your past. You wind up on the desk of a zone dealer. In an effort to repay the dealer (of arms and valuable artifacts) who helps you recover, you will need to complete several missions, taking your first steps into the Zone. Good luck to you, young stalker, and beware! From the developers: Creating the Zone We had the idea of a Zone with anomalies, artifacts and stalkers from the very beginning and we were searching for a realistic location to set this in. We wanted to create something as realistic as possible, given that our newly-created X-ray engine allowed near-photo realism. It didn’t take us long to find a perfect setting, having the Chernobyl exclusion zone virtually next door. Moreover, it was a truly ‘our’ location – so personal and known, our experience of the past. The atmosphere of destruction and abandonment which was pre-existing for the game was more than fitting for the concept. Naturally, to immerse the game world within the Chernobyl zone authentically, we needed to research information on what this area actually contained. The many trips to the Zone undertaken by us helped us to truly experience atmosphere we wanted to recreate in the game. Looking at the barren streets of Pripyat, the murky sarcophagus of the reactor #4, the red forest, destroyed settlements and the irradiated vehicle cemetery, we envisioned how this all would look at night, when alone and under the hostile gaze of eerie creatures. Add in to that the added the risk of being killed by powerful monsters or a soulless anomaly and we realised that this was exactly the atmosphere we needed. We wanted the player to live in the Zone and to be able to sense the world around him. We initially thought about creating one big level where there would be no loading points. However, as we were doing everything in maximum detail and quality and the performance capacity of computers today inevitably have a certain limit, such a plan was soon changed to a more feasible one. The world in its entirety got split into 18 huge areas the player was free to traverse as he wills. To recreate the environment we’ve known since childhood using realistic textures, we processed an incredible number of photos and video material along with architectural layouts of industrial and residential structures. Of course, we didn’t attempt a total match of the in-game areas with the Chernobyl zone locations as we understood that this would make the game very empty in many areas – hardly anyone would enjoy running several kilometers down a monotonously empty field! We instead recreated the familiar, iconic places and images, joining them into levels as required. Some locations are virtually identical to their prototypes: the central lane and the main square in Pripyat and the Chernobyl power plant itself, for example. To make things seem more realistic and true-to-life we utilised disturbing ambient music playing in the background, the life simulation system and the visible (and audible) consequences of the other living creatures’ actions; it is these that make us believe in the reality of the surrounding world. The possibility to approach situations in many different ways, the freedom of movement around the world, communication to other stalkers, stories eavesdropped at campfire – this is what makes the environment in the game. There’s no limit to what we feel we can achieve and we feel that we have risen to the task we put to ourselves and created the living, mysterious and dangerous world of the Zone.

Customer Reviews

One of the most atmospheric shooters in a while.
Well after reading the review for this game by the likes of "Ganfy" and "Scott" I thought I would have to step in to provide a more balanced look at the game.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a first person shooter much like many other games you may have played, but it has quite a few things going for it that not many other games have. You play as a mysterious character known only as "The Marked One" who, along with many other people, is a "Stalker" out in Chernobyl (where things happened slightly differently in the game, the meltdown spreading radiation across the lands far and wide) looking for Artifacts which have been produced by the radioactive wash caused by the nuclear meltdown. These Stalkers are just regular joes trying to make some good money by hunting these artifacts down.

The game is very quest-oriented. Almost in RPG style, you will find many characters in the game who will offer you missions that could either be a huge part of the main story which you will have to play through to finish the game, or side quests which will earn you money and loot to do with as you please. You will travel around huge open areas as you please, either following quest markers or just mooching around to see what you can find. Exploring the virtual world of the chernobyl area is a fantastic experience and the mood created by the cumulative sound, looks and play all contribute to a great atmosphere.

You will be running around the lands of Chernobyl taking on many evils that cross your path, from dogs and boars that have been mutated by the radiation to creatures created purely out of the nuclear devastation, some of which can be quite creepy and disturbing to see. There will also be bandits running around the world, hoping to rob the Stalkers of their plunder, and they won't hesitate to attempt to kill you. You have a PDA which tracks all your quest logs, useful info and has a handy map which shows you the entire gameworld and marks all the useful locations on your map.

You also have an inventory which you must pay a little bit of attention to as if you just pick up every gun and all the ammo from every bandit and animal you defeat you will soon not be able to move. People have complained about this but it is merely a balancing act of the game, it keeps things interesting by not making the game super easy when you have 6 assault rifles to choose from and 2000 rounds or something stupid. You have to consider your weapons loadout, ammunition, health kits, artifacts and other useful items and make sure you have enough space to pick up some new stuff but you're not so light that you're going into the fray unprepared.

The shooting action in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is actually some of the most realistic and engaging shooting you will find in games. Fans of counter-strike can eat their cake as I would say that the shooting in this game is flat out far more realistic. The ballistics are fantastic, firing a low end assault rifle from any reasonable distance and you will see your bullets spread right out, your gun can jam mid-fire (which can be pretty harrowing) and there are different types of ammo to consider, and as you might expect, stopping and crouching to take a shot is key.

The visuals aren't mindblowing, the X-Ray engine provides some solid detail and some of the environments look stunning, but the character models feel a little bit behind the times. The game engine is also quite a system hog, which is a little strange as games that look a bit better will sometimes run smoother than this game, but it's really a minor detraction from what is otherwise a well worthwhile experience. The sound is really excellent, the ambient music and sound effects are fantastic, and some of the howling noises and strange sounds you will hear out in chernobyl sent shivers down my spine. Guns sound as they should, and all the Stalkers, bandits and other human folk in the game all speak russian which adds a great air of authenticity to the game.

There are a few bugs in the game, but at the time of this review they are releasing patches fairly regularly and a good amount of the bugs have been fixed. The game will require you to have a pretty recent computer if you intend to get the most out of the visuals, but it is perfectly possible to play the game on hardware a few years old.

The story is pretty good, as mentioned in some other reviews it can be a bit confusing but if you do as many quests as you can and piece them together you will get some rewarding plot lines coming out of the game. Overall the plot is a bit inconsistent but it's still good enough to keep you wondering and pushing for the goal.

Overall S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a fantastic shooter. It's creepy, entrhalling atmosphere is something that most games strive to achieve but seldom succeed. Exploring the game world is just a fantastic experience in itself, being intrigued by the things you see and find is fun in itself. Add on to that great gunplay, some RPG like elements with the questing and loot gathering, a reasonably gripping plot and you've got yourself a good game. Sure, it does have a few bugs, but these are minor detractions from the overall experience, which if you know what you're in for, is a fantastic one.

Clear goals, depth, incredible graphics and atmosphere
I puchased this game thinking it would be another scare tactics fps like F.E.A.R, i was suprrised generally by the amunt of thought and development that has obviously gone into making this game, so first of all i think the game is most definatley worth the money. as for enjoyment, i played the game without much research and struggled to progress along the true story path, this due to a bit of impatience and a few game bugs that can resulst in failed missions, never-the-less i started a fresh with a game plan and i have since been scared to death, mentally challenged, pumped with adrenaline and thouroghly amazed by it contents and im only half way through. i just cannot wait to see the dam power station in all its depressing glory.
A must by for high spec Pc gamers and fans of games that have allot of substance.

Chilling.
An amazing Oblivion-cum-apocalypse RPG. if GSC ironed out a few of the bugs they missed in the previous patches, this would definetley be a five star game. Atmospheric, creepy, one of the few games I have actually had to stop playing out of sheer terror!

It runs smoothly on my PC, though if you're a Vista user, you might want to wait a little, the initial release wasn't Windows Vista compatiable, though I'm not sure if it has been via a patch or two.