Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10310 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: THQ
• Released on: 2007-03-23
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platforms: Windows NT, Windows 98, 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

Inspired, playable when patched
Some games have to be heavily patched before playing.

This is such a game. Play it from the box, and you'll get shot by enemies poking their guns through walls. Your bullets won't pass through leaves, and savage mutant dogs will happily ignore you while you shoot at them. Download the patch before you start playing. The patch fixes 68 major playing issues, and must be considered vital.

However, the style of play, the atmosphere, the graphics, and the level design are all exquisite examples of how games should be made. You can tell in your first ten minutes of play - it was designed up to the hilt by some very talented artists and designers. It's a challenging game that operates with an inventory, meaning you have to pick your equipment carefully if you plan to be away from your base for long periods of time (this is an FTR - Free To Roam game - you can choose which assignments from which people that you'll follow through). You'll find yourself having to think of strategies to defeat enemies. In short, it's a tactical and compelling FPS.

The interface, it has to be said, is also well designed and laid out.

Finally, the contents of the metal box are awesome. As well as a bonus disk and downloadable military skins for multiplayer modes it contains a "survivors manual" with artwork, offering a rare insight into the design.

The only let down of this game is the need to download the patch, which someone needs to take responsibility for

Unfinished, but great
It might be a bit hit-or-miss getting this to run, but for [..], it's really worth the risk. You will need a powerful PC to see what it has to offer - at least an X1900XT or 7900-series video card, 2GB RAM, and a newer dual-core processor. At high detail levels, the visuals are astonishingly lifelike and detailed (terrific high-detail texturing is present on higher settings), and the dynamic lighting and weather effects are stunning (winds blow up dust, it rains, lightning flashes cast shadows, and so on). There is also an abbreviated day-night cycle which lasts about 6 hours or so, but unlike real RPGs, your character has no need to waste time sleeping.
The game world is similarly detailed; you can wander around, blocked only by natural hazards such as wildlife or radiation, and simply explore. The game world is not as large or as completely free-flowing as e.g. Oblivion, but, this isn't an RPG. You gain experience (i.e. you, the player, and not your character in-game) and equipment, which enables you to better survive the world. The first several hours of gameplay are very tough for this reason; you won't survive long running and gunning in this game, but once you get a STALKER-suit and a scope for your rifle, you're all set. The game world is not as "intimidatingly" large as Oblivion - i.e. in a world where you can do anything, where do you start ? - and while this cuts into STALKER's overall longevity, you're more quickly able to get into the story.
There's an over-arching story which you can pursue (find someone called Strelok and kill him), but the real satisfaction and longevity comes from performing smaller tasks for other STALKERs - people variously want items found that they've lost, friends rescued, or enemies killed, and will pay for your help.
The game generally lacks polish, however, and some sections seem a bit crudely stitched together - but if you enjoy a more contemporary world free of wizards and ogres with genuine atmosphere, it's really worth a look. The game has been patched, and already, mods are appearing which do various things - this one will probably run and run.

Interesting, atmospheric and freaky, but occasionally very frustrating
I've got to admit, I didn't quite know what to expect when I bought Stalker. Initially, the graphics don't look amazing, and I've got a decent graphics card. The gameplay has great potential and you'll occasionally love it - it's FPS meets RPG. At first it's very frustrating to play, but you do get a lot of direction and set waypoints to get to - but the pistol you start out with, and later the shotgun are appalling weapons and you can fire for ages without really hitting anything, no matter how good your aim.

You don't really get a sense of a conspiracy unravelling, despite various missions concerning psi-activity - it keeps you guessing right until the last minute, which isn't always a good thing because you occasionally feel as though you're not getting anywhere. The later weapons are good, but as previous reviews have said, you do have a lot of trouble finding ammunition for some of them. You can't get precious about which assault rifle you keep - you've got to keep the one that your enemies are using, to keep the ammo levels up. This is occasionally annoying and you can find yourself hauling a sniper rifle around for ages without really seeing much benefit from it.

One of the most irritating things about the game are the "block off" points where you can occasionally get stuck. I got to a point where I had to get into a room, and from the window, I could see the door was open - but in the main corridor, it was shut! I ended up using grenades to blow the vital artefact (which you can't properly complete the game without) close enough to pick up. You'll also find yourself traipsing literally miles to cunningly sneak through an entrance, only to find that you can't get in that way, and have to use the one single way that your PDA recommends. Very frustrating. There are also around seven endings to the game, and gritty though this may be, it didn't endear it to me.

That said, the game is profoundly atmospheric and very different to anything I've played before. The underground levels are tense, and the radioactivity-spawned monsters very disturbing. The headshots are sufficiently rewarding, and the timed levels are tight without being unrealistic. The geography can be confusing and annoying and I did get occasional game crashes. It is generally pretty stable, maybe more so with the patches.

Overall, a good experience - eerie, some great gameplay and good concepts, but a number of flaws make it extremely frustrating at times.