After years of delays and setbacks, this horror / adventure / RPG / FPS / action / exploration game hit the shelves. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was a definite step forward for the video game industry and it made several advances in a time where most video games are carbon copies of one another. This game was definitely less than it could have been, but it still did a lot of things right.
The atmosphere that this game creates for the player is amazing. The environments and overall effects cause the player to have a steady feeling of unease. There was also a genuinely scary feeling to most of the interiors. There is nothing much more frightening than seeing a squid-faced bloodsucker suddenly appear next to you and start ripping away at your face.
The game has great immersion value. The player can actually start to feel like they are in the zone. Your character is a vulnerable and somewhat realistic human. Your travel weight is limited to 50 kilograms, which equates to about one rifle, one pistol, a few hundred bullets for each, a little food, and some medical supplies. This really makes you think about what to bring to each mission, and it requires you to actually think about what you are looting. You are also not superman. You can only take a few hits before you die, and most of the anomalies can severely hurt or kill you. You’ll go through a lot of medpacks if you aren’t careful during every second of the game.
The combat in the game is another plus. You really have to think on your feet and observe your entire environment. Taking cover and engaging a group of bandits with your rifle is well and good, until one of them flanks you and blasts you with a shotgun at close range. Straight run-and-gun will also result in a relaxing dirt nap. The challenging AI makes sure that each gun battle is a challenging game of cat-and-mouse that requires you to switch tactics and watch your ammo. The guns are very inaccurate at the start, but it is pretty easy to adapt. It only takes a few fights before you realize that just lining up the iron sight isn’t enough. The guns are your friends, and you’ll slowly learn what you have to do with them. You’ll also have a decent opportunity to learn, because most of the bandits at the start are pretty bad shots too.
The environmental AI really sets this game apart from the crowd. As soon as you see this game live, you’ll love it. There are tons of things that the AI can do without a specific script. A group of five dogs desperately fought two boars that were moving in on their territory. Six heavily armed bandits led a raid on a military checkpoint (and were slaughtered). About 10 bandits attacked a stalker camp in the Garbage and managed to kill all but one of the loners defending it. Just as they were closing in to finish the kill him, an experienced stalker runs down the road and kills the last four. Camps under attack send out distress calls, and this one brought a patrol down the road. They even set up a defensive post in the bandits’ old camp. This was completely unscripted.
This game is good and it could even have joined the ranks of the truly great, but it fell short in several ways. The stealth element was effectively removed from the game. It is almost impossible to actually sneak up behind an enemy and knife him. The soldiers seem to automatically sense the player approaching them. It also suffers from a lack of direction in some places. The side missions are mainly uninspired “kill this guy” “protect this camp” missions, and all that they give you are worthless artifacts or money. Herein lies the lack of direction. Money is effectively worthless in the game. You find just about everything that you’ll ever use and there are only a few good sellers in the game. The patch tried to fix it by making armor de-generate, but this only puts a Band-Aid on the problem. The AI also has some really dumb flaws. Stalkers will bump into campfires and set themselves on fire (without even reacting, of course). This is the reason for the piles of corpses around campfires (if anyone was curious). They will also handle animals badly. It is really weird to see a heavily armed and armored ex-military stalker get mauled by two dogs. They should have also made it possible for the npcs to actually use the first aid kits that they constantly carry with them. The rest of the bugs are just annoying. For example, it is pretty much impossible to actually join one of the factions due to a main quest being completely bugged. There are also accounts of the AI engine just not turning on occasionally. These problems will hopefully be fixed in an upcoming patch though.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. gets a 7.8/10 overall. The game is really good, but it could have been so much better. If they can fix a few of the bugs, then it might approach greatness. Gamers can also look forward to several mods that are being released soon. If all else fails, this should at least help the game reach its full potential.
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