As you travel the long winding dirt road you always keep an ear to your Geiger counter, listening intently for its clicking song. It is the herald of an agonizing death by radiation poisoning. You pass by a crumbling factory; its ruined facade makes it look like a building from an ancient past. All is silent except for the occasional gusts of wind sweeping across the barren landscape.
The eerie tranquility is broken by the loud metallic clang of the charging handle of an AK-74 racking a 5.45x39mm full metal jack round into the chamber. It’s a universally understood sound that tells you all you need to know.
They were hiding behind the rubble; red cloths bound around their heads to hide their faces. Their rifles begin to bark and spitfire. Bandits aren’t known for their marksmanship skills, spray’n’pray that’s what they call it, but when there’s a swarm of them bearing down on you it makes even a veteran S.T.A.L.K.E.R. sweat.
You have spent the day risking your life to get your hands on this artifact. An artifact, the rarest of treasures, bending the very laws of physics, born out of this man made hellhole they call the Zone.
You’re not giving it up without a fight. You run to the nearest tree to take cover and return fire with your rifle until suddenly you hear a click. A bullet casing has stove piped in your rifle’s chamber causing a jam. There’s no time to clear it. In desperation you un-holster your handgun, its 9mm bullets don’t have the punch of your rifle. Your shots need to count.
You don’t want to die again, your last save point was so far away……
Welcome to the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. a unique first person shooter that combines elements of a role playing game to create an incredible experience.
Storyline
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. mixes real world and fantasy histories that make it a FPS that really feels like the creators were thinking outside of the box. This is not your typical humans vs. aliens, counter-terrorists vs. terrorists, army vs. army, etc style game, it’s something completely new. The storyline takes place in the Ukraine many years after the horrific real world event of the meltdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Radiation has contaminated a 30 kilometer area around the power plant. This area has come to be called the ‘Zone.” The Zone is a blighted place where few dare travel. However, strange and almost unexplainable things are being discovered there that are attracting explorers.
The most important of these discoveries are objects known as artifacts. Artifacts are materials which generate or augment certain properties of someone who wears them. An artifact for example could grant a degree of resistance to physical trauma such as a high fall.
Artifacts are created by “anomalies.” Anomalies are dangerous distortions of the physical world which began appearing in the Zone after the Chernobyl incident. They can occur anywhere within the Zone and many are difficult to detect, accidentally stepping into an anomaly is oftentimes fatal. Artifacts are extremely rare and valuable to scientists or on the black market.
The player takes on the role of a “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.” which is an acronym for Scavenger, Trespasser, Adventurer, Loner, Killer, Explorer, Robber. It is a broad term for people who try to make a living in the Zone. Some are mercenaries for hirer, and some are average people who were lured to the Zone in the hope of getting rich quick by finding and selling artifacts. Most who have come though have found nothing but misery.
Players will have tons of fun missions to complete. The main story of the game is also very original…..if you can figure it out. There are a number of “bad” endings you can get if you complete the game under the wrong conditions.
Gameplay
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a sandbox style game where the player can move freely across different areas with only a brief loading screen identifying their separation. The landscape was modeled using photos from Chernobyl and the surrounding countryside. You can even explore the real world ghost town of Priypiat, which was evacuated during the reactor meltdown. Comparisons between game locations and photos of their real world counterparts are impressive.
While the Russian military has attempted to prevent any outsiders from entering the Zone, several warring factions have established bases within it. Many of the missions that players receive will come form these factions. There is also an interesting array of enemies for the player to battle which range from bandits, military forces, and mutants.
Despite the game’s outdated graphics, the Zone feels as if it’s truly alive. You might return to an area and find the people you had once spoken to dead or gone. Some areas of the Zone experience almost constant battles as opposing forces vie for control of territory. You can also interact with almost every NPC as long as they are not hostile to you. Interacting with NPCs can help the player gather information on missions or garner more backstory of the Zone. Players can also trade with NPCs for items such as ammunition, medical kits, or food.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can be one of the hardest FPS games you could ever play. Even on its lower difficulty levels the game can be very challenging. However, I find that over all it enhances the gameplay and makes some of the large scale firefights very intense. Combat in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can require a fair amount of strategy and planning. Running straight at an enemy will get you very dead, very fast. You have to assess their weapons, armor, numbers, and terrain. You will also need to use cover and flank enemies where you can.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has a wide selection of weapons including handguns, shotguns, assault rifles, and grenades. Every weapon has advantages and disadvantages and will also slowly degrade as it’s used, eventually breaking. Weapons also have a chance to jam during use.
The first thing that is recommended after installing the game is to download a patch to fix a long list of major bugs that can randomly crash your game, or render you unable to save your progress. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has a dedicated mod community that has created an impressive list of add-on packages such as adding more enemies, missions, and even drivable vehicles. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. also has a multiplayer mode where players can fight online in traditional single or team death matches, or a version of capture the flag using artifacts. The mod community and multiplayer mode gives the game an impressive amount of replayability.
Sound
Sound effects in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. are well done and help create a deep sense of immersion, especially the ambient world sounds. There are few musical tracks in the game though, but what is there is very well done. One of the most noticeable musical tracks can only be heard from radios in scattered locations, making you occasionally search for the mysterious song when you hear it. There are a couple of noticeable audio bugs in the game. For example in a bar the NPC characters around you repeat the same sentences out loud over and over again. Either it will drive you crazy, or you will find it hilarious.
So if you are looking for a fun and unique first person shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is what you need.
Game Website: www.stalker-game.com
