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[–] LazarCyprium ago  (edited ago)

Setting:

The STALKER series is set in the area around Chernobyl after a mysterious second incident. This surrounding area, called the "Exclusion Zone" (or simply "The Zone" for short), has been cordoned off by the military for the sake of public safety. But rumors spread of valuable treasures that can be found, such as rare artifacts created by physical anomalies. People start sneaking into The Zone, looking to profit from its riches. These people are called stalkers. Some of these stalkers start banding together, such as small clusters of bandits, but also larger factions formed by common ideological bonds.

The Zone is a dangerous place, even without the threat of bandits and other less savory stalkers. The incident has created patches of land with heavy radiation, mutating the wildlife, and the added presence of a new danger: anomalies. These are localized alterations to the physics of an environment. Fire can shoot off from out of nowhere. Sudden jolts of electricity. The most common anomalies alter gravity, whether its by instantly compacting anything that passes through it, tearing things apart, or tossing them up into the air. Stalkers must tread carefully and be aware of their surroundings to avoid these nasty pitfalls.

The upside to these anomalies is that they create mysterious artifacts that exhibit remarkable effects, such as healing properties. Scientists are willing to pay a lot of money for them. The trouble is snatching them up without getting caught in the trap.

Gameplay:

It is basically an open world FPS RPG. The controls are kind of old-school, so they may seem cumbersome to people who are more accustomed to more recent games. There is an old-fashioned PC RPG inventory system with the drag-and-drop interface and all. Gun play can take some getting used to as most guns in the early game will feel inaccurate, but that seems to be a stylistic choice since it would make sense that getting good guns into The Zone wouldn't be something simple bandits and lone stalkers could manage.

The game really feels like it has a life of its own with its A-Life AI and detailed faction system. You will often find mutants of one species fighting another, bandits fighting stalkers, faction up against faction. All of this is going on without you. Sometimes side missions will even complete themselves. For example, there is a reoccurring side mission to help stalkers fight off bandits at the railway station in the Garbage. Sometimes the mission will be completed before you even get there. Why? The stalkers killed the bandits. You could have helped, but they really didn't need you.

That is something that I love about the series. Most games make the player the sole agent of change in the universe. Nothing happens without them. STALKER is indifferent to you. You can progress your own story, sure, but most everyone else's lives can go on without you. And when you come to the end of your story, maybe you have changed The Zone. Maybe you just get out. Maybe you die like all of the other suckers. No guarantees.