S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl (PC)

S.T.A.L.K.E.R is set, quite controversially, in the ruins of Chernobyl, a town in Russia near a nuclear reactor that underwent a melt down. Ignoring the moral squeamishness that surrounded this decision, this is a really good setting for a game, as it adds scope for a whole host of game play ideas. When you first start playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R, it seems to be a simple first person shooter (fps). The controls are the now standard WASD keys for movement and the mouse for looking, so anyone who has played a PC fps in the last couple of years should be right at home. The game starts with a monologue from one of the non player characters (NPCs), who lets ...  Read the complete review

A lone man dashes through the slanting rain, clutching his AK47, hood thrown back, respirator bouncing up and down around his neck. He yells something in Russian, and suddenly there is the barking of a pack of dogs, hot on his heels. He turns, loosing off a half-aimed volley that brings down the front animal. Luckily, help is at hand, and a storm of fire cuts down the rest of the beasts before they reach him. "Thanks," he says (or rather, the Russian equivalent), sitting down by the fire of a roving band of Stalkers. And so ends another typical five minutes in The Zone. Someone pulls out a battered guitar, plays a tune. Vodka flows. ...  Read the complete review

This is probably the best game i've ever played, with the exception of the new one. The premise of the game is pretty simple, and pretty much what you'd expect, a loss of memory, so out you set on a voyage of discovery. The graphics on stalker are simply stunning, nighttime looks like nighttime, although perhaps it is a little too 'moonlit' on occasions, but watching silhouettes flicker in muzzle flash is beautiful. Gameplay for me has actually been pretty bug-free, i did get stuck in a door once but only the once, and there've not really been any major issues with ai that i've experienced. I've seen them do some pretty dumb things, but certainly ...  Read the complete review

The highly anticipated shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R opens with a highly atmospheric cut scene featuring an army truck rattling across the desolate landscape of Chernobyl. As the camera cuts to the inside of the truck, a soldier is seen leaning casually against the door. One swing of the camera later, you realise the soldier is dead, the truck is filled with bodies. A dramatic opening indeed. You play as a survivor of one such death truck, with no memory of your past save a PDA type device and the word STALKER tattooed across your arm. How you will survive in the desolate landscape? What strange creatures share the environments with you? the ultimate goal is to ...  Read the complete review