S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat Review
Unquestionably the best game in the series with large open levels and plenty of exploration rewards. More user friendly without sacrificing the core elements of the series.
Call of Pripyat successfully increases user friendliness without sacrificing the hardcore game style the series is known for. The interface clearly shows, using small icons, the health of your equipment, environmental damage and applied stat boosts. The game now even supports a serviceable auto save system. This removes the need to constantly tap the F5 key prior to dangerous areas. Auto save functions around major quests events and travelling between levels. Early on this actually helped me a few times when I simply wasn’t used to quick saving as I had done in the previous games. Although to be fair the auto save system seemed to get less helpful as the game progressed, perhaps due to my unorthodox quest progress. It still manages to greatly improve those opening few hours where you may die and have forgotten to save because you were caught up in the engrossing atmosphere.
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The user interface works better and the new icons are helpful
Ironically in this very open world they have attempted to increase the player direction when you get together with other Stalkers. Certain quests will trigger fast travel and you and your friends will instantly travel to a set location in the Zone. After which you engage in a more scripted mission, but not necessarily a linear one. After the mission is completed you can return slowly back across the Zone or talk to your quest buddy who will let you quick travel back. There aren’t many of these and I didn’t mind too much about being fast travelled to a quest location. Unfortunately one of these spawned me in just as the scientists I’d been sent to protect were being eaten by a group of mutants, mission failed.
The final area, Pripyat, is open and not as rushed as the original game but it has more directed missions and is a little smaller than the other levels. There is no trader or technician per say so you will need to head back to either of the previous two levels to sell or upgrade weapons. You should have enough money by this stage so this isn’t really an issue. You will need to return as part of the main quests anyway but the Pripyat area seemed mostly about a few linear objectives in comparison to the previous areas with open quests and neutral areas. Yes there are anomalies with artifacts and some open buildings to explore but it wasn’t quite as satisfying or lengthy as the previous areas. It also makes sense that the game story finishes at Pripyat, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave.
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These cute little guys will try valiantly to gnaw your face off.
After you finish the main series of quests you can choose to remain the Zone indefinitely and return to your current quests or just continue to explore the Zone. The ending isn’t bad; it’s not quite as well put together as the original but it’s better than Clear Sky. The last few quests in particular show how poor the story presentation can be. It would have been much better to spend more time on fewer missions than have a string of rather poorly presented linear missions. A nice touch was a story board end that outlined some of the major events during the game and what some characters had done after the game events. It certainly helps bring out some RPG elements and is a direction that could be improved in the future.
Naturally being a derivative of STALKER the game is a little unpolished in places. Human animations are still fairly stiff and the AI can do some bizarre things. For example the AI would sometimes engage a “pacifist” mode and simply ignore the fact that it was being shot at by others. Or it would group up strangely in the frequently repopulating areas. The world repopulates with mutants and Stalkers in familiar spots, sometimes a little too quickly but the variety helps. Bodies are dragged off and Stalkers scavenge from the dead to restock their supplies. The AI quirks stand out but the A-life system ensures you are having a pretty unique experience in the changing Zone.
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Feb 4, 2010 12:22:27 (Feb 4, 2010 12:22)
