RSS Feeds NGN on Facebook NGN on Twitter NGN on YouTube
Thursday March 28, 2024
Header logo
  1. Index
  2. » Articles
  3. » Reviews
  4. » S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Review

A detailed and atmospheric world with very impressive gameplay

Posted by on

Last time I played a game with a huge amount of potential I had great feelings about the future of the First Person Shooter genre. The game combined the shooting elements I loved with the choice and character development of an RPG. To my great disappointment the game did not kick start a revolution, it seemed as though most had just ignored it despite it’s stellar ratings. Deus Ex is the game I’m referring to and after almost 7 years the mix of genres has been drastically under utilized, only a handful of titles have been released with a similar playing style.

Enter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. from stage right, an eerie shooter set in an alternate universe around the Chernobyl area called “the zone”. The game seems to have come from an older time because even it’s very design, whereby the player is not being told exactly what to do, seems to comes from an older era. The game has fewer RPG elements when compared with Deus Ex but it does not suffer from it. You don’t need to worry about putting points in weapon classes only to have your options limited should you get a sniper rifle. Your experience is gained by your own use of weapons much like how standard shooters work. As you travel further into the zone enemies get harder and weapons found are much more dangerous. Most of the enjoyment comes from being able to choose how you want to approach quests and seeing how that choice changes the AI.

Of course the game is not a direct Deus Ex clone set in Chernobyl. The game world is far more open and you can travel between the connected levels any time you wish. The AI can also travel between these regions, this may be in order to strengthen numbers or to perform other quests as though you were not the center of the entire game world. It’s not uncommon to come back to a zone and see dead bodies strewn about, ones you did not shoot. Animals such as dogs within the zone move in packs and circle around dead Stalkers and require some different tactics to overcome.

The game’s direction does not suffer when you add this extra freedom and allow players to do side quests. There is a fairly clear path of main quests that the character follows and a PDA will regularly keep you up to date on them. This direction also includes more traditional corridor segments in underground areas. Atmosphere increases greatly during these underground sequences where there can be quite a high level of detail in the environments. If you are lucky enough to have a PC that can run it with dynamic lighting then you are in for a special treat. The whole game is lathered with atmosphere the chilling sounds in the distance, the dynamic weather and time of day system and the click of your Geiger counter as you enter an area high in radiation. Based on my experience I can only hope that games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. become commonplace. The key word I mentioned earlier is potential and despite being a great game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has so much more potential to become a masterpiece.

Our ratings for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl on PC out of 100 (Ratings FAQ)
Presentation
83
The atmosphere of the zone is amazing, the zone is quite detailed. Graphically quite nice with some good dynamic lighting and interesting underground sections.
Gameplay
84
It's not always smooth sailing and it can be quite difficult but exploring the zone, engaging in gunfights and quests is still enjoyable.
Single Player
82
It has an interesting story and the cutscenes between missions are pretty well done. The game has 7 endings without only one of those featuring battles near the reactor and the true ending.
Multiplayer
66
Simple and not very addictive, part counter-strike feel helps it but needed quite a lot more work to compete with most multiplayer games.
Performance
(Show PC Specs)
CPU: AMD Athlon AM2 5600+ @ 2.9GHz
GPU: Powercolor Radeon x2900xt 512MB
RAM: 4GB DDR2
OS: Windows Vista 32-bit
PC Specs

68
Unfortunately riddled with bugs, crashes and save corruptions. Your patience will be tested, your luck will be important. Use the latest patches and cross your fingers.
Overall
83
Presents a fantastic world thick with atmosphere, implements a genuinely successful combat system with a back story that will make you push through. The last few levels aren't the best but the game is great.
Comments
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl box art Platform:
PC
Our Review of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
83%
Great
The Verdict:
Game Ranking
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is ranked #281 out of 1957 total reviewed games. It is ranked #8 out of 13 games reviewed in 2007.
280. Trine
PlayStation 3
281. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
282. BioShock 2
PC
Related Games
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Platform: PC
Coming: September 2024
Developer: GSC Game World
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
Platform: PC
Released: February 2010
Developer: GSC Game World
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
Platform: PC
Released: September 2008
Developer: GSC Game World
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
Platform: PC
Released: November 1999
Developer: GSC Game World
Advertisement ▼
New Game Network NGN Facebook NGN Twitter NGN Youtube NGN RSS