Loading ...S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, review, bugs, display problems
Stalker Review
So we were 5 years in the waiting. Was it worth the wait…..in my opinion certainly not. That said S.T.A.L.K.E.R is still a very goof FPS.
Firstly the reason we were waiting 5 years for what is a game that could have been delivered 2 years ago technology wise, is the fact that the small development team in Ukraine had to constantly update the game engine to keep up with the times and also build in some unique game features in the meantime!
As an FPS Stalker is excellent. The game features some excellent ballistic physics that move the game away from Quake + Doom in terms of holding the fire button and strafing! The weapons have varying accuracy and rates of fire, leading to a more realistic approach as you simply cannot spray approaching enemies on full auto as you will hit nothing. You mainly fire single shot or burst mode and go for upper body/head shots.
The RPG elements of Stalker are not so good. The inventory system is clunky and there is no character development/skill development….which basically means there are not many RPG elements!?! The game is free-form to a certain extent, however the transition between levels can only occur at designated points….meaning you are in fact channeled into areas to drive the plot.
The map is big, but not huge. I found the PDA map a little hard to use as the zooms either far too much or too little. Stashes of weapons and ammo show up as a triangle….but did not disappear once I had searched and looted them…..which is disappointing because I came back to the stash again and again! The setting for the game wins the day for me. The place is just wrecked (obviously!!). The post apocalyptic setting is always a winner….but is captured really well in Stalker. The underground flashlight levels are excellent.
The enemies are clever in places. They cover each other and retreat if out gunned. My only complaint would be the fact they are EVERYWHERE. You clear out an area only for them to return! This is good for gathering more loot from their bodies….but it can be a real pain if your on your way somewhere and are forced to endure a 20 minute gun battle to drive them off. I found myself running past them most of the time.
The performance on my system is excellent. Everything on full and it plays like a dream. I have heard reports of very poor performance on higher end machine….but I put this down to configuration. The engine looks good and the game plays well. I did get a display bug at night. During heavy rain and a lightening storm I was getting weird red and yellow lines all over the geometry. It looked very like an overheating problem but its not. If you Google this issue it seems some other players have had similar problems.
So to summarize: Ambitious and delivers in some areas but not all. Graphics not bad but certainly not amazing. Gun battles are excellent. Story is OK, sometimes very confusing (Russian subtitles?). Side quests can be annoying but always reveal some new equipment or weapons. Currency is irrelevant as you get all you need from bodies…….7 out of 10.
