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

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)A well done FPS!.
This game is set in the future, with a plot that begins around the time of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. It is a game of intense action, atmosphere and involves some strategy and choices.
As with any game there are positives and negatives...let me explain
The Pros:
1.)A great selection of weapons and ammo (with the better ones becoming available as you proceed in the game). Some are better than others and some are quite heavy (you have a limit to how much you can carry).
2.)Different armor is also available at different points in the game.
3.)Realistic "fog of war" occurrences; weapons jam (with increasing frequency as they become worn); your player tires and gets hungry affecting his ability to perform.
4.)Great atmosphere; spooky ambient lighting in dark halls and tunnels, in the outdoors you have rain, lightening and night time; and then there are always the unexpected attacks (anywhere) by an assortment of men, animals and mutants.
5.)Enemy AI that is realistic: their guns need reloading and occasionally jam; they hide behind objects when shot at; they sneak up from the unseen side; animals attack in packs and from behind while one or two distract you from the front. All in all an enemy that appears to "think" about what it's doing instead of just standing there and blasting away at you.
6.)Although the game requires you to the complete main missions to proceed in the game, you can roam around the country side unrestricted. As a bonus, however, there are several side missions that you can do (these are optional and not required to finish the game but may give you substantial rewards in money or items)
7.)Easy save and load feature.
8.)3 different endings, depending on the choices you make near the end of the game.
9.)Some re-playability; you may want to try different endings, side missions and other weapons and armor.
10.)Many hours of intense, hectic game play.
Cons:
1.)You'll need fairly good hardware and lots of RAM to run this game as it was meant to be played.
2.)No vehicles to ride for battle or transportation purposes. (and annoyingly, towards the end, you must walk back almost to the starting point to get an important piece of info) or you can't get into the last 2 endings.
3.)Maybe, just maybe a little too hard even on novice (especially towards the latter part of the game).
4.)You'll need at least 9GB of disc space to load this game.
5.)I found there were occasional crashes or freeze ups after long periods of play.
Suggestions; (SPOILER)
1.)Early on, go to "Dark Valley"; this will give you a chance to
a.)obtain a sniper scope (useful a little later) and
b.)while here, do a side mission that requires you to "rescue a fighter's friend" (here you'll find, in the same building as the "friend" (but in another room), a piece of great armor and many useful and powerful "artifacts".
2.)Take every bandage you find; medkits will heal wounds but do not stop bleeding (and if you don't stop bleeding, well...you bleed to death).
Conclusion:
This was a game that I really enjoyed (even though the novice level could be a real challenge at times); it featured my favorite type of game, that being, a FPS with some RPG upgrades. If you liked such games as Deus Ex, System Shock or Dark Messiah, I'm sure you'll pleased with this game. 5 Stars. R. Nicholson


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