Some STALKER screenshots

[SUBMAN1]

Some distant lightning:


Here is how the flash can light up the dark of night!:


Then its back to darkness once again:


Heading back south through mounds of radioactive garbage:


The sunsets are pretty impressive looking:


It's a bad day to be in the Russian Heli service I see (Are those blood splats on the cockpit?):



A second shot - dead vehicles litter the whole area - which make great things to hide behind:



A shotgun comes in handy when having to deal with the mutant animals roaming the plains:


Having a party in Rostek:


Vehicle graveyard in Garbage:

[KevinB]

Hi Subman. I was thinking of getting this game but I've heard reports that the game freezes and there are some bugs, but there is a patch to overcome this.
Did you have any problems with it?

[d@rk51d3]

Unfortunately it's turned out to be primarily a FPS, when its been hyped with stronger RPG tones. I've had the odd CTD, nothing to really upset me. My main gripe is the NME spawning. It's really frustrating to clear an area, rush in to grab some loot, and an NME patrol spawns just feet away and makes short work of finishing you off (while you're picking up items, everything still goes on around you, leaving you as an open target ).

Plus you'll need a fairly good machine to run it with any detail...... well, better than mine anyway. I think the Radeon 9700? is letting me down.

[Egan]

I quite like it and I'm really not a FPS fan. The atmosphere is great and the graphics are very nice. I'm running it at 16 x 12 with everything turned all the way up and I'm pretty impressed at the way my machine is handling it.

[CCIP]

I've played through the game already. Loved the early parts - it's sort of like Diablo in FPS form. Sure you can't call it a true RPG, it's really a hack-and-slash, but different enough from an FPS to be fun. I don't usually play either FPS or RPG games, but this one had me hooked for a bit. Looks very nice, too!

Later parts of the game disappointed me a little, mostly because they forced you into an FPS dynamic, rushing you through huge swaths of the map very quickly and in a linear one-way path. And try as it might, it's no Half-Life at that. Wish it'd stuck to a more free-roaming approach.

And no spoilers, but the ending pissed me off to no end. Once I stopped being angry about it, it actually made sense to me and all, but my initial reaction... boy oh boy

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by KevinB

Hi Subman. I was thinking of getting this game but I've heard reports that the game freezes and there are some bugs, but there is a patch to overcome this.
Did you have any problems with it?

I'm absolutely loving it - still. Even though some posts claim that it wasn't good near the end - I am near the end and I still love it. I like FPS's though. It has some basic RPG elements though in which you can modify your stats with artifacts you pick up, and of course you can always find better and better equipment.

Its the atmosphere - it has tons of atmosphere to draw you in.

I've never really had a crash, but I've never played without the patch though. I did notice the grphics slowed down a few times, but all you do to fix it is exit to the menu, simply look at the options panel, and then resume the game - took my about 2 seconds to do that the few times I had a slowdown (I call a slowdown to be about 20 FPS).

I guess the point is, if you like a story driven FPS that has a ton of atmosphere and makes you feel like one just one of the people in the game, then this game is it.

If you are looking for a 'pure' RPG (Something we have too much of lately), then you probably want to look elsewhere. I consider STALKER's balance to be near perfect which is why I like it so much. All skill is by you and you alone, so if you want an RPG element, get better with your mouse hand and tactics. Running head first into a guy shooting at you will get you killed - simple as that.

-S

PS. It is not Half Life by the way (I hate pure Linear games like HL2 - outside of some of the scripted events in HL2, HL2 pretty much sucked - you were a mouse in a tiny narrow cage everywhere you went). If you want to ignore the story and go artifact hunting on your own, you have that choice. If you want to play the game in a Linear fasion and strictly follow the story, then you also have that choice. Unlike what is described above, you can go anywhere you want at any time. I would not have found half my rare equipment if I did not explore either. Finding ways to get in buildings that you thought you couldn't get into for example.

[SUBMAN1]

I wish you could drive tanks:

[Venatore]

Alot of heavy duty weapons you have there my friends, but what are you hunting and how scary is this game ?

[CCIP]

Originally Posted by Venatore

Alot of heavy duty weapons you have there my friends, but what are you hunting and how scary is this game ?

I've had some REALLY scary moments in the confined spaces, mostly underground labs. The darkness in this game is really well-done.

But the key, though, is that the game is not so much scary as just very HARD. You've got no more health or armament than your adversaries (just usually better armor), so you're liable to be gunned down by anyone you don't deal with carefully and promptly. Some people complain that the AI is too hard or too accurate; except for late game where they may be a little too much in confined spaces (corridors), I didn't really find that or, to be more accurate - didn't find it a problem.

Weapons may not be all-out 'realistic', but they are hard to shoot, kick back like mules and can be pretty inaccurate. You really won't have much luck with an assault rifle at long ranges, especially sans scope.


Oh, PS -
What you mostly end up hunting in the game, for 90% of it anyway, are roaming gangs of thugs, mercenaries, and occasionally the army (and a stalker sect that seems to protect the inner zone). Monsters are more of a side dish, and free Stalkers and their factions you mostly don't want to ruin relations with.

A good assault rifle like that will do for everything from bandits assorted so-so weapons, soldiers with AKMs, mercenaries with 5.56 NATO rifles, and those pesky mind-controlling monsters.

My weapon of choice for earlier parts of the game was a rapid-firing AKM (assuming I could get enough ammo for it) which I later fitted with a scope, mid-game - a 5.56 carbine (M4?) with a scope, later in game - a GROM rifle chambered for 5.45mm rounds, and a Vintores for when I needed to pick someone off from afar.

[Skybird]

I had interest, but then saw - by chance - a longer TV introduction to it, and that was a longer film from game events revealing it as a really hectical and fast-paced FPS. Although the landscape and weather looks good, I have lost all interest for that reason.

[CCIP]

Well, can't entirely blame you of course - it is a bit hectic. At some points early on, you do get to wander many of the areas more freely of course, but yes, there is a lot of shooting going on in it. Not a peaceful exlorer's game or even a game of stealth at that (though cover still plays an important role).

[Skybird]

the ingame footage they showed reminded me of the Far Cry game - the later levels that were flooded with mutants and when all sneaking and slow moving was gone and the gameplay pretty much degenerated into a stupid frenzy. I loved the early outside levels of Far Cry, but found it dissapointing to see how gameplay detoriated because of this silly idea with the mutants. they should have sticked with human mercenaries exclusively.

Maybe I get Stalker in a year for 10 Euros

Or better I just see the film again. Then it is even free (have it on DVD and VHS as well).

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

I wish you could drive tanks:

Me too!

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Skybird

the ingame footage they showed reminded me of the Far Cry game - the later levels that were flooded with mutants and when all sneaking and slow moving was gone and the gameplay pretty much degenerated into a stupid frenzy. I loved the early outside levels of Far Cry, but found it dissapointing to see how gameplay detoriated because of this silly idea with the mutants. they should have sticked with human mercenaries exclusively.

Maybe I get Stalker in a year for 10 Euros

Or better I just see the film again. Then it is even free (have it on DVD and VHS as well).

Hmm...Sneaking is an option, and has always been an option since the beginning of the game. I've played the brute force method most of the way through - taking on firefights everywhere. You won't last long going straight into it with even the best body armor (like about 2 seconds worth!), so tactics in your fights (running to cover, etc) are very important. I usually use sneaking to make sure I get the first shot in myself.

I have been changing back to sneaking now since the best armor is terribly expensive, and besides, I don't want to deal with certain enemies on my way to whatever objective I am after. I've managed to pick up a silenced sniper rifle now as my primary weapon (The one in the tank pic above - the whole barrel is the muffler). I usually use the sneaking down in the labs, etc. You have 2 bars in your HUD - the left one shows you how much noise you are making and is shown in purple. The one on the right shows you if you're about to be noticed - if the bar gets to the top, you are seen and then ahve to deal with friends and company too.

This does not mean you can't sneak the whole way through the game by the way, and utilize a silenced pistol and knife the whole time if that is what you want to do.

The mutants are a rarity compared to troops and other STALKER's. And it is not an RPG - you did not level up in Thief or similar games, and you do not level up here. You can modify your stats with artifacts, but most artifacts have a negative side effect that goes along with whatever positive thing they bring.

Last but not least, I keep hearing assault rifles and guns of all types are inaccurate. This is not true. I can take anyone down with a decent assault rifle from any distance - especially if you find a scope for it (Which you can dismount if you want to and use it on another rifle of your choosing - as long as it is compatible with the mounts on that rifle). Yeah, I may have only a 75% hit rate at 300 meters with an AK-74/2, but how would this be different from every day life? If you don't aim, you won't hit at long range - period. I bet people are not using the sights and trying to hit things from shooting from the hip - that doesn't work well at any range other than close range. If you crouch down, your rifle becomes way more accurate - especially if you go to a low crouch.

The point is - I have never had a problem shooting anything or anyone from range with any rifle in the game. Even the shotgun goes a decent range when using slugs.

-S

PS. If it is the Half Life rat in a maze feel that you don't like - this game doesn't have that kind of feel. That is one of the best things about it. If you want to return to the beginning of the zone because something is there that you left in a box 2 weeks ago, you can go all the way back and get it!

[kiwi_2005]

Is the gun modeling this bad? I mean the shooting, or is it just me, or cause im using a fix. I finished it, and by the time i got to the end i was glad, but ive gone back a few saves to complete all the side missions i was hoping once you finish it, your be able to carry on and roam around where side missions would generate. Nope just a short shooter really. enjoyable had its moments, but short and over. Next!

*Spoiler*

Ending: My character wished for the land to disappear, It did everything started turning like a paradise. But the catch - He becomes blind.