I was standing all alone at my table. The bar was dimly lit, the voices in the room seemed like whispers, and the barkeep was staring at me, like he knew what I’ve been through. It was a hard day. I’ve spent all morning being chased by pseudo-dogs, while trying not to end up maimed in case I ran into an anomaly. Not to add that I had over fifty kilos in my backpack and enough vodka to drown the barkeep in a death he’d enjoy. I didn’t find the crash-site I was looking for, but I looted a few artefacts along the way. At least I’m going to make some cash to stock up on supplies and ammo. Although, my chances of getting out of the Zone are pretty slim.

 

 

Isn’t this a pitiful existence? You may very well die in a forgotten corner of the Zone, without anyone giving a damn about your fate… It’s dark already. I walked outside the bar for a few seconds, just to test the air. I know the mutants are deadlier at night, and the gruesome Chimeras awaken from their slumber to hunt down whatever breathes, but, the technician just upgraded my suit and assault rifle. So I’m just going to risk it. If I won’t come back, no one’s going to miss me. If I do come back however, no one will give a damn, but at least a warm bed shall greet me. I’m going out…

In The Shadow of Chernobyll

Call of Pripyat is the long awaited sequel in the S.T.AL.K.E.R. series. It followed the adventures of the mysterious stalker called Strelok from the first game, Shadow of Chernobyll. Although Clear Sky, the game that came after it, was a prequel to the series, tried to innovate gameplay, add more depth, but in the end, failed to achieve anything. The numerous bugs and technical issues made the game a must-have only for the die-hard fans of the series. But now, Call of Pripyat is here to show us that these crazy Ukrainians have put their ears to the fans' plights, and given the world a sequel worthy of its name.

In terms of gameplay, everything has been improved. And when I say “improved”, I mean better than Shadow of Chernobyll, not Clear Sky. To be honest, Clear Sky only added an awesome graphics engine and some more role-playing elements, but that is all. If you think that SoC was the apogee of the GSC Game World’s design prowess, think again. The first game, although littered with bugs that corrupted the gameplay, with a huge map that was chopped into bits that required draconic loading times, has managed to crawl into the hearts of innumerable passionate folk, that created plenty of mods, that aided the game's atmosphere, gameplay and so on. People realised that underneath some lumps of coal, lies a great diamond. And just like a diamond, it just needed some polish. Now we find ourselves in the gracious year 2010, playing Call of Pripyat, a stand alone add-on, which is lengthier than three other first person shooters put together. And that’s not the only impressive detail we’ll stumble upon. I’d like to say that this game comes up with a dozen of changes and improvements, but it doesn’t. So what justifies my excitement? Well, the guys at GSC decided not to cock up the formula they got famous for, so they did what their fans did, only with a bigger budget. They polished Call Of Pripyat so well, that it transformed the title into a brilliant gem, that has to be played by everyone, just to enjoy the awe and the goose bumps which indubitably are experienced by the player.

 

 

Roadside Picnic

It's common knowledge that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was inspired by a great book by Arkadi and Boris Strugatsky, called Roadside Picnic. The supernatural imbibed in existentialism and anthropological anguish are wonderfully transformed from a stack of pages, into an awesome gaming experience. GSC have stepped a bit back from the mystery and tried to engage the player from the first minutes of play. Did they succeed? Hell yeah. Let me elaborate: we are no longer a lonely stalker wandering the Zone in search for fame, glory or revenge. Now, our purpose is explained right from the start. As a USS special agent, impersonating a random stalker, we are sent in the Zone to find out what happened to five helicopters that mysteriously crashed with no apparent reason. The crash sites are already marked on our PDA, so there’s a great sense of purpose right off the bat. It’s interesting that the game consists of only three huge maps, but that ensures that the loading times are of a minimum intensity, and the developers have managed to give a more meticulous run to the level design. Every map is incredibly executed, with landmarks that make sure you don’t get lost in the unforgiving environment and some visual effects that will blow you away. Although the X-Ray engine is beginning to show its age, the numerous tweaks and improvements still make the Zone a believable place. And not to mention that it supports DirectX 11, so if you own a high-end PC, your retinas will enjoy multiple orgasms.

 

Radioactive Role-Play

We all know that the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series have been renowned for their awesome role-playing elements, but we have never guessed that this first person shooter can really take the role-playing first person shooter so far, especially in terms of RPG atmosphere. Now, some missions can be finished without pulling a trigger once, some branching dialogue options offer different ways to finish a quest, and so on. Because this aspect has been improved, the addition of achievements was inevitable. And similar to any RPG, your efforts are valued and different approaches to certain situations may award you with a well-deserved trophy. It’s nice to see that a piece of software values you as a player. It’s an oppressing environment, thus a bit of cuddles and reassurances are exactly what you need, as a 2010 gamer to keep going in this wonderful adventure.

 

And I shall abruptly end this article. I feel I’ve written these words lying in a ditch, hiding from a radioactive emission, scribbling whatever I can on this torn piece of paper I found lying on the side of the road. It’s morning and I’m alive, so that’s a plus that keeps things in perspective. Too bad the military have camped themselves right in front of the ditch’s exit. I left my sniper rifle in my stash, but I did find a lame-ass 1.6X scope on the corpse of another stalker, so if I attach it on my assault rifle, I may have a chance to take out a few of them, and in the chaos, I’ll probably manage to take cover at the farm ruin on the nearby hill-top. Here goes nothing…