S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

Improves on GSC's winning formula, ensuring STALKER is still the de facto hardcore FPS RPG. [Issue#30, p.50]

No other titles weave their magic in quite the same way, and you almost suspect Call of Pripyat's foibles are an integral part of how that magic works. This is a brave, brutal and often beautiful experience - not quite FPS, not quite RPG, not quite survival horror. It is Stalker. Importantly, few other games are.

The astounding realisation of this environment covers any mechanical cracks. [Mar 2010, p.90]

Call of Pripyat may not look as stunning as CoD:MW2 or Crysis, but it's still a very atmospheric, seizing and refreshingly different shooter... just like its predecessors that is. So if you consider yourself a fan of the series: Got get Call of Pripyat! It's definitely the best part of the saga.

If you’re willing to look past the look and feel of a shooter that’s past its heyday, what you’ll find in Pripyat is GSC’s magnum opus – an undeniable masterpiece built from years of trial and error, building and adapting new elements and ideas into the original STALKER template.

Third installment to the Stalker-series is by far the best iteration of the saga. When compared to the radioactive role-playing world of Fallout, the only things that this game is missing are experience points and some decent dialogue. The game is much closer to a simulator than an fps-game. In this perspective, it's odd, that all the weapons resemble pea-shooters. [Feb 2010]

It’s Stalker how it should have been right from the start, even though the graphics are not up to date anymore and the AI has a few problems. It’s a quality game and we can’t wait until Stalker 2 with better graphics.

Minor quibbles aside, this is an atmospheric and desolate experience that fans of the series will want to jump into.

For anyone who loves STALKER, it's hard to find a reason not to pick this one up. It offers the same free-roaming first person shooter action we've seen before with its signature foreboding atmosphere and a couple of new surprises.

Call of Pripyat is not only a return to form for the series, but a breath of fresh air for an increasingly stale genre. Recommended for fans of the previous games and newcomers alike, this is how a real PC FPS should work.

Call of Pripyat is one of those game that people just seem to miss. It’s incredibly moody and an intents experience. S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat is what Shadow of Chernobyl should have been.

Call of Pripyat has more varied missions and a really unique atmosphere which makes it better than Clear Sky and the most polished in the series.

Though it's not quite as surprising as the original, it's still a standout game that deserves to be given a chance by anyone that reads this.

Call of Pripyat is not perfect nor revolutionary, but for sure is the most complete game of the trilogy, and an excellent ending for this series.

Explore the Zone, find the artifact and evade the bullet. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is back, better than ever before.

Lazy opening of Stalker is hostile to the beginners and is uneasy even with the Zone veterans, but then the game gets better and better and lures all patient gamers deep into its story. [Issue#187]

Only the slight sensation of datedness prevents this from scoring higher, and no doubt once the mods start flowing the value for money will get even better. But there's plenty here to keep the faithful feeling extremely optimistic about the prospect of a proper sequel. And there's still nothing out there quite like STALKER.

The most stable S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game yet also happens to be the most atmospheric and compelling.

It's not much of a sequel but this remains a superior mix of role-player, shooter and survival horror.

But as the third game in a trilogy, it feels too much like a common scene presented uncommonly well. The Zone is still as ashen and eerily alive as ever, the NPCs still sling out more "bros" than a frat boy, and the Major's path through the carnage remains largely unchanged from Strelok's, complete with the apparently requisite oddly abrupt final sprint through a horde of well-armed opposition.

A very gritty game, full of foreboding and a sense of deep hopelessness that's more than the sum of its parts. It sucks you in and manipulates that little element of your brain that never seems quite sure what's going on. Fans and newcomers alike will react with awe and fear in equal amounts if they dare step once more into the Zone.

Call of Pripyat is definitely the best STALKER game yet. It's a much tighter package, but for a budget title there is still a hell of a lot to do and The Zone still seems intent on killing you or scaring you senseless.

Full of radioactive goodness. [Apr 2010, p.84]

The STALKER game that we've always deserved, it's just a shame that it's three years too late. [Mar 2010, p.90]

The third installment in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series is among us, and develops again the action-RPG formula to achieve great results.

It's still a little rough around the edges, but it's a real pleasure to return to the Zone. [Issue#93, p.122]

Call of Pripyat is a return to the best S.T.A.L.K.E.R, the one which impressed us the first time with its fascinating setting. The Zone is again that scenario that chill us with its mystery and GSC shows they can listen to the fans and that they understand well what made great the series in first place. The only problem is a dangerous feeling of familiarity that goes badly with this kind of game, so we hope to see a deep evolution for the next project of the Ukrainian team, but meanwhile we'll enjoy the most polished entry of the series.

In conclusion, S.T.A.L.K.E.R Call of Pripyat is a fun first person shooter that features a very story driven game as opposed to its predecessors.

Poor-looking and sometimes a bit slow, the game is still a singular FPS, enlightened by a deliciously squalid atmosphere.

Shows cracks in places, but bleak, bloody and gripping. Bring on the mods! [Mar 2010, p.66]

Call of Pripyat manages to do a lot of things right, especially more than its predecessors. It’s form of gameplay probably isn’t well suited for everyone though.

One of the reasons why this game received a lower score is because it left too many things untold and, while I appreciate the effort to create an immersive authentic world laid to waste by a nuclear disaster, I simply can't escape the recurring feeling that something is missing in this game.

For all that it does and doesn't do, Call of Pripyat is a unique experience that only S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can be counted on to deliver behind the Irradiated Curtain.

GSC Game World finally delivers the sequel of one of the most innovative FPS of the decade. Finally bug-free, the game still suffers from a very slow pace that will discourage players accustomed to action-FPS, and doesn't add anything notable to the old formula. A shame, since the gameplay mechanics do work, and the story gets interesting after a while. If you're a fan of the original STALKER, grab it and have some more fun in the Zone. If you're not, you'd better stick with the first chapter.

GSC Game World delivers the best game in the franchises with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat. For many gamers it’ll feel like coming home because the developer has finally shown ‘The Zone’ as it should have been all along. Despite bugs and flaccid textures, everything is used to create the atmosphere in and around Tsjernobyl again. Fans of the series will be able to sigh a breath of releief and enjoy the moody setting. Even gamers who haven’t heard of this series before will enjoy it. Welcome to The Zone.

Great atmosphere, but the game looks outdated and has some flaws.

Call of Pripyat is an engaging episode of a franchise that is terribly missing a satisfying dialogue system. There are few innovations comparing this game to the previous episodes but the frantic pace and the intense ambiance make this new trip to Chernobyl a safe investment of money, capable of granting tens of hours of play. But you will have to be prepared to walk into the shoes of a Stalker.

Newcomers will probably find Call of Pripyat to be a less frustrating and more stable experience, while seeing the Zone's amazing environments with fresh eyes.

This is a game with ambitions that now outstrip the confines of an atrophying engine, but beneath the exterior lies a world rich in atmosphere - the credible and pervading horror of a landscape drawn with unusual finesse. [Mar 2010, p.95]

An apparent lack of resources stops GSC Gameworld from creating a complete and polished action game, but the mood and eerie setting make up for that.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat is in some way the best game in the series. The world is big and the world is more living than ever. Fans will love it, but for newcomers Call of Pripyat might be a bit too dated and inaccessible.

More of the same. The overabundant reuse of models and situations does not offer anything really capable to intrigue the videogamer.