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

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1886 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,528 out of 1886
  2. Mixed: 208 out of 1886
  3. Negative: 150 out of 1886
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  1. KylebK.
    Mar 23, 2007
    10
    This is a great game and a huge persistent world with realtime weather and day change. There are awesome enemies it just takes a while to progress. If you like free roaming exploration and a storyline that isn't just fed to you with a kickass atmosphere get this game. you will get lost in it. Think HL2 meets Fallout 2 meets F.E.A.R. meets Oblivion, with better graphics. better have This is a great game and a huge persistent world with realtime weather and day change. There are awesome enemies it just takes a while to progress. If you like free roaming exploration and a storyline that isn't just fed to you with a kickass atmosphere get this game. you will get lost in it. Think HL2 meets Fallout 2 meets F.E.A.R. meets Oblivion, with better graphics. better have at least a radeon X800 or Geforce 7900 GS with a decent processor though.… Expand
  2. BobP.
    Mar 22, 2007
    2
    The AI in the game is really good, by far the best feature. The graphics may be good, but the horrible performance requires a state-of-the-art card to see it. My card is decent, even runs Oblivion with stunning detail and AA, and yet in this game its bad. The lack of fine tuning graphics options gives me a choice of static lighting with max details or decent lighting with details on The AI in the game is really good, by far the best feature. The graphics may be good, but the horrible performance requires a state-of-the-art card to see it. My card is decent, even runs Oblivion with stunning detail and AA, and yet in this game its bad. The lack of fine tuning graphics options gives me a choice of static lighting with max details or decent lighting with details on minimum -- both of which look like crap. Moreso changing the lighting requires a full restart, which is bad since the load times horrendously long. The movies play at the frame rate you render a scene at -- so if you have anything less than 30fps they play at that and look bad. The intro movie plays before you can even tweak options.. The controls are bad (why do i have to hold two keys to get slightly better COF). The missions are OK, but poor directions and distances: 2 kilometers north is just over that ridge the blue arrow points (or was it red for north), realistically 1000 feet at most. Execution of said missions is bad. One mission was to 'stop the rebels attacking'. I get to one rebel left, I fail the mission. I kill the last rebel and I succeed the mission. By the time im done looting the bodies, another wave comes. By the time I kill them, two more waves come. This is well after I succeed eliminating the attack. Whats the point of tactical combat if you arent given time to scavenge much needed ammo and weapons. Guess im supposed to stick to the non-story 'kill boars' missions. Maybe its just a matter of bugs that will be worked out in a future patch, but right now its not even worth playing, and definitely not worth the money.… Expand
  3. Kyleb
    Mar 21, 2007
    3
    After playing it a good 8+ hours now I have to say I'm hugely disappointed. The great initial concept of the game is wasted with mundane and frustrating game play. The missions are uninspired fetch quests and the level design is almost non-existent. On the easiest settings I'm frequently killed and subjected to lengthy reloads. I've yet to encounter any compelling story After playing it a good 8+ hours now I have to say I'm hugely disappointed. The great initial concept of the game is wasted with mundane and frustrating game play. The missions are uninspired fetch quests and the level design is almost non-existent. On the easiest settings I'm frequently killed and subjected to lengthy reloads. I've yet to encounter any compelling story line--surprisingly the Chernobyl meltdown is hardly even mentioned. The "anomalies" are all just variations of the same thing. Little flickering distortions in the air that you have to avoid or take damage. Some are kind of fiery, some kind of windy--you just walk around them automatically after 10 minutes. The quest system is just plain broken. I'm constantly informed I just failed a quest that I didn't even know I had undertaken, or that I fulfilled some obscure aspect of a quest I've never heard of. There's no sense of whether I'm advancing the main storyline or just doing odd jobs. (Starting the game as a character with amnesia doesn't' help). The game this reminds me of more than any is "Postal 2: Share the Pain" Yeah, everybody groan in unison. Big sprawling zones with huge reload times, factions of NPCs that are either enemy or friend depending how you treat them, and endless, non-tactical firefights against other paramilitary types. And the thing that's really ticking me off is that 99.9% of the enemies so far have been regular humans. I've faced two scary mutants and a bunch of Resident Evil zombie dogs. Every other baddie is a carbon copy of my character. I don't know what the hell these guys have been working on all these years, but it wasn't hordes of cool creatures like I was hoping. Finally, on a positive note, STALKER was inspired by the science fiction short story "Roadside Picnic" which I began reading along with playing the game. Ironically I find myself eager to quit the $50 game to go and read the free story. It's really cool! In the story, the Zone is a total A$$ kicker and the anomalies are lethal bits of freaky, alien nastiness. It's great stuff.… Expand
  4. MichaelR.
    Mar 21, 2007
    9
    I am absolutely astounded by how good this game is. If it is not the stunning graphics and effects, the realistic physics, the brilliant AI, the gameplay and the vast size of the world, it's the superb atmosphere. The game runs exceptionally well on my pc, though it occasionally crashes to the desktop (hopefully, this will be addressed in a patch). I have waited almost four years for I am absolutely astounded by how good this game is. If it is not the stunning graphics and effects, the realistic physics, the brilliant AI, the gameplay and the vast size of the world, it's the superb atmosphere. The game runs exceptionally well on my pc, though it occasionally crashes to the desktop (hopefully, this will be addressed in a patch). I have waited almost four years for this game, and I am extremely happy that it has fulfilled all my wishes.… Expand
  5. Wazoo
    Mar 20, 2007
    9
    + Fantastic atmosphere. + VERY good AI that flanks (even in the vertical!) and uses cover. + Very stable for me. Not one CTD yet. + Impressive graphics engine that makes the environment believable. + HUGE draw distances + Weapon accuracy/ballistics just "feels" real (bullets impact at distance with nice dispersal effect witnessed by bullet impact graphics/lighting) + Firefights, between + Fantastic atmosphere. + VERY good AI that flanks (even in the vertical!) and uses cover. + Very stable for me. Not one CTD yet. + Impressive graphics engine that makes the environment believable. + HUGE draw distances + Weapon accuracy/ballistics just "feels" real (bullets impact at distance with nice dispersal effect witnessed by bullet impact graphics/lighting) + Firefights, between the enemy AI and the ballastics, are just wicked fun! + Very open ended gameplay. Fun for explorers. + Non-scripted activity abounds! The world feels alive. Seriously. - Real resource hog with type lighting effects. Running on 7800GTX SLI OC'd, X2 4800+, 2gig and can maintain over 30fps in 1600x1024 with HDR *most* of the time. High object density areas can dip it into the high-teens. - Story is weak. If English is the writer's first language, he/she has the literary skills of an 8th grader. - Overall lacks "polish"; mouse wheel works poorly with map, fonts often look like place holders, need to push-and-hold to maintain "iron-sight" view. etc. etc. - Economic system seems imbalanced. Seems a bit too easy to get cash and not too much to buy.… Expand
  6. ColonelH.
    Mar 19, 2007
    8
    At the end of the day it's a solid and enjoyable game, but after all this time I was expecting a little more. Just a bit more polish. Still, it will probably go down as one of the top PC games of 2007 (even though it should really have been 2004 or 2005). In time it will probably come to be regarded as a classic.
  7. MarketG>
    Mar 18, 2007
    9
    Shows plenty of positive aspects of the developers. Worth the wait for just like aging a vintage red a Penfold maybe? Atmospherically I give this title a 10 over F.E.A.R & without the claustrophobic & bland environments of both F.E.A.R & Doom 3 too. This game win hands down...
  8. Inabil1ty
    Mar 17, 2007
    6
    Most of what Marked One said is true, except for the likening of the visuals to F.E.A.R. and Oblivion. The graphics are not nearly as good as they are in those two titles. And Marked One also failed to point out that the game is, for the most part, boring. Unlike Oblivion, characters don't actually talk in STALKER. Instead, you'll get a big paragraph or two to read. Fun!Most of what Marked One said is true, except for the likening of the visuals to F.E.A.R. and Oblivion. The graphics are not nearly as good as they are in those two titles. And Marked One also failed to point out that the game is, for the most part, boring. Unlike Oblivion, characters don't actually talk in STALKER. Instead, you'll get a big paragraph or two to read. Fun! Not. And the weapons are underpowered and most lack scopes, even though you need to do a lot of long-distance shooting. The graphics and shooting experience reminded me of Red Orchestra, not Fear and Oblivion. This game has been overhyped! It's very disappointing.… Expand
  9. MarkedOne
    Mar 3, 2007
    10
    This game is very impressive and atmospheric. AI behaves in very intelligent way - think CoD2 where soldiers after battle sit around the fire, playing guitar, telling jokes and drinking vodka. You can talk to every stalker, ask him about rumors, try to trade or ask for a quest. Gameplay is about doing quests, roaming around the Chernobyl zone, avoiding deadly "anomalies" and radiactive This game is very impressive and atmospheric. AI behaves in very intelligent way - think CoD2 where soldiers after battle sit around the fire, playing guitar, telling jokes and drinking vodka. You can talk to every stalker, ask him about rumors, try to trade or ask for a quest. Gameplay is about doing quests, roaming around the Chernobyl zone, avoiding deadly "anomalies" and radiactive area and battling with bandits, military, mutants and aggressive wildlife. Zone represent area around Chernobyl with forests, plains, city of Pripyat, nuclear plant itself, small willages, roads and soviet Ukraine cars and trains wrecks. The game is mostly FPS but RPG elements are very strong. You have an inventory and doll for different types of gear. Every weapon have it's stats and durability. Every character have a name, inventory and an opinion about you. There is a player reputation system. If you help a dying stalker with a medikit he will become your friend. If you come close to neutral stalkers with weapon drawn they will warn you and if you don't listen, they will open fire and become hostile. You can use zone artifacts to improve your stats. Inventory is limited to weight you can carry. There are many quests in game - main quest line and side quests, many of them are time-limited. Models and textures are a bit outdated but light and shadows are very impressive. System requirements are somewhat high but it's not a big problem. I'd say they are close to F.E.A.R. requirements - slightly higher though. You can also use lower graphics settings on old video cards. After two days of gameplay I experienced a few minor AI and graphics glitches and only one CTD. Game is pretty stable and it lets you use Alt+Tab with no problems. Summary - if you want to imagine what is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. looks like... it's like F.E.A.R. meets Oblivion in living world of very realistic Chernobyl area. P.S. There IS eating and anti-radiation vodka drinkin in game. If character don't eat very long it will starve to death.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Best PC Game of 2007
7
#7 Most Discussed PC Game of 2007
8
#8 Most Shared PC Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 44 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 44
  3. Negative: 0 out of 44
  1. PC Zone UK
    85
    As a brave experiment in all-action shootery, STALKER has certainly succeeded, though with its dearth of personality and many peculiar foibles, you can't help but wish that the publishers had granted GSC some extra time to polish their creation. Oh, hang on a minute... [Apr 2007, p.56]
  2. Eurogamer
    80
    It's a warped behemoth from the Ukraine, and one of the scariest games on the PC. Stalker will remind you of all kinds of prior games, and yet it will also defy your expectations. Like the mythological Chernobyl zone it is based upon, this game is a treacherous, darkly beautiful terrain. Not everyone is going to enjoy venturing into the zone, but some of those who do will find what they've been looking for.
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  3. Computer and Video Games
    80
    Littered with a variety of anomalies which can cause the unwary to explode and other delightful stuff, mutant doggies, deserted buildings, weather effects, real-time day/night cycles etc. etc. - it creates a deliciously unique atmosphere.
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