S.t.a.l.k.e.r.: Shadow of Chernobyl (impressions video inside)

[Spider]

Where do you get teh better armor? I'm dying like crazy here

 

I got it when I got to the bar. And the quest that takes you to the bar also gives you an insane weapon (at least if you're paying attention).

 

So, anybody got bored of it yet? Is it truly a classic, or does it feel like this Gothic 3 "what the heck am I doing there" effect?

 

I think it plays a lot like Gothic 3. And yes, in that respect as well. The story is nothing spectacular (so far), but it's not really important for the game either. I'd say it plays as a cross between Gothic 3 and the original Ghost Recon (although a little less so now that I've got better weapons and armor).

Edited March 23, 2007 by Spider

[Tale]

I got my first thing of better armor before I headed to the bar. The documents you're retrieving from some lab or whatever, there's a side room with lockers that has a suit of armor in the lockers. I found a couple of places like this. That was the first, I think. Then I found another that had a good suit of armor, just after I purchased it.

 

I just found out there's 7 endings and I only know 3 of them. Looks like it's replay time!

Edited March 23, 2007 by Tale

[Bokishi]

How do I take on that army in area 3?

[Tale]

How do I take on that army in area 3?

Move quickly to get there so that most of the Stalkers are still alive when you arrive.

[Bokishi]

then what

[Tale]

Did you get the mission to protect the stalkers from them?

[Pop]

then what

Find some good cover. I usually take the first opportunity to sprint forwards to the right side of the train cars and double back so you have a clear shot of the military from behind, they probably won't even notice you till you start taking pot shots at them. Lean and do the zoom-in thing with the right mouse button, crouch behind the big concrete platform. Your best bet gun-wise is the AK-74. For some reason none of the other guns I've tried do much against the military (it's not impossible, but it's certainly difficult) Also, this is a highly tactical game, so don't skimp on the grenades. They also **** up military dudes. But save most of those for the catacombs, because you'll really wish you had some then.

 

Also, once you're done cleaning up the first wave of military ****s in the trainyard, loot bodies and heal your buddies, or what's left of them. The second military wave will kill them easily, but you'll distract the enemies enough to maybe get a good defensible point.

But yeah, get the AK and start stockpiling ammo.

Edited March 23, 2007 by Pop

[Bokishi]

ok i killed the army and saved the guy and he directed me to go into the sewer and now im lost, what do i do

[mkreku]

My advice: play Call of Duty (or any other linear shooter) instead.

[Bokishi]

Yeah I'll probably go buy a strategy guide or something

[Calax]

Yeah I'll probably go buy a strategy guide or something

gamefaqs is your friend.

[Tale]

Yeah I'll probably go buy a strategy guide or something

gamefaqs is your friend.

At this rate, I'm going to end up being the first one to put a FAQ on gamefaqs. There's none up!

[Calax]

Yeah I'll probably go buy a strategy guide or something

gamefaqs is your friend.

At this rate, I'm going to end up being the first one to put a FAQ on gamefaqs. There's none up!

theres still the board.

[Morgoth]

I think it plays a lot like Gothic 3. And yes, in that respect as well. The story is nothing spectacular (so far), but it's not really important for the game either. I'd say it plays as a cross between Gothic 3 and the original Ghost Recon (although a little less so now that I've got better weapons and armor).

That's not so good. I thought G3 had pretty loose narrative, there just wasn't enough reason to travel long distances just to receive a totally supeficial and useless quest. *yawn* I like freeform/Sandbox games, but there alsways must be a red line to follow that keeps me interested.

[Slowtrain]

I think this is a totally awesome game. I'm still pretty early, not even at the Garbage yet, just crossed the railroad and met with Fox, because I've been doing every job and poking my nose into every nook and cranny. I finally realized you can break open those blue boxes that look like cases and they have stuff inside. I found out by accident when I was climbing around in the rafters of the old mill and kicked one of the boxes off the edge and it shattered three floors below on the ground and a bunch of stuff popped out. I've got three different types of armor, 7 different firearms, a ton of money and supplies, a variety of artifacts. Scavenging is awesome! Corpses are SO easy to find since their PDAs show up gray on your minimap, and since the zone is dynamic there are always new bodies to find. I love it.

 

The attention to detail in the gameworld is amazing. I love how the wild dogs start to limp once they've been hurt and how the boars will chase them around and kill then and eat them. The boars also munch on dead stalkers. The wildlife AI is the best I've ever seen by far. Its great that the wildlife doesn't single you out for attack like it does in ES games. For the most part the wildlife seems content just to run around carrying out its own thing regardless of your presence. SOmetimes they wil run up close to you, like they are curious, then turn around quickly and run away. Gunshots will sometimes startle them, often scare them, sometimes draw the attention of some of the more unpleasant ones. Its cool how the vocalizations that the animals use change when they decide to attack you. EVen when they attack you, often a simple gunshot will scare them off. And if you actaully shoot them, many times they do break off their attack. I've been collecting animal parts as well though I haven't found a use for them yet since the trader doesn't buy them.

 

I've found a couple places in the first area I can't go yet because of radiation levels, but I'll get there eventually.

 

One thing I did which made a big difference in combat was a small remapping of the keyboard. Most importantly I bound sprint to mouse2 and use medkit to mouse3. Really helps having those critical functions all on one hand along with fire weapon rather than spread out all over the keyboard.

Edited March 24, 2007 by CrashGirl

[mkreku]

I've only been playing since yesterday (unlike Spider, the bastard) but so far this game is awesome. It's not as free-form as I had thought it would be. I was under the impression that the zone was one gigantic place that you could get lost in forever if you wanted to, but it's not. It's actually divided into smaller zones that are all surrounded by a ridiculously low fence. That fence is supposed to be the thing that keeps you and the rest of the stalkers trapped inside the zone and fighting for survival like beasts. It's barely high enough to reach your waist! The zones have loading times between them, and most missions demand that you move around quite a lot between the zones, so it's not exactly a Gothic-like experience (no loading times whatsoever), but the zone parts are still big enough to give you that vital sense of exploration.

 

Anyhow, once that disappointment settled, I noticed how difficult this game was. My first missions involved cleaning an old garage from bandits. I had a pistol, they were eight trained bandits with shotguns! I tried sneaking around, but it's almost impossible. Mostly because I suck at it and their AI really works. Once I figured out the best tactics though, I've been unstoppable (yes, with my puny pistol). And since I'm the explorer type too, I'm not very far in the story either. But I think I've found basically everything the game has tried to hide from me (which is a lot!).

 

I love how the game throws out those little hints about hidden treasures sometimes when you search through bodies. I really recommend that you find each and everyone of them: they can be incredibly valuable! Right now, I have a powerful assault rifle with a 4x scope and a body armour that gives me a radar (that shows not only friends but enemies in my near vicinity, night vision and the ability to walk through electricity, fire and radiation almost without damage). I found a gigantic revolver that fires grenades instead of bullets. I even found a silent sniper rifle that's brutally powerful (although I still haven't found much ammo for it)!

 

I also have a bunch of artifacts that only give me positives. One of them makes me able to sprint for several minutes at a time, even with my inventory full. Highly recommended!

 

The graphics weren't that impressive at first, but they've really grown on me. They have a subtle Russian touch about them that's just so cool. And everything's so detailed! The physics are also impressive, but the thing that's the best is the lighting effects. They're probably the best I've ever seen in any game. I love the way the flashlights work! They really look like light, casting shadows all around, brightening up the spot they hit directly and generally looking awesome!

 

Anyhow, I'm having a blast. Although I still have no clue exactly what I am supposed to do. I've read through all your descriptions of your games in the zone though, and it's so cool how dynamic this game seems to be. My experience (apart from the first few missions) sounds nothing like your guys experiences! I'm hoping it keeps up this way as I'm working my way closer to the centre of the zone.

[Slowtrain]

The flashlight is totally awesome.

 

The low fences are silly as hell, but eh, its a game, they got to do something to limit certain things.

[Slowtrain]

I was out exploring at night in the rain and I ran into a group of several well-armed bandits. They chased me into an abandoned farmhouse so I climbed into the attic, waited until all their lights were in the room below me, then dropped a hand grenade on them through a hole in the floor.

[Pidesco]

[mkreku]

I've played some more today. Ran into a zombie infested laboratory and almost became a zombie myself. But I managed to find a scientist who made me some weird item that protects me from "zombie waves" (or something) so now I'm free to destroy a "Brain Scorcher", whatever the hell that is.

 

I've been tampering with the arena a little too. It's very difficult because you go in without any of your real equipment (armour included) and you're given a weapon with very little ammo. Then it's up to you and another guy to duke it out in front of an audience. The problem is that the weapons you are given are not very accurate, and the guy you're facing always seems to be more accurate than you. You also die from just a few shots so you need to be careful. It's fun nevertheless.

 

I have a problem with my main weapon. It's beginning to jam up quote often, but I haven't found anything even close to being able to replace it when it falls apart. And the manual says nothing about repairing weapons, so I guess that's out of the question. Too bad, because this is the first weapon I've had that I've been able to hit things with regularly. Every other weapon I have is barely able to hit a barn.. from the inside.

 

Still having lots of fun though. Incredibly atmospheric game.

Edited March 24, 2007 by mkreku

[Slowtrain]

I have a problem with my main weapon. It's beginning to jam up quote often, but I haven't found anything even close to being able to replace it when it falls apart. And the manual says nothing about repairing weapons, so I guess that's out of the question. Too bad, because this is the first weapon I've had that I've been able to hit things with regularly. Every other weapon I have is barely able to hit a barn.. from the inside.

 

 

There isn't any way to repair them. I love it that way since it forces you to keep scavenging, even if you have something good. Also, you need to carry a backup to use for less critical combats to avoid wear and tear on your main weapon. The combination of weapon wear, ammo constraints, and inventory carry weight makes for a good deal of consideration overe what to carry and what to drop. Much more interesting than a standard FPS where you can carry three tons of munitions.

[Slowtrain]

spoiler question for start of second zone:

 

 

When you first enter the zone you get a mission to help the small group of stalkers in the junkyard. I fought off the bandit attack easily enough (grenades + assault rifles are teh awesome!) and got my reward from the lead stalker. But almost immediately a whole bunch more bandits showed up. I fought for a few minutes but then decided it was a losing proposition since there appeared to be a huge respawning going, so in true scavenger style I ran away. Is there anyway to save the stalkers there? It didn't seem possible based on the numbers of bandits that were spawning.

 

[Spider]

 

I didn't get such a massive respawn at that time, although there are a lot of bandits in that area. Sooner or later they will overrun the Stalker encampment. When you're not around if nothing else. But the Stalkers also respawn, so the next time you get there, they'll probably have drive the bandits off.

 

That place, and the hangar later in the same zone, really collects a LOT of corpses.

 

[kumquatq3]

I think it plays a lot like Gothic 3. And yes, in that respect as well. The story is nothing spectacular (so far), but it's not really important for the game either. I'd say it plays as a cross between Gothic 3 and the original Ghost Recon (although a little less so now that I've got better weapons and armor).

That's not so good. I thought G3 had pretty loose narrative, there just wasn't enough reason to travel long distances just to receive a totally supeficial and useless quest.

 

That's the case here. Alot of times I exit that game upon learning I have to travel to spot X, a ten or 15 minute trip, yet again and it's going to involve me executing a bunch of peons upon the way that apparently don't realize that I'm a freaking tank at this point. I stopped doing side quest because it's just not worth it. I'm already Uber-man with minimal side-questing. Not to mention often the reward you get is money, which I have WAY too much and nothing to spend it on. That's not just a problem that has hit me later in the game, I've just never had anything to spend it on in this game. I think I've bought some ammo, a scope, and a few health packs all game. The value of the side quests is that they tend to require you to stumble across some weapon or artifact that might actually be worth your time. Now if only I could find ammo for my grenade launcher.

 

Don't get me wrong, the games worth playing, it's just that people seem to be hyping it well above it's actually value. Those 8.0-8.5 got it about right.

[@\NightandtheShape/@]

Gothic... Has never managed to captivate me.

 

Stalker on the otherhand... I'm liking it.