Despite confusing and annoying glitches, Stalker delivers as an entertaining and well rounded shooter.
The game is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl, a game originally developed in Russia. If this game were to have any glaring problems, this would be one of them- The translation to English is sketchy at best, and some parts aren't even translated. My friend who speaks Russian fluently loved this game, but to us ignorant masses who don't, it can be a bit frustrating. However, it also creates a sense of authenticity to the experience as well. What is translated ranges from decent to downright terrible, with spoken dialog often not matching the subtitles at all. The game is also plagued by a massive amount of glitches that were apparently fixed in a patch later released, but I haven't updated- said patch also deletes all saved games, which I've put entirely too much time into to so easily delete.
However, once you get past the bugs and glitches, the game itself is a lot of fun. The plot, while linear, allows for a lot of free exploration, and the plot events don't feel entirely linear- you have the option not to pursue plot essential quests, nothing locks you into the plot. The sidequest HUD is a bit confusing at times, almost arbitrarily adding missions when you talk to a certain NPC or pick up an item, but these have little consequence to the gameplay, save for some confusion.
Where the game shines is the fun factor. The combat is intense, the AI is quite good, and the difficulty is set at a pace where it's rarely frustrating, but never gets boring. Plus, the inclusion of mutants and the like is a welcome touch, giving the game a touch of survival horror. For a game that marketed itself more as a survival horror than a FPS, it isn't *that* scary, but what was creepy was presented in such an original way that it still succeeded in freaking me out. Still, most of the game is spent in human vs human combat, but the variety kept it fun. Also, the ability to use magical artifacts you find around the zone to buff various attributes is a cool feature, despite overuse of said artifacts eventually giving you radiation poisoning.
The atmosphere set by this game is another high point- the desolation, loneliness, and general eeriness of it all is almost tangible, and the game usually leaves me feeling a bit unnerved. Many of the buildings seem like they were modeled after old Soviet facilities in Chernobyl, and many of them probably were. You get the sense that this place is truly a nuclear wasteland, run by crazed anarchist groups and criminal gangs all fighting over the artifacts, and there you are, a loner caught up in the mix.
The story starts with you being picked up after a car carrying corpses crashes, and returned to a merchant, who decides to help you search for your assassination target, a man named Strelok. You don't remember anything, but continue to fight your way through this nuclear wasteland, searching for tidbits of information on this man until you finally make your way to ground zero of the Chernobyl blast.
The plot breaks down in multiple areas, as there are a lot of contradictory messages going on at any given time. One of the weaknesses that I hope can be attributed to the translation is the fact that very little seems relevant to the central plot, and as you follow the linear plot, it all seems very chaotic at times- with a single text dialog with a NPC changing everything. However, I feel the real storyline is what you witness in the gameplay. While there are few in game cutscenes, the events you witness portray a world falling apart, becoming more and more unstable, and eventually beginning to break reality. There is something more going on in Chernobyl, and most people won't find it out on their first try. This game isn't necessarily the story of one person, it's the story of the zone, its people, its history, its story. The developers created a compelling world, it's just applying it to the main character where things get sketchy.
My first playthrough left me deeply confused, but then I looked online and realized there were numerous endings. That had me playing it again, and to this date I've gotten about 4 endings. The choices you make in the game direct the ending, a neat touch that I thought only Silent Hill could master. Turns out, Silent Hill still takes the throne- this game doesn't quite get it perfectly, but does it well.
But again, the storytelling breaks down at points. The actual cutscenes seem like they are from some different game at times. The in game cutscenes are nonexistant. Dialogs with merchants control nearly everything, and it's very easy to get important plot points lost in the sea of text you can get from random NPCs. However, the implementation of the endings was superb, and I feel that alone is worth mention.
The graphics are quite good, and some of the effects with the strange natural phenomena are very nice. The guns are all based on real weapons, and the look and feel of everything feels very gritty and real. The sounds is decent- nothing to write home about, and the music isn't particularly memorable.
Despite this game having many sub par aspects, I cannot downplay how much fun it is to play. The negative aspects are overshadowed by the general sense of awe one gets playing though it. And really, if a game is fun to play, draws you in, and gives you an awesome time, is there really that much to complain about?
Ultimately, this game fails on a lot of levels. The storytelling is superb on a world level, but the continuity is utter crap. The translations are horrific. There are countless glitches and bugs. However, it is a solid shooter with great gameplay and good replay value. And you get to run around with old soviet weapons killing zombies, mutants, and thieves. When you get down to it, I really honestly enjoyed the game, and despite it being more buggy than the national ant convention, it's a lot of fun. So try it out.