A game which hid in its own shadow of development, now chases the shadows of Chernobyl...Does it survive?

User Rating: 6.3 | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl PC
By -Desalbert- | Review Date:
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl was one of those games that I witnessed only momentarily flashing by the screen on any given G4-TechTV show, or Gamespot Bulletin. The fact is, to me, without knowing the concept it simply looked a Half-Life 2 port. Now, after some years, the game has finally hit shelves while also forgetting to hit a home run...or even some expected marks. The truth of the matter is that STALKER could have been FAR more than it is... A dirty, uninspired and empty looking world with tremendously wretched graphics. The fact that 98% of then dialogue is text-only, and further, that most of this dialogue is composed TERRIBLY with phrases only a ten-year old could love ("Oh cool, that's awesome" was one seasoned Stalkers response to my rescuing of a friend of his) makes this game all the more intolerable.

The game really doesn't feel that inspired, the plot, dialogue, graphics, and even sound are all half-baked and sub-par, But I'll give it a few positives.

It seems to have decent AI, aware of reload times of the player, and basic flanking procedures.

The game has a great premise and idea, which may be better suited to a Television Show or Film...Both of which I would watch

It does a good job with a trade system (Item for Item) Has a decent sense of post-apocalyptic atmosphere

The idea of Stalker competition had me excited

All in all, you probably should check this one out via a demo or a sustained reading of other reviews to see if it floats your boat. Shooting people and stealing their items can be fun in the least, though, certainly not worth a purchase. By no means is the game terrible...It's just not very good

Friendly Corporate Reminder: PLEASE hire decent writers if you're going to make the player read through mountains of text.

Other Helpful Reviews for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

Load Comments (0)