AstroManLuca
Lifer
- Jun 24, 2004
- 15,628
- 5
- 81
The setting is the near future in an alternate timeline in which a second Chernobyl disaster created a big area (called The Zone) full of anomalies and mutated beasts. Honestly I didn't even pay much attention to the story; both games (Shadow of Chernobyl and the prequel Clear Sky) start out with the typical amnesia backstory for the main character. It essentially plays like a post-apocalyptic RPG like Fallout 3, with various groups of scavengers, mercenaries, bandits, and so on, roaming around the Zone. Nighttime in Clear Sky is very creepy and dark, and all you have to see is a little flashlight.
One thing that sets it apart from other RPGs is that you don't have any ability points whatsoever. All your abilities are granted by equipment. As you progress through the game, you find artifacts (which can be either sold or worn in your armor to grand you a certain benefit), as well as better weapons and armor. The difference between low-end, midrange, and high end weapons is so great that finding better weapons is essentially equivalent to leveling up. The prequel, Clear Sky, improves on that formula by making weapon upgrades and repairs available. In the first game, weapons and armor would gradually degrade in condition until they broke and then you'd have to find a replacement. In Clear Sky, you can upgrade your weapon and repair it. You can tailor your upgrades to fit your combat style.
The other nice thing is that there are tons of mods available for both games so you can change pretty much anything you want. Sadly, this is practically essential as there are several aspects of each game that don't work quite right unless you fix them with mods.
I think it has the essentials of what you're looking for, though. It's open-ended, and the world is truly bigger than the player character. Factions will sometimes battle it out without any input from you. Unlike a lot of RPGs, where it seems as though everyone and everything was designed solely for the amusement of the player, the STALKER world actually feels like it'll go on without you. Biggest problems are the number of bugs and the lack of a good fast travel system, which will take some getting used to. There is limited fast travel in Clear Sky, but you have to pay quite a lot to use it.
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