Thinking about getting STALKER

[Sniper82]

Before I buy this game is it a horror type game like Resident Evil series or Doom 3? I don't like these types of games much. I don't mind aliens and stuff but demons and zombies just makes me paranoid.

 

[apoppin]

a RPG completely disguised as a FPS where your foes are mostly human and human mutants ... you also get mutated dogs and other weird foes like zombie stalkers that had their brains burned ... but mostly originally human and animal mutants, the Army and factions of other STALKERS ... "Duty" and "Freedom" ... you can ally with either or neither [- join a "faction"]

it is set in near-future Chrenobyl, Ukraine with lots of radioactive hot spots that can damage you .... you are the "marked One" with Amnesia and a Past that you need to discover ... and to find out what is behind the weirdness in the Zone ... it is wide open like Oblivion but with transitions to sub maps ... you do a lot of shooting and get to upgrade your skills and get better weapons automatically ... you also can get "side quests" like DE and you "trade" for supplies. Your guns and armor wear out and the guns often jam ... you MUST "eat" and attend to bleeding wounds or you will continue to bleed ... you cannot access your inventory except in real time and the overall "feel" is gritty and semi-realistic ... a believable world that is "alive" ...

there are a couple of levels underground that are "spooky" ... but not more than 10% of the game ... a lot of it is wide open

if you have a nice rig, it looks great with everything maxed ... especially the lighting

look for the big thread here ... some hated it at first only to be sucked into it as they progressed

i really like it ... ~8.8/10 ... even the story is OK if you get the 'right' ending out of 7 possible endings.

 

[skace]

The underground pieces can be pretty damn nerve wracking though. Lots and lots of ambience, pipes hissing, screeching, weird noises, that kind of stuff. So if you have 0 tolerance for that kind of stuff, you probably won't make it past the first lab. But if you can man it up for a few areas, you should be fine.

 

[Sniper82]

Well I've played and beat Resident Evil 4 which wasn't bad but it had its moments. I could not play Doom III and didn't play much of the rest of the Resident Evils although me and my bro beat the 2nd. I even played and beat Fear, was a decent game but man it was spooky alot of the game but I fought my way through it.

 

[apoppin]

then you will have no problem with STALKER

 

[ManBearPig]

dont get it.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

If you can handle those games you can definitely handle stalker. Even with most of the spooky moments it gives you that WOW feeling afterwards because how immersed you felt. Stalker was one of those games that hand me going WOW out loud a lot of a points because of all the effects and the presentation. It's definitely a must play for this year.

 

[sandorski]

Some parts of Stalker freaked me out worse than FEAR. Stalkers freaky/scary parts are not just the few second bits used in FEAR, they go on for many minutes. After playing the game for 70+ hours I have become more comfortable with certain things, but on occasion I still get shocked. I think you might be a little freaked by the game by the sounds of it.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

Well after a while when your character is kicking ass you realize that the most dangerous enemies are the ones with guns and armor. The mutants are freaky but they often don't prove much of a challenge. If you can accept that fact you can enjoy the atmosphere quite nicely even in the freaky areas.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: xSkyDrAx
Well after a while when your character is kicking ass you realize that the most dangerous enemies are the ones with guns and armor. The mutants are freaky but they often don't prove much of a challenge. If you can accept that fact you can enjoy the atmosphere quite nicely even in the freaky areas.

True. I find the whole game rather dreadful, not to play, just the ambiance of it. It really is immersive.

Get a chuckle once in awhile though. Like the Duty leader saying, "What, are you deaf? What are you here?" I always imagine how Woody Allen might respond to such questions.

 

[CrystalBay]

The first time through, the under ground parts are very cool.... It is a freaky game ..... The last parts a very memorable.... The underground parts are kinda Doomish but freaky short...
Just be sure to F6 a lot...
This game takes a little more strategy than a basic FPS. cause the AI is good.

P.S .S.82 your rig should handle very well.

 

[zylander]

STALKER is A LOT of fun, apoppin summed it up very nicely. The scary parts do not last too long, but they can get to you. Im in an underground research facility right now and I need to wait till its daylight outside to continue...no way in hell I am playing that area in the dark.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: zylander
STALKER is A LOT of fun, apoppin summed it up very nicely. The scary parts do not last too long, but they can get to you. Im in an underground research facility right now and I need to wait till its daylight outside to continue...no way in hell I am playing that area in the dark.

Haha I'm not the only one then!

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Sylvanas

Originally posted by: zylander
STALKER is A LOT of fun, apoppin summed it up very nicely. The scary parts do not last too long, but they can get to you. Im in an underground research facility right now and I need to wait till its daylight outside to continue...no way in hell I am playing that area in the dark.

Haha I'm not the only one then!

hehe, me too. Although I've played it so much I'm starting to get over it.

 

[ToXiCRaGE]

GREAT GAME!!! A bit spooky at times but it is beautiful! If any of you lived in Eastern Europe you can appreciate the attention to detail. The environments are VERY realistic and represent the "real deal" very accurately. From the cars to the way the walls are painted to the trees, fences and everything in between everything looks great (and aged).

Yes, there are few flaws with the game, some missions are messed up, the PDA isn't working well but soon you forget about all of that and focus on exploration and getting into Chernobyl!

If these Ukrainian boys would have as much money as Valve this would top Half Life 2 for sure - why? Because this game is more "real" not only graphically but also story wise (Chernobyl disaster did happen in '86) which makes things even more intiguing. I haven't been to (the real) Chernobyl but playing the game made me feel like this "could" look like the real deal - it's a strange feeling.

Go and get the game!

EDIT: if you don't like zombies maybe you should leave this one alone. There are some creepy parts where even made me jump. For the most part though, you are fighting against 'real people'.

 

[Patt]

Get it ... I got it to test out my machine ... and it was worth it. Took a bit to get into, but once I did, it was fantastic.