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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl

The developers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., GSC Game World, have worked on their epic title for so many years that some had already filed it to the same pile with Duke Nukem Forever. Better late than never, I guess - GSC's idea of a casual visit to the exclusion zone around Chernobyl nuclear plant has finally arrived. Don't mind the mutant dogs though or the random space-time anomalies; and that beeping Geiger counter is just for show.

Well, to be honest, there is nothing casual about the Zone; it's more like a survival-of-the-fittest scavenger hunt with live ammo. The storyline starts out simple - you find yourself in a small fallout shelter at the edge of the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Except in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. world the plant had a second disaster in 2006. Today (the year being 2012) the area is far from deserted - gangs, mutant wildlife and shady military organizations inhabit the area. You start out without a faintest idea who you are and how you got there. You have a knife, a pistol and a note - "Kill Strelok". A friendly trader who rescued you offers you some easy jobs to get some rubles and equipment, and so begins your adventure in the Zone.

While the tale starts out pretty lame, if you take your time following the storyline on your PDA, things do get much more interesting later on, as you learn about the different factions present in the Zone and about the secret things going on around. In addition to the main story, there are numerous side missions that provide you with much-needed rubles that you can use to purchase better equipment from the traders you will find on your journey. As you adventure onwards, you must also maintain relations to the different factions present in the Zone. Nothing too fancy, just "be nice to people who don't shoot you". There are plenty of people around who will shoot first and ask questions later though. Moving undetected and choosing your battles carefully are also important, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is definitely more of an adventure game than a pure shooter. There no point in taking on heavily armed soldiers, unless it somehow furthers your own goals as well, and there is no shame in running away when outnumbered and outgunned.

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