Stalker

[witch]

Well, just bought it today for a cool $40. Here's a few small impressions from what I've played so far.

The atmosphere is the best part and worth the price of admission alone. Everything is very rusted and run down; from the start you just get that feeling of barely surviving. Story is pretty mysterious so far, but I just saw a chopper fly over my head in the middle of the wilderness; sent chills down my spine. You can also hear shouts far off in the distance, as well as see the wildlife run around and attack each other.

I'm early into the game and haven't had a chance for that much proper game play or AI testing. I did lead a raid early on and my companions took cover behind buildings and trucks, they held their own. That's another really good part, the game nails the feeling of gun play, the fights sound terrific and the enemies shout to each other.

It's not much to go on I know, but I get the feeling it's only going to get creepier. I'm going back to playing (always a good sign, ) and I was wondering if anyone else has gotten it and what your impressions are?

[Adabiviak]

I'm looking forward to this, but won't touch it until the first patch comes out for two reasons: business trip for a week starting shortly and because the first time through a game is usually the best, and I want it to be less buggy.

[witch]

A bit of stuttering, but other then that I haven't had any problems. Running it on medium to high settings.

[jackinthebox]

i pre-ordered the "limited edition steel case" in uk (i live in austria), guess it'll arrive next week...

[Adam Nuhfer]

Ah, go figure! I started back to work yesterday. Working double shifts doesn't give me much time to game. What the heck, waited this long for them to release the game, what's two and a half more more weeks. Keep us posted on your thoughts related towards the game.

Thanks!

[Adam Nuhfer]

I only have to work eight hours today! I lucked out, so far anyhow.

Called my somewhat local [50 mile trip] EB Games and they have but one copy of Stalker left. They will hold it for me till 7 p.m..

All goes well, It shall be mine this afternoon about 5p.m..

[Silent Film]

It's good to hear Stalker turned out quite well. It was starting to look somewhat less promising amid all the cut features and delays.

This will likely be the first game I buy after the upgrade. In the meantime post some screenshots.

[Raveness]

Even through all the broken promises and cut features, STALKER still outdoes all the shooters of the past few years in terms of ingenuity, atmosphere and gameplay. Now that's not saying much, as FPS has turned into a corporate cash-cow.

GSC was attempting to create a heavenly revolutionized shooter, and they opened their mouth promising such at every turn. When reality bit them in the ass, they had to cut back, but when you cut back heaven's offers, you still at least get an island paradise

[Hatesink]

The frame-rate looks a bit choppy, but having said that I'll definitely be playing it— it looks like it could be really interesting.

[witch]

Even through all the broken promises and cut features, STALKER still outdoes all the shooters of the past few years in terms of ingenuity, atmosphere and gameplay. Now that's not saying much, as FPS has turned into a corporate cash-cow.

GSC was attempting to create a heavenly revolutionized shooter, and they opened their mouth promising such at every turn. When reality bit them in the ass, they had to cut back, but when you cut back heaven's offers, you still at least get an island paradise

Yeah, some of the stuff they talked about would be awesome. I keep walking by all these dilapidated vehicles and I just want to fix n drive them. So far its still really good although the story has'nt picked up yet (still not to far). The game's called stalker and for good reason, i feel like I'm being hunted all the time,

[nmrahde]

So Command and Conquer 3 or STALKER if I only have the money for one?

[pn18]

stalker, no doubt

[D'Sparil]

I read somewhere that Stalker was kinda short....

Command and Conquer is a longtime favorite series of mine, and I personally can't wait to see the new one.

[Bartekk]

I read somewhere that Stalker was kinda short.... (...)

So what? People should stop looking at lengh and contemplate quality. Haven't played stalker yet but I heard opinions from people I know. One guy beat the game in more than 20h doing only main quests. Consider that stalker is not a corridor shooter. Playing it just to get to the end and playing it to enjoy it (doing side quests, exploring) are two different things.

[pn18]

I read somewhere that Stalker was kinda short....

if you play it the american way (just the main quests as fast as possible), it's about 18-20 hours long. if you play it the good ol' european way (inclusive sidequests + exploring the zone), you will need at least 20-35 hours to playthrough. pretty much for a shooter, isn't it?

i have never really played a C&C game since the first one. i played generals a bit, but neither the gameplay nor the charme was like the original title. :/

[Silent Film]

I imagine the open nature of Stalker probably means it is possible to cut through large parts of the game.

Although anyone who rushes a game (American, or otherwise ) will certainly sully the experience for themselves. I never saw the point in waiting years for a game, then bombing through it in the shortest time possible. I remember people were back at the forums of Invisible War a couple of hours after release, adding the length of the game to their list of reasons it sucked. I think too many people had already staked their reputation on it being at letdown.

[Santino]

I have bought Stalker and I think that it is super. Atmosphere is marvellous, enemies - wise and the plot is rather interesting

[D'Sparil]

Lemme clarify....

Eh, hem... short not in length, but in content. Actually around 20 hours is a good chunk of time for a single playthrough for an FPS doing only straightforward missions. I hear that the side missions though don't really yield anything "unique" in general that I think is important to do side quests. Like in Oblivion, you do a side quest and get a special sword or mace or gem, whatever.

Another thing of note is that you max out too early in your power (the Crackdown effect if anyone here has played that game).

BUT I am not saying do not buy this game, in fact if I had a computer that could run it I would probaly play it ( after the price had dropped a bit).

With Command and Conquer I find the replay value to be quite more than 20 hours-ish, I could play most the titles on multiplayer, single, or even do map building and spend 150+ hours into it over several months.

SO in the end its really up to what KIND of game you desire to play first and formost really.

[Adam Nuhfer]

Guess I don't fit the traditional American gaming role.

I try and explore every nook and cranny I can in the game.
I don't care how long it takes me to play the game

I've managed to play Stalker for about 5-6 hours total. I'm a little further than the train bridge with the five soldiers under it. I shot them all and borrowed their stash. I noticed no matter what direction I came at them from, they would give me the same speech. Having just been warned about not sneaking past them, I thought they would want to kick my ass when I did sneak past them. Not so. So, I assume the program script reads the same no matter what side you approach them from, even after you did what they told you not to do. Short AI attention span I guess. Been finding lots of graphic glitches in game. Some of them are down right funny. Like when I hop up on the tree stump, then shoot at the wild dog pack. They come after me and stick half their body through the three stump and bite me. At another tree stump all I have to do is stand on the ground next to it and they can't touch me. Seems it should be the other way around.

So far from what I've played of the game, on a scale of 0-10, I'll give it a 7-7.5
They spent a lot of time on the graphics as a whole, but missed fine tunning some of the game itself.

Most glitch free game, well programed game I've played to date was without a doubt Doom 3.

[nmrahde]

I ended up picking C&C 3 'cuz I got there right when UPS delivered them and managed to snag one of the Kane editions (If you're not a diehard fan of the series though it's prolly not worth it). Then the extra cash I had that I woulda spent on Stalker I spent on Lordi tix.

[jackinthebox]

finally i got my steel case full of action/booklets
i made some pics, have fun...

[nmrahde]

I like the look of the books, definitely add flavor.

I was disappointed that the Oblivion CE didn't come with a cloth map, although the travel book guide and coin it comes with were cool (how many games mint their own currency?)

I'll have to check online next payday (4/6) to see if there's any of the CE left...

[pn18]

just for the record, jack said, that he'll beat the game in veteran without crosshair. see? he has no idea how hard stalker actually is...

[jackinthebox]

just for the record, jack said, that he'll beat the game in veteran without crosshair. see? he has no idea how hard stalker actually is...

whine, whine i'll do it at all costs...