What every fan of the franchise has been crying out for...
One aspect of this game that will stand out instantly to any S.T.A.L.K.E.R fan is that the game feels smaller, area wise, compared to the original and in some respect, Clear Sky. The map in the game isn’t split into distinct areas or cities or labs etc. The map is still big but only split into three parts so you don’t feel as if you are travelling any great distances. This is where NPC’s come into their own at times, if you see any stalkers randomly walking in small groups always talk to them, you will soon be thankful that you did as stalkers will take you where they are going so you can cut out a lot of the leg work. They will generally take you to where you want to be after questioning them about the location you want to go to.By today’s standards, the game and engine look dated, but this doesn’t matter one bit as this is the charm of S.T.A.L.K.E.R itself, it somehow belongs and fitting with the zone and the visual representation of decay, abandonment and bleak nature of the zone. If you are a fan of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games you would probably expect this already, but the engine is refined and it works out the box without a single hiccup or bug in place, or none that I have come across as yet, this is a new trait for the franchise if anyone has had experience with the previous games you would know about the patch and bug issue’s that plagued them, thankfully Call of Pripyat doesn’t suffer the same ill fate.
This instalment of S.T.A.L.K.E.R is pretty much what every fan of the franchise has been crying out for. All that was right from Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky, combined together and refined with the broken mechanics from both firmly cut and left out of this game. The tension, suspense, outright fear of the unknown is still ever present along with the harsh realisation of isolation. The blood gurgling screams of stalkers meeting their demise on the horizon still ring out between the cracks of lightning, the mutants howl and the rain pours down.
I would firmly recommend buying this game. It has it faults and it may not be the best FPS/RPG out there on the market by some standards but you can’t beat the atmosphere of the game, it draws you in and spits you out the other side wanting more whilst firmly putting you in your place and proving once again, the zone is its own entity and you need to respect it.
Score: 8/10
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