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

By Patrick Garratt Published 7 November, 2006

Come in Reactor 4. Your time is up.

The roads north of Kiev are relentlessly bleak. A capital's spattering of wealth gives way to a dark, eastern European quaintness as the setting morphs to rural Ukraine outside the city, then to abject poverty. Farming towns turn to villages then to hamlets. Cow herds thin. Geese gaggles vanish. Blue painted roofs become fresh metal, as bright as can be expected under such a ghoulish sky, then holey rust. Broad-faced men with deep-set eyes stare back at us from monolithic concrete bus shelters. Shops sell nothing but dull oranges behind muddy glass. A woman wearing a torn floral headscarf sits in the heaving rain underneath rotting beams next to a milk bottle. She doesn't even look up. The coach thunders on. Humour peters out. There are no modern cars here, just 50s trucks and green ambulances hung-over from the USSR. The driver slows and we pass a road-sign bearing a right arrow. The word "Chernobyl" even looks ominous in Cyrillic.

The checkpoint is nothing like a Bond movie. It's a collection of concrete huts, sheet metal and a barrier a Lada could break. Men dressed in Ukrainian blue camouflage wear guns. We take photographs from a distance, but the downpour's so heavy it's a fleeting affair and we're forced back into our seats. A large soldier comes on board, glaring steel over the top of every passport, then leaves without uttering a word. A Trabant is met by another guard at the side of the bus; in its back is a girl and no seat. The greyness is insane, bludgeoning. A thin woman with a thick European accent rises slowly in front of the glass as the bus's engine drags us through the 30km border. Her nails curl round the headrest in front of me. I can't see her eyes.

"Attention please," she hisses. "We are now in the Zone."

HAPPYHAPPYGOGOTHQFUNBUS

While being in any zone at all may be something new to most of the inhabitants of THQ's happy-happy-fun-bus, for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl developer GSC Game World the feeling's all too familiar. Estimates vary on how long the FPS has been in production, but "five years" is a safe bet. Heavily delayed – an original release date of 2004 sailed past with barely a whimper – many had thought the project lost until it reared its head at Games Convention in August. THQ has faith. Shipping 80 journalists to Ukraine from literally all over the world is no laughing matter. But the questions are obvious: can the game Eurogamer editor Kristan Reed described as "staggeringly beautiful" in April 2004 really cut it in a post-Half-Life 2 world? Hasn't S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s time been and gone?

The answers aren't as easily available. Sitting down with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. today is an interesting experience. Firstly, the game's project lead Anton Bolshakov takes us through the much-publicised "A-Life" system. Read our interview with Anton . In a nutshell, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s machinations outside scripted level events are completely random. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s – you play one – are men who hunt for artefacts in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, then sell them in the outside world. The other two major human "factions" in the game are the military and rebels, the fourth "mobile" element being the Zone's mutant population. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s, militia, rebels and monsters roam between levels at will, constantly interacting with each other.

'S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl' Screenshot 1

The armour equivalent of wearing your pants on the outside.

Anton enters a dev code and shows us a map of every living element in the game. He waves the hand of God and kills everything in one major area, then speeds up time. The level begins to fill with dots representing S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s, soldiers, and so on, which migrate from other areas. Dropping into 3D, he flies around the level as the various elements begin to clash. Hulking wolves eat a corpse, a remnant of a firefight. In another area, rebels and soldiers shoot it out. Levels never stay empty for long, says Bolshakov, and the whole A-Life premise adds massively to the replayability factor, he claims. He starts talking about "smart terrain," but we're cut short. In essence, GSC's ambition has been to create a living, breathing world to surround the overarching storyline. "Oblivion with guns" is a simplistic description, but you get the idea.

www.prypiat.com

Hoisted away from the AI demo, we find an empty chair and get to play. It's a level set in Prypiat, the town built to house workers at the Chernobyl power plant. There's no disguising it: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. does looks dated. The level sees you start with a squad of NPCs taking out snipers, and the modelling on your compatriots could never be described as "cutting edge". But we're talking here about a completely open-ended game with 60 hours of play and a massive area. It certainly looks better than adequate, just "2005" as opposed to "2006". Remember Operation: Flashpoint? Graphics didn't matter then, did they?

Gameplay, however, does. I literally had 10 minutes with this level. The NPCs barked at me in Russian accents, and I got a taste of the PDA mission system and Diablo-style inventory ordering, where you drag and drop weapons and equipment into slots after pulling up the system by pressing "I". It was fun. I shot people in the head and threw grenades over wrecked cars. I found I could pick up any weapon produced along with a corpse. I even grabbed one AK-47, equipped it, went to kill an enemy and found it needed loading.

Leaves blew around and the wind sounded suitably eerie. Prypiat itself, the buildings and furniture, looks fantastic.

'S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl' Screenshot 2

We were just over there, by that crane on the right. Yay!

And I'd know. Standing in the middle of Prypiat as the sun sets is like being in a horror movie, no more or less. It's bloody terrifying, truth be told. Prypiat housed 50,000 plant workers in the 80s, the residents of which were given three hours to gather essential belongings then marched onto buses after Reactor 4 went ballistic. The buildings are still standing, and are faithfully represented in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., particularly the large supermarket at one end of the main square. Our guide tells us that the shopping in Prypiat was among some of the best in the Soviet Union, and wages for workers at the power station were twice the USSR average. Don't leave me at any time, he says. There are wild wolves here. My friend was attacked by three wild wolves. This is not a joke.

We're not laughing, mate.

We see the gym, the swimming pool, the floor strewn with Russian books. We see the dodgems and the Ferris wheel. We see a sign for Prypiat.com, the site devoted to the ghost town run by those who left as children. We see the notice board covered with pictures of Soviet volleyball players and the murals of women embracing each other in circles. We get lost (honestly) in the middle of the municipal building and fair near shit ourselves before finding the rest of the group. We marvel. It's an awful monument. The whole place is built of menace. You long for space, for fields and trees.

"I'll have an AKS-74 and a Franchi SPAS 12, ta."

Luckily, stretches of countryside are something S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has in spades. Ushered on from the Prypiat level, we play something far more open. Walking through the real Zone's fields wouldn't be so great for the feet (or any other part of you) as organic matter holds far higher levels of radioactivity than concrete, but there are no such worries in the game. If you wander near an "anomaly" in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. your personal Geiger counter goes berserk and your health drops. The reality is a tad grimmer.

'S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl' Screenshot 3

Shooting inside nuclear reactors. Error.

The new level starts on a country road. An NPC tells you the militia is storming a compound and it's your mission to help other S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s. Seems there's a traitor in the brotherhood's midst. Helicopters fly overhead, firing rockets at buildings as you charge forward. We play this section for about half an hour, and die a few times. Each time enemies come from different angles, and the AI seemed tricky enough. Second time out we take the time to walk right round the compound (which is massive) and find, to our delight, that we're rewarded by finding a different way in through a broken wall.

Kill the soldiers, someone shouts in my ear. I do, and they're not so easy going on me. Ammo becomes a precious resource. Graphically, the indoors areas look far more advanced than those outside, flashlights picking up bump-mapped walls and showing some lovely real-time shadowing.

I clear the area and brainlessly shoot the mole I was supposed to question, then start fannying about with the game, taking a closer look at the inventory system. If you click on any item, a description appears in a central pane. Weapons have accuracy, damage, handling and rate of fire characteristics, and each has a cost. Anton mentioned that a trade system was in place in the game, but we never see how this works. For example, an AKS-74 or a Franchi SPAS 12 will set you back 2,000 roubles. A Heckler and Koch MP5A3 costs 1,100. Other items are listed in the character's inventory, such as the "Tourist's Breakfast" for 100 roubles and "Diet Sausage" for 50. And there are packs of bullets: .45 ACP ammo costs 200 roubles. Seems GSC has thought of everything a self-respecting S.T.A.L.K.E.R. might need.

'S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl' Screenshot 4

This tiny barrel will protect me from the extreme radiation and massive bullets.

Clicking on the only other mission available in the PDA brings up a point on the map literally miles away. Following the direction arrow out of the compound, I'm soon in the middle of a firefight between bandits and soldiers. I want to explore. I want to see more. I want to go to the middle of the Zone. Sadly, there's no time. Not in the game, anyway.

Shock and awe

"Jesus Christ," whispers the THQ PR lady. "Can we get any f***ing closer to it?"

The sentiment's echoed in virtually every face on the bus. Unbelievably, we're no more than 200 metres from Reactor 4, the site of the worst nuclear accident in human history. We're taken into a visitors' centre across the rail tracks from the "sarcophagus," the concrete shell erected over the exposed reactor core in 1986. A Ukrainian lady talks us through the time-line of the disaster using a model of the plant. On the wall is a massive Geiger counter. The rain's stopped but the day is as grey as porridge. I don't listen. I can't stop staring out of the window. We're not in the area for more than 20 minutes, for obvious reasons. We're allowed to take photographs outside the centre, not of the panoramic view afforded inside because of "national security". I take some of the guide standing in front of the reactor, and we're the last to return to the bus.

'S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl' Screenshot 5

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: stalking.

"It's amazing we're allowed so close," I say as we walk back. He flashes me a well-meant sneer.

"It's not amazing," he says flatly. "The people that work here earn about $400 a month. That won't be enough money to rejuvenate their health."

And there it is. The emotion I was hoping I wouldn't feel on this trip: shame. There are men lifting girders and digging sand in front of the ruined reactor, their expressions at our interest far, far beyond gallows humour. We're a bunch of over-privileged idiots stamping over hopelessly tragic history like it's Disneyland because of a computer game. I realise how patronising I've been and I want to apologise, but don't. He wouldn't appreciate it.

Misjudged sentimentality aside, my lasting memory will be standing in the centre, staring out of the window straight into the dead face Reactor 4. It's so much more than a building, in the same way the Statue of Liberty isn't just a statue. It made my hair stand on end. That crumbling, grey escarpment represents the grand folly of Soviet communism in such a complete way that the intense sorrow radiating from its cracked walls is its perfection. And, watching the clouds roll behind the reactor's tower, I don't feel fear, or shame, or horror: I feel awe.

Nuclear end-game

Will S.T.A.L.K.E.R. be able to evoke the same reaction? There are a lot of ifs, but as I said, the answer's nowhere near as cut and dry as some would like to believe. The code we saw wasn't finished. There were obvious frame-rate issues and it crashed on us twice in 40 minutes. But S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is not an average first-person shooter. It's a massive, open-ended first-person RPG with extensive non-scripted elements. The question is whether or not the whole thing will actually work. We saw it for so little time that it's impossible to tell. If the scripted levels are strung together coherently, if the combat AI proves to be ultimately challenging and intelligent, if the A-Life system really does make the game-world feel full and vibrant, then yes, potentially S.T.A.L.K.E.R. could be a real winner.

But if, five years on, GSC and THQ have got this wrong, they're going to be left with something very big and very costly. Fingers crossed this isn't going to be the second Chernobyl disaster, then.

The to-be-confirmed release date for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl is March 2007.

Picture of Patrick.

About Patrick Garratt

Read more articles from Patrick by visiting the Patrick Garratt archive page.

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Comments (73) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ekko #1 5 years ago

    I was just thinking what happened to this.

  • Gori #2 5 years ago

    Yes. Poor taste.

  • jaxon58 #3 5 years ago

    It's not THAT costly. Dev wages in that country are a lot smaller than elsewhere.

  • Xerx3s #4 5 years ago

    The new DNF.

  • Gurrah #5 5 years ago

    Poor taste? I think that's called good writing - making a game that centers around the Chernobyl disaster is more distasteful if you ask me. Bragging about how they rebuild the whole 20mile-or-so zone around the reactor brick by brick is distasteful, hope they didn't miss a three legged corpse, it wouldn't be realistic if they did.

  • kuzanagi #6 5 years ago

    Best article I've ever read on EG. Well done :)

  • Kostabi #7 5 years ago

    The graphics look more than good enough for this kind of game. I'd rather sacrifice some bells and whistles for the ideas in Staker than have a plastic fantastic world with little else like most FPS games seem to aim for these days.

    edit: ...and well done on the article, it's seriously one of the best things I've read on EG.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/06 @ 13:44

  • kalel #8 5 years ago

    Excellent article, top class.

  • haowan #9 5 years ago

    Check out the Tarkovsky film if you haven't already, it's great.

    This game sounds fun.

  • mettlekettle #10 5 years ago

    Spiffing article, here's hoping the game lives up to it:)

  • PearOfAnguish #11 5 years ago

    Good article. Looking forward to this one, don't care if the graphics are a little dated.

    Yellowtruck, leave your Sony cock-sucking for Xbox and PS3 articles, dimwit.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/06 @ 13:50

  • captainrentboy #12 5 years ago

    Yellowtruck I'll tell you where Black's weaponary was even more impressive,on the xbox,infact come to think of it,it looks even more impressive on my 360 :)
    Anyway this game sounds like it could be very impressive come release,but for something that has taken 82 years to be developed the graphics aren't shaping up too sexily are they? :/

  • espy #13 5 years ago

    Very good article. And do check out the Tarkovsky film of the same name.

  • Khanivor #14 5 years ago

    Aye, that was one of the best pieces of writing seen on here in a while. Top marks.
    Fiver bet STALKER is out here before the PS£ ;D

  • skillian #15 5 years ago

    Great article, nice to read something like this on a gaming site.

    As for the game, describing it as "Oblivion with guns" might be simplistic, but it sure as hell makes me want to play the game.

  • loopy #16 5 years ago

    I'm officially interested in this game again, sounds fascinating.

  • AcidSnake #17 5 years ago

    Agreed, excellent article...
    Could you post the picture of reactor 4?

  • lambtron #18 5 years ago

    Graphics are not the main thing for me so if this lives up to hinted potential it'll be a buy for me.

  • Moonprince #19 5 years ago

    Ace read, loved it. Thanks :)

  • crazyhorse174 #20 5 years ago

    Is Yellowtruck on Sony's payroll?

    Seriously, every time I read one of your comments, no matter what the article is about, it involves bumming about the PS3.

    Have to agree with the other folks here though - top article. Well done

  • JediMasterMalik #21 5 years ago

    Excellent article, loved reading it. I am looking forward to the game, but now I actually want to go to Chernobyl myself.

  • Pike #22 5 years ago

    I still say vapourware and I still hope I will be proved wrong.

    Edit: Also good to see that yellowtruck is his usual half-witted self. Every community needs a village idiot.
    Edited by 2 at 07/11/06 @ 14:11

  • Psychotext #23 5 years ago

    crazyhorse174: I really hope he is on the payroll... because for someone who isn't to be such a raving fanboy really drops any remaining faith in humanity I had.

  • groovychainsaw #24 5 years ago

    If it manages to live up to the 'Deus Ex crossed with Oblivion' that I can read between the lines here (the bit where you find the alternate entrance to a compound sounds like classic Deus Ex), then you have a convert here. But only if it ever gets finished...

  • skillian #25 5 years ago

    Please stop, the PC threads are the only ones where we can get away from all that crap.

  • gaselite #26 5 years ago

    Fantastic and absorbing preview, what a remarkable experience.

  • mkreku #27 5 years ago

    Great article about a very interesting game. A game I figured as vapourware by now, by the way. But great article nonetheless!

  • Stickman #28 5 years ago

    Got to say, I agree with Pike, and I also hope I'm wrong.

    If it does come out however, I fear it's going to be a generous 7 out of 10. So much potential, but just overreached themselves. Boiling Point 2.
    Edited by 2 at 07/11/06 @ 14:24

  • FlamingCarrot #29 5 years ago

    The film is great by the way, and don't forget the book its based on "Roadside Picnic" If the atmosphere is right then the graphics are not everything. Anyone remember Realms of the Haunting back in days pre Voodoo cards + 3DFX? Looked shite but had tons of dread. We get too hung up on the graphics and not enough on the gameplay.

  • BravoGolf #30 5 years ago

    Wow, good article. I've been reading about this game for the last 5 years or so! I really hope they get to finish it.

  • lambtron #31 5 years ago

    Oh and I do agree it was a great article - nice to read something that doesn't feel designed to incite fanboy wars too!

  • stoopidgreg #32 5 years ago

    tell us about the game, not your little bus ride! you told us practically nothing about the actual game.

    also, the fact there are frame rate issues and frequent crashes this late in development is very worrying. i was really looking forward to this game, but i don't know if they can still pull it off.

  • Iora #33 5 years ago

    Fantastic article, well written.

    I do hope this game fulfils at least half its promises. I'd consider it a game far superior to the on-rails overhyped HL2.

  • holy_bazooka #34 5 years ago

    Great article.
    The game reminds me of Fallout.
    If its anywhere even close as good then real life is over for a while.

    Edited by 1 at 07/11/06 @ 14:46

  • EmiliasHorse #35 5 years ago

    Yellowtruck is an arse.

    This is the most compelling article ever written by EG and that knob head compares weapons...Child.

    This game will be legendary no matter if it fails to have everything working as it should. Pathologic made me yearn for S.T.A.L.K.E.R even more.

    I hope THQ are giving something back to the people of Chernobyl if the game is a huge success.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/06 @ 14:56

  • djchump #36 5 years ago

    Heh - I really thought this was gonna go the way of Dragon Empires (canned) or Duke Nukem Forever (will never get released).
    Fair play to them for sticking with it, but I honestly can't see it doing very well when it comes out - it'll get lost in the mire of FPS games that comes out on PC and languish on the shelves of GAME.

  • generica #37 5 years ago

    I just hope this game works.

  • Lacero #38 5 years ago

    ok, so here's a question.

    I was reading with interest today an article in MCV (no, really) about bias in reviewers, and how the money spent on them by PR companies influences their opinion. So my question is, would a trip to Chernobyl and the emotional impact it involves give the game itself more impact when it's reviewed? Is that fair or not?

    The article in MCV suggested not allowing the same person to review a game as went on the PR trips, having read this preview I can see exactly what they mean.

  • CargoCult #39 5 years ago

    ... And unlike Pathologic, the game should have decent Russian to English localisation.

    How do I know this? I'm mates with the bloke coordinating it. :-)

  • FlamingCarrot #40 5 years ago

    I'd prefer it in Russian with subtitles. I hope it does see the light of the day as the whole concept of the Zone in the film was incredibly creepy + unsettling.
    However, with the years that this has been in development i hope its not trying to polish a turd.

  • groovychainsaw #41 5 years ago

    I just have fears that with the long development time and a slightly 'forced' final staright, they just won't be able to deliver on the scope they first suggested (shades of fable here, it could still be a decent game even though it doesnt give you the world you were anticipating so much).

  • captainrentboy #42 5 years ago

    Lacero I read that too,and it certainly made a really good point.After a journalist has been lavished with wonderful gifts from a particular game developers PR folk is it really right that 3 months down the line they then go on to review that particular game,with all those treats still fresh in their minds?I say No,which is why I take most reviews with a pinch of salt nowadays,especially from the official mags.

  • BillGaitas #43 5 years ago

    looking great, and i never hoped it would turn this good

  • J*C #44 5 years ago

    I think they should get there skates on, get this ported over to the PS3 and 360 and do a multiformat release and get it on shelves asap, then maybe they might make a few bob. as it stands though, it will just get lost among the next gen FPS games.

  • tenma #45 5 years ago

    Random Pedestrian: "Hey, mate, do you know what time it is?"

    Yellowtruck: "No, but did you know the PS3 has a built in clock? Let's see [xcock, xcrap, xbox 3shitty] offer that!"


    Seriously, stop.

  • Skeletor #46 5 years ago

    Interesting article. Even if it doesn't turn out to be the best shooter ever it'll still be a unique game. The direct connection to a "real world nightmare" makes S.T.A.L.K.E.R's world in a certain way more frightening than all dooms and halflifes together.

  • EmiliasHorse #47 5 years ago

    @Yellowtruck
    I must be very out of touch.



  • sajtion #48 5 years ago

    its looks like graphics have been downgraded a lot

  • TexMurphy01 #49 5 years ago

    Nice article, although I always skip those, "I wanna be a writer, but it all went wrong and I ended up here," sections at the start.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/06 @ 17:11

  • Moonprince #50 5 years ago

    You must be something special TexMurphy01 to make a comment like that...

    ...Though, I some how doubt it. :(

  • TexMurphy01 #51 5 years ago

    Jeez, I didn't say they were bad, but I am there for a game review (or preview), as nice as the prose is.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/06 @ 17:15

  • sajtion #52 5 years ago

    man this game is going to be so sshit. i mean seriously look at the screens, if they are anything to go by, they look hundred times worse then they were years ago

  • space_ace #53 5 years ago

    what is it 2004 again? o_O

  • haowan #54 5 years ago

    Perhaps those wanting game reviews should be clicking on the reviews instead of the previews.

  • haowan #55 5 years ago

    Graphics whores begone.

  • Clive_Dunn #56 5 years ago

    Something tells me this'll never be ready for March. If EG saw the most advanced bit of the code and it still looks as unfinished as all that, then it'll be lucky to hit Xmas next year.

    Or the year after if the current progress is anything to go by.

  • Skeletor #57 5 years ago

    @sajtion
    What do you mean by "downgraded" or "hundred times worse"?! Could you somehow elaborate on your witty statement a little bit or is this another case of I-don't-like-the-screenshot-so-the-graphics-gonna-be-shit-ca use-me-is-big-expert-on-graphics?! Actually, all the screenshots indicate that graphics probably won't be revolutionary but nice and functional. System requirements could be quite moderate which is a good thing imho.

  • NemesisEnforcer #58 5 years ago

    The sheer size of the game world is a big selling point for this game. It will be awesome just to explore the vacant buildings and landscape. Graphically, it still holds up fairly well. But its no Crysis.

    I just hope they can make all the non scripted things cohesive.

  • sturgeon #59 5 years ago

    LOL. I still have this on pre-order from play:

    11/06/2004 £17.99

  • AhrimaaN #60 5 years ago

    crikey that write up was retarded... I spent the whole time reading trying to figure out whether the guy was trying to add atmosphere to his ingame experience or whether he was in chernobyl getting a tour, And he told us nothing useful about the game apart from it has a large overarching A-LIFE as system and equipment that costs money. Oh and the graphics are pretty rubbish and it crashed...

    What about the Size of the world? What's this about scripted level loads??? wtf I thought it was meant to be seamless - can we wander anywhere or only do linear missions in spread out areas???? Are there npcs that talk to you?? (apart from say mission objectives and guys telling you to attack)... what about a resemblence of a story of some sort. What about the mutants and or environment apart from it being grey. What about interactivity with the world, gun fight quality etc... I can keep going on....

    grrrr that was such a retarded article

  • Genji #61 5 years ago

    I hope the graphics *are* shit, so there's a possiblity that this will run on my stone age hardware.

  • Empedocles #62 5 years ago

    So what was different about this build than the one all the journos played in Kiev in Feb 2004?

    Has any progress been made at all?

  • novotique #63 5 years ago

    I think that the article was well written and it seems that it has been some what miss understood. The author describes both the real world the game attempts to depict and the in game world depicting the real world he is seeing outside the window of the bus. Its a blur between the two worlds and both feel very eerie.

    Now I agree that we do not have alot of information concerning the game but for me it was sufficently enough. It does not bother me if the graphics are dated as the gameplay is far more important. I got the impression from the author that the game does a great job describing the environment and that the gameplay has huge potential. It certainly looks to be unique and hopefully will add new dynamics to game play that we have not seen before. Well fingers crossed :-)

    Finally, It was good that the author shared his personal experience of the journey. I am grateful for it and I am grateful that he shared his emotions. Is there something wrong with this ? I think that it added value to the article as opposed to taking away from it.

  • symmetry #64 5 years ago

    Really great article, right up there with EG's finest.

  • Gulag #65 5 years ago

    An excellent article. A very evocative piece. A little light on hard facts, but then again it doesn't sound like they gave the journo's much time with the game. A little worrying that.

    Regarding graphics: Yes they are important, no they're not that important. If you really can't bring yourself to play a game because it isn't drenched in blooming and HDR lighting, then you should probably put down the mouse and huddle closer to your console.

    If the devs get this right we could be in for a game that really opens up some new ground in FPS/RPG gaming for the first time since Deus Ex. (Go look at that game now. It looks 'Awful' and still plays like a dream.) If you didn't like Deus Ex, grand, you probably won't like this either, don't blame the cat for not being able to bark.

    Personally, I'm hopeful. The core concept sounds strong. Have the devs managed to realise that concept in pratice? All the previews, now and then (2004), seem to think 'maybe'. I guess we'll have to wait and see if March 07 passes with a release or not.

  • jlaakso #66 5 years ago

    I don't play games to tick off boxes in feature lists, I play them for the experience. With that in mind, this was an excellent preview.

  • Empedocles #67 5 years ago

    I'm pretty sure that by travelling to Prypiat and the plant all who went will have blown their life insurance.

    That was the gig last time anyway.

  • Downside #68 5 years ago

    huge world but with scripted sequences? Er, they will be like Qiests in WOW - cool.

    I've been looking forward to this game for years, lads, get it finished then ported to the 360 using the Unreal engine from GoW.

    Should be ready by 2015 :)

  • ClansOfIntrigue #69 5 years ago

    >> I'd prefer it in Russian with subtitles.

    Hear hear! (here here!?) English voice-actors would really spoil the mood...

  • Hughes. #70 5 years ago

    I hope this makes it to the consoles too, this looks really eery. Bollocks to whether the graphics look spangly enough for GFX whores, atmosphere is worth 10 times more than fancy shaders and whatnot.

  • rHy0 #71 5 years ago

    Anyone know what the system requirements (to run on full settings) are gonna be???

    I have a 7800GTX, Ath. 2.4Ghz, 2G RAM....

  • superdelphinus #72 5 years ago

    ------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------
    Wash
    04-Aug-05 13:00:32

    "it won't be the graphics. Ligthning at night casting real-time shadows everywhere - yummy."

    Will we be still saying that in a years time?
    ------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------

  • rHy0 #73 5 years ago

    How about dem requirements!? Anyone?