What to make of this game?
Further down the track, I started to take up more side-quests which gave the game more depth and offered me an impression of just how big the Zone is. Having said that, the region of the Zone they decided to use is catered to a lot of backtracking throughout the game. Although this is dependent on which quests you decide to take, you will undoubtedly find that you spend a lot of time simply traveling between cities.
One of the issues I found is that enemy groups have a habit of coming back after you've cleared out an area. I found one military outpost under a bridge would always have more troops the next time I arrived no matter how many times I killed them. For example, one time I cleared out the outpost and within three hours they already had reinforcements there (even though I had traveled down the only road that could possibly provide reinforcements).
The combat system was best catered to outdoor fighting. Some of the best times I had in the game were outdoor fights with a large number of allies fighting beside me. The AI I found to be pretty solid and for the most part foes stick behind cover and usually won't come running around a corridor into your waiting shotgun blasts. When indoors, combat often boils down to a process of memorizing where certain troops are and then shooting them in the head before they shoot you. It can become very difficult in dark areas because you won't be able to see them without your flashlight (and even then it's hard to see more than a short distance ahead) and this will of course alert them of your presence. Overall, it seems dated and very standard in the FPS genre.
The RPG elements consisted of inventory organization, artifacts, quests and eating. Eating seemed pointless, I understand that it's there to add to the realism but it really wouldn't have detracted from the immersion had it not been there. What I would liked to have seen is a sleeping feature in the game. Many times I would find myself having to travel from town to town at night. Combat at night can be difficult as the only indication of where your foes are is their flashlight. On top of this there are nastier animals around at night, though generally they're not a problem. The quests were pretty typical- go here get this, kill this person, defend a base, clear out a base etc. A few quests were decent but most of the side quests aren't overly interesting. Additionally, there's usually not a great incentive to do the side quests since the rewards you receive most of the time are poor (don't bother going back to Cordon later on in the game. I stole a briefcase from the military and got a measly 2000 RU for it). I don't mind the artifacts, they keep things interesting but most of the time you can get by without them. The only time I found artifacts handy was near the end when you encounter a lot of radiation. For the most part I relied on my suit to do the job.
I didn't pay much attention to the story, it wasn't overly exciting. Most of what I picked up was from the bartender or the cut scenes. I could have spent more time talking to people and going through PDAs but I didn't feel compelled to and honestly didn't feel like I was missing out on much.
The difficulty level towards the end of the game ramps up quickly. At the end, when you're trying to get into Chernobyl it's pretty much complete chaos- snipers everywhere, helicopters blowing up everything they see. At the same time you're trying to manage what little ammo you have left and scrounge up any medkits you can find. Then once you get into the actual power plant itself, you'd better hope you have a whole lot of protection against radiation.
In terms of immersion, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. definitely came up trumps for me. It's a beautiful looking game (even in DX8 mode) and that scene I described just near Chernobyl is something to be experienced. I certainly felt like I was a part of a living, breathing world (despite the frequent respawns of troops at outposts) and enjoyed my time exploring the Zone. Places like X16, X18 and the underground area where Strelok's stash is have a great atmosphere. I found some underground areas genuinely scary and was glad when I returned to the surface. These parts of the game were definitely some of its strong points.
The ending I encountered left a sour taste in my mouth. That's probably my fault for rushing through the game but it just seemed a little anti-climatic after all the build-up to it. I feel that the second time through this game will play a lot better and anyone who hasn't played it yet should take their time and not rush through it- just enjoy the experience. Having said that, right now I don't feel compelled to return to it and play it again. There was a lot of down time between the action oriented parts of the game and a lot of the quests just aren't that interesting. A valiant attempt at something marvelous, but didn't quite live up to the hype. Definitely worth a play though.