I've played SOC twice. The first time without any mods and the second time with the Complete mod. I suggest you play it with the mod for a much fuller gaming experience (almost) free of the bugs that plague the modless experience. I would call RPG an RPG/shooter. I thought Fallout 3 and Far Cry 2 were the bees knees. I was wrong. SOC is a far more addictive experience... once you get adjusted. SOC is a hard game and that's coming from an experienced RPG/shooter gamer. I love the dark and threatening atmosphere but what really blew my mind away was the fact that unlike other PC games, it isn't about you. The game environment has a life of its own. The humans and creatures that populate it have lives for their own. You are just another stalker trying to make your way in the harsh conditions of Chernobyl. SOC is game for thinking gamers, it doesn't hold your hands. To get things done or complete quests you have to talk to people. Gaining friends makes things easier, so you need to do things for others. Those used to the "handheld" simplicity of a game like Halo or Call of Duty might quit before long. Hang in there because the intellectual challenge is a part of the game that you will learn to love. I found the gunfights shockingly ruthless. Charge the guns in a retarded manner and you'll die quickly. You need to save up money by selling guns, equipment and valuable artifacts to get the powerful guns and suits with good protection in order to survive the environment and get the upper hand in gunfights. Otherwise you will end up dying frequently. I could go on but I won't except to simply say get this game as it is extremely immersive and addicting. If you love RPG shooters that challenge you to think get SOC. For a seamlessly immersive experience, balanced play and superior graphics I suggest you play it with the Complete mod. I played SOC vanilla on stalker difficulty. Better balance with the Complete mod allowed me to play it on Master difficulty, the recommended level for that constant " sh*t something f*&^*d up is about to happen" tension all throughout the game. After playing stalker (and I've played SOC & Call of Pripyat) I found that I can't go back to simplistic shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield Bad Company. They were just... boring....
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