The best in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series and the best in atmosphere genre!!!! I love the Zone and want to stay there:)!!!!
Story-U play as Major Degtyarev,an experienced Stalker sent into the zone to find out the failure of Operation Fairway which involved the crash of 5 helicopters in the zone area.Basically ur objective is to find out the reasons for the crash and any other information u can find from the crashed helicopters.But during ur investigation u find out a lot more new changes in the zone and about the secret experiments conducted here which sets up the plot as it unfolds with progression.
Gameplay-This is where the game shines.U have 3 large areas to explore namely Zaton,Jupiter and finally Pripyat itself.There is no loading times in these areas and it streams everytime except when u move from one area to another.Each area has a stalker camp where u can load up on supplies and trade with a trader to buy items or sell artifacts.U can also upgrade ur weapons from technicians in the area but it'll require u to find tools which really adds to the feel of doing side missions.In other words,all the side missions in this game has a purpose whatsoever instead of just confining urself to earning cash.One of the best things which this game gives u is the detector which makes it easy to find artifacts.Also artifacts can be used to enhance ur ability like increase in stamina etc.U can increase ure reputation by working for ur friends which will give u increased reputation and thus they can lower the cost for goods and sometimes give u extraordinary items.Like i said..u never feel u are JUST doing a side mission...there is always a reward in every mission.
Enemies and Combat-As the areas in the zone is open world enemies can strike about anytime in the game.Enemies range from Bloodsuckers,dogs and mutants to some new ones which were not in the previous games like Burer etc.The game comes close to reality with weapons which degrade as u use them thus making them more prone to jam.Thus every weapon has to be used carefully else it'll always cost u money to repair them.Weapons in the game have a realistic feel to it in the sense that they recoil much more and the upgrades definitely make a huge diffrence in them.The rest of the features like hunger,fatigue are all done well just like in the previous stalkers game.
Graphics-The game definitely has taken a step forward in terms of graphics with the new X-ray engine.Those of u who have the opportunity to run the game on "Enhanced Full Dynamic Lighting" will able to see all the eye candy effects like Sun shadows etc.The weather change system when an emission occurs is truly the best u'll ever see.Also are the lighting effects in this game at night in a storm.Everything is dynamic.Many ppl may find that there is little change in graphics as compared to previous games but that's the beauty of it.....the zone will always be as what it is.
Sound-The intensity of sound which glorifies the Zone's mournful tune is really atmospheric.The far barking of dogs,the howling of wolves at night,the sound of guitar playing at far distances all add to the chill feelings of the zone.And the sound when u are close to snorks or an anomaly really sends me the chills.The underground trip to Pripyat was one of the most haunting experiences ever
Another good feature which the game developers instigated was the occurence of Emissions.When an emissions occurs u have to run to a nearest safest spot and it can occur anytime,anywhere in the game,even during missions.This instills a fear of horror in the player because a sound of an emission is always a sound of death and believe me...its been done just right.
Also,this game is BUG FREE.Compared to Clear Sky...its virtually free of all errors like mission dissapearences,NPC's dissapearences etc.As Gamespot said...its the most stable stalker game.
I hope THQ makes a 4th Stalker because i always can't get enough out of the zone.Even if the gameplay is still the same as COP i'll still play it.So get a copy and play one of the most amazing games of all time.