Numerous improvements, and a powerful engine can't overcome the game's story and length.
STALKER Call of Pripyat takes place soon after the events in Shadow of Chernobyl. It is more of an epilogue than an actually sequel. After Strelok disables the Brain Scorcher, the way to the Zone's Center is now open. All factions rush there for different purposes. Some wish to study the zone, others profit by it, and of course some to destroy it. The Ukranian government sees this as the perfect opportunity to eliminate the other factions and gain control of the Zone. An expedition is launched, but soon all contact is lost and all the helicopters are destroyed. You, Major Degtyarev, are sent to discover the cause of the operation's failure, and if still possible scout out the center of the Zone.
It's a decent enough tale and it's much better presented than in past STALKER games. Each major step in the investigation is accompanied by an in game cut scene, which is well done and intriguing. There are also two videos to my memory, an Intro and a Outro, both well done though they end rather abruptly. That being said there is still problems. Some plot elements are not explained, leaving you doing something without understanding the necessity of it. Three fourths in your objective changes, and then the game abruptly ends. It's not a very strong story to be sure. There are no interesting characters, less motivation, and nothing interesting learned about the Zone. It's quite a bit disappointing.
It's made up for by the side quests, which make up about 80% of the game. They're are some traditional "Go to X, Kill Y, Bring back Z" but overall they're much more elaborate and have something more in common with Fallout 3's secondary quests. Many of them have different outcomes, and while there aren't any hard hitting moral choices, it's nice to see the Fallout 3-esque ending cutscene which reveals the impact of your decisions. I could give an example but it would spoil it, so rest assured they're much better.
A lot of other elements have been improved as well. Shooting is a bit smoother and more refined. It's something you have to try out to notice the difference, but now it just feels more... "modern". The traditional stuff like bleeding wounds, and weapon condition are still here. They're are now hotkeys that you can map various items too which makes first aid significantly easier.
The upgrade tree has been overhauled. Remember scrounging for those flash drives for every upgrade path. No more! Now you need to find tools, and of course a set for each technician. There are usually four tiers of upgrades, ones that don't require tools, one's that require basic tools, one's that require fine tools, and one's that require calibration tools. Spreading out the tools in each of the locations make upgrading a slower, yet simpler process. It definitely lends to the RPG feel.
Traders have also been tweaked. Their inventories seem much more random now. It's common to come back a day later to see that the gun your were saving up for is gone. Of course new items appear as well. The economy is much harder now, as weapons and armor that have degraded cannot be sold. This keeps the focus solely on artifacts, for money making. It requires a lot more work to become rich, and the payoff is much more drastic.
Emissions now have a much bigger impact than before. Their graphics have been overhauled and now it's truly terrifying when one hits. You can survive emissions in the open if you have antibiotic drugs. Emissions also cause new artifacts to appear in anomalies. Emissions actually add to combat now, as it is common to have everyone, friend or foe alike, rushing for the only safe cover.
There is one more noticeable gameplay improvements. AI. The faction wars system has been ditched, yet factions are still clearly at war with each other. Your reputation is tracked with the factions so if you're not to careful you can make a lot of enemies. It's rather easy to remain neutral, but if you so desire there are missions which pit the factions against each other. As I said earlier it's nice to see the consequences of these actions in the ending cinematic.
The AI overall is much more intelligent. They'll flush you out with grenades, use cover, flank, and generally act realistically. Mutants also fight much more intelligently. Dogs circle you and attack from all sides simultaneously. Snorks practice guerrilla warfare. Bloodsuckers strike, cloak, strike. Mutants overall are much deadliers and more fun to fight.
Outside of combat, the AI is definitely improved as well. Small groups of Stalkers travel from place to place. You can actually ask them what they're doing, follow them, and sure enough they do it. It's commonplace to see firefights while traveling as bandits attempt to rob some newbies. Mutants migrate, hunt in packs, and will avoid you if they think you too tough. I've scared dogs off with a flashlight at night. It's things like this that add to the realism of the gameworld.
Now onto the problems. Freeplay is not that great of a new feature. It's not bad, but there's not any new stuff to do after beating the game. If you took your time getting to the ending, you might as well just start over. If you don't mind exploring, or like to hunt then freeplay is fun and it's worth keeping a save around when you need a fix.
There are about 5 areas, 3 if you discount the one time story areas. That's not a whole lot of areas, and despite their larger size they are not nearly as unique as the previous STALKER games. There's not mutated forest, no power plant, no junkyard. The areas are all new and for the most part rip offs of STALKER SoC and CS's more boring areas. This aside the new areas still have some unique places, and they are all supposedly aerial reconstructions of real life areas.
Honestly that's about it, but the areas and the story are big issues I have with this installment.
Call of Pripyat runs on the XRay 1.6 Engine, a modified and overhauled version of the same engine that powered Clear Sky and Shadow of Chernobyl. While it has some dated elements, it supports DX10 and DX11 and probably has the best lighting in a game to date. The same problems that plague past installment sin this series are back. Textures while definitely better than some games are rather low resolution. The detail itself is there, the resolution is not. Models are a bit simplistic, compared to the much more advanced human bodies in more modern shooters, CoP's are rather basic and thus limiting in terms of animation. Animation is also merely passable here. It's the smoothest and most realistic of all the STALKER games but it still has some weird animations, like running, and throwing a grenade. These issues aside the game looks great. The enviorments are crammed with detail, and buildings themselves are rather complex and a joy to explore. The DX10 effects are a must, the rain effects and sun rays the biggest standouts. If you have DX11, tessellation helps overcome some of the blocky models but it's more of a subtle effect and not a necessity.
Performance wise the game is a tad choppy. On a beefy rig expect a few stutters and lock-ups (partially solved by disabling prefetching), but nothing to say that performance is poor. If you have a dual core and anything better than a 5770 you can max it out, DX11 on, at a 24" (1920x1080) monitor easily. If you don't have a DX10 or 11 Card, the game still looks great on DX9.
Sound is strong as usual. Ambient music does a great job at creating an eerie feel, and even more-so a lonely one. Firearms are powerful, and sound different at different ranges. Mutants borrow various sounds from real animals all run through some filters to make them recognizable yet foreign. If you used Dynamic Combat music, you'll be glad to know that it's been toned down abit and has smooth transitions.
All in all, STALKER Call of Pripyat is probably the most refined, balanced, polished, and stable STALKER game yet. It proves that as developers GSC has grown up and become noticeably more professional in their efforts. If the lack of areas doesn't bother you, then it's hands-down the best in the series. If you're like me and wish it was a tad meatier, then SoC still reigns supreme. CoP delivers strong atmosphere, good questing, and fun combat. If your a fan of Shooters, RPGs, or even more realistic games such as ArmA 2 it's worth checking this out. For more information on the style of gameplay see my earlier STALER reviews.