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

We’ve been waiting for a while, haven’t we? It’s approaching the point at which S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (does that even stand for anything?) must join the likes of Daikatana – the game that took an age to come out, only to be a massive disappointment – and Duke Nukem Forever – which, almost ten years on, is apparently still in development. It’s not a great club to be a part of.

Yet I’m optimistic, because I really want to see this thing released at the beginning of February (as is it currently suggested it will be). It seems a shame that such an intriguing and innovative concept for a first-person shooter – and god knows the genre needs some variation – should fall by the wayside.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, for those not in the know, is a science fiction shooter set in the cordoned-off area surrounding the site of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. It is set in 2010, four years after a second nuclear explosion at Chernobyl, and two since the area became active again. You will take on the role of a heavily armed and armoured ‘stalker’, scavenging in the highly dangerous exclusion zone.

While it’s a first-person shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. contains many RPG elements, and its free-roaming structure is reminiscent of open-ended role-playing titles like Oblivion. Instead of a linear series of missions, you will simply be thrown into the danger zone, and, while trying to understand the mystery of Chernobyl’s renewed nuclear activity – and to uncover various useful, and valuable, artefacts – you will meet numerous NPCs, and stumble into different missions. The exclusion zone is a huge 300 square kilometres – and includes underground areas as well.

What also reminds one of Oblivion is the game’s ‘A-Life’ engine, and the way it handles AI: as in Oblivion, NPCs will continue to go about their lives regardless of whether the player is nearby or not. And the human AI is apparently pretty quick, too. In fire-fights, other stalkers will use cover and so forth, rather than just coming at you with all guns blazing. This makes it play out as slightly more of a tactical shooter than a strict action game, or at least a balance between the two.

There is a danger now that, because of all its delays, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will end up trying to punch above its weight, graphically speaking – being compared against new games that look a lot slicker. But if it manages to pull off its exciting concept, then I think we’ll be more than happy with its looks (which, comparisons aside, are still very promising, in the screenshots we’ve seen).

Right now, this is the game I’m looking forward to more than any other. It has the potential to do something new and exciting in one of the most crowded gaming genres there is. I can only hope that we do get to play it before the waiting becomes too much, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is consumed by its own expectations…

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