здравствуйте! As an American watching too many Hollywood films for one lifetime and being surrounded by events such as outsourcing, everyday judgments about foreign lands lean to the side of mostly harsh and are much easier to find than free chocolate for a hungry woman. So when a company comes around from a land that would take a very long plane ride to reach, it’s easier to dismiss and distrust than even give the game and company half a chance. Now compound that with a former foreign political party that forced the popular duck and cover movie that our parents or grandparents enjoyed thinking while trying to sleep produces even more happily earned motivation to buy anything coming from the CCCP.
As an American with a specialized background, I’ve been forced to sit through training dealing with one of the worst industrial accidents in the last century: Chernobyl. Within the stacks of paperwork there are plenty of videos such as this one and this one, etc, all bringing the events of the disaster to a very eerie realization. The nearby town Pripyat for example, was created to give workers of Chernobyl a place to call home but has remained abandoned since it was evacuated a day after the accident.
With all that smile friendly news enters the company GSC Game World from Kiev, Ukraine. After running some searches of games developed in Ukraine the overall list seemed smaller than Mega Millions winners from the Midwest. And it wasn’t too long ago that a Russian speaking company pushed my typical easy going nature to the edge of “bad touch” boundaries. But the strength of persuasion can come from many avenues even those that are less expected. Irrational Games’ podcast was the first place to drop not only GSC’s name but a very specific game that influenced Bioshock.
That game Irrational mentions on multiple occasions is S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl for the PC. At first glace, minus for those coming out of their Y2K bunkers in time to resupply for 2012, one can easily see that S:SC was released back in 2007. But before brushing off what looks like a dated game compared to today’s standards there is hope. An additional free download (considered a mod but is more like a total overhaul) is available from a large group of freelance developers here. After updating this three year old game to visually mimic today’s games, S:SC begins to play a sly game of unravel the mystery. But do not go into S:SC thinking it’s a typical “your a good guy, here’s some bad guys, go kill and we’ll fill you in on why later.” S:SC in fact has lot of depth, girth, berth and whatever other awkward synonyms for wideness you can muster up when it comes to its central theme.
There are some core elements from a few different places that become interlaced within S:SC. The first chunk comes from a 1979 (prior to Chernobyl) Russian movie called Stalker. Skipping over the need to watch the entire movie, Stalker was about three characters intent on trying to reach a place called “the room” within a quarantined wilderness because of its rumored ability to grant any wish to those who enter it. A very interesting side note (according to wikipedia) is after filming this movie, some of the cast and crew died from various types of respiratory disorders which they had believed to have come from a scene filmed near a discharge river used by a nearby chemical plant as it was said to have been snowing in summer.
The second piece of S:SC’s storyline comes already aforementioned accident of Chernobyl and that part may be a bit obvious just from reading the title of the game. So yes, S:SC is set in the “area” of today’s Chernobyl where the military will stop any random civilians from gaining access to the highly irradiated and dangerous area. With Chernobyl comes all the abandoned buildings and power plant itself to be explored along with the frequent need to watch the old Geiger counter.
And the third puzzle piece of the central theme is the sc-fi book Roadside Picnic. Going straight to the cliff notes, Roadside Picnic is about the concept of a messy family going on a picnic in the woods. They arrive and animals scatter and hide to and fro while the family stays for a while, eats, and then blazes off leaving all sorts of trash behind. The animals then slowly come out to inspect what was left behind, objects foreign to them, each having different dangers or benefits. For example a half eaten sandwich is consumed like any other food, but a mostly empty can of motor oil when sniffed and licked makes the animal very sick. Roadside Picnic is that same concept only with aliens and people. A group of visitors come to Earth at various locations, stay just long enough to be noticed and then quickly take off. People then begin to explore the areas to find strange artifacts left behind. Some are very dangerous while others have very odd benefits. Once this is realized, the areas become exclusion zones guarded by respective militaries. A group of known as stalkers, once again, are the only ones who venture purposely into the zones in hopes to find artifacts to bring back to sell.
These three concepts make up the backdrop for S:SC. The game takes place in Chernobyl, a true exclusion zone, and you play a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. who is found by a merchant on the edge of the zone. Awaking with a bit of amnesia you find a message on your PDA saying to kill a fellow S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The merchant gives you a slight introduction into the zone telling you to be on the lookout for artifacts that hold powers to be sold for high prices. From there the game is a sandbox FPSer where quests are given with specific times by which they must be completed and it is the players choice to solve the mysteries of S:SC or run around randomly in the name of democracy to put a bullet in anything sounding Russian.
And everything in this game does sound as Russian as this folk song. Even when choosing to play this in English, many of the NPCs are not translated in the random small sayings as they wander by or some of the dialog text. As you stand by allies within a camp, one will on occasion pull out a guitar to sing a song to make you feel like Kansas is oh so far away.
This makes for an interesting environment as it gives a foreign land feel but some smaller parts of the game stay lost in translation. The initial learning curve of the game is high since much of what is going on starts and stays mysterious but at the same time adds to the ongoing element of horror with its little explanation. One such problem with translations and storyline I encountered was that I was never able to find the main person to kill and yet was able to end the game a different way. This disconnect was slightly frustrating but with the aid of our old pal The Internet, the second time through made more sense.
The horror element is what Irrational Games pointed out as a key piece to what makes a this a memorable game. True to their word S:SC is one of the scariest games I have ever played. When it’s 3am with all lights shut off and a few too many cold ones the scary portions of any game will be enhanced because of the surrounding environment the game is played in. S:SC does not need any enhancement. Other games such as Resident Evil, FEAR or even Eternal Darkness use very standardized, flashy Hollywoodish, or unique out-of-game scare tactics. S:SC uses an indirect method with heavy attention to the lack of sounds or focus towards a person’s ability to recognize the cause of a sound. This is compounded by the fact that S:SC is a survivor oriented game constantly leaving the player with limited ammunition, hunger, bandages, weapon durability, overall health, and a small carry limit. Additional mods can be applied to S:SC bringing the survivor portion to a more post-apocalyptical standard possibly forcing the player to kill a fellow ally for his food in order to suppress life threatening hunger. The horror portion is also shadowed by the background of Chernobyl. GSC Game World took a lot of extra time in researching and even visiting the exclusion zone to ensure the player is given a real and dangerous place that many know about but develops into an even scarier place they more intimately familiar they become with it.
The general aspects of S:SC (as long as the complete mod is installed) are run-of-the-mill for today’s standards. The graphics with weather effects and time of day changes are visually stunning. The sounds and music are very unique to S:SC due to its origin but are nonetheless high quality. The controls are customizable and aiming is strong due to the mouse/keyboard combination of PC games. The combat realism is quite astounding as bullet trajectories matched with proper caliber and gun choice as well as only having iron sights or limited scopes are again an effect of S:SC being a survivor based game. The multiplayer is more muted due to its age but this is an unnecessary addition as the emotional ties are focused within the single player direction. The AI is well done being accurate and tactful. Overall difficulty is quite high and only gets higher with additional mods but this added challenge is a welcomed one from the simple quick fix FPS games of today. The storyline is also unique and is directly derived from the previously mentioned core elements but is not coupled with many cutscenes compared to most games of today.
Rarely does a game three years old peak such a late interest now that Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are well enough established with this generation’s consoles. And sadly this summer was a busy one for me and therefore this review comes at a conflicting time with the upcoming heavy hitting holiday releases instead of during the summer when nothing outstanding was released. But if anything, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl should stay in the back of your mind like an amazing commercial that sticks in the craw the next time there is a lull in your gaming life. It is a one of a kind creation that deserves the title of classic and is worth not just one but a few plays through. (Available on Steam)
Rating: 9.5 {on a scale of –10 to 10}
Three years later (skipping Clear Sky due to known bug issues) a direct sequel called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat was released by GSC Game World. Much of the gameplay, horror and survival aspects are the same as S:SC but of course some improvements have been made. This time you are a military agent posing as a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to investigate the disappearance of lost helicopters that were flying over the town of Pripyat. The town and surrounding rural areas are again realistically imported as the play environment including one of the most famous Ferris Wheels in the world. Not long ago Modern Warfare 1 included Pripyat as part of its story allowing you to make your way through some of the abandoned buildings but its graphical engine made the town gleam instead of the grimy reality that S:CP paints.
The graphics of S:CP are a step up over the original (unmodded) as well as the continuity of the story and translations with NPCs. Gun and armor modification as well as an RPG interface with stats are good improvements but overall the game doesn’t connect on the same level as S:SC. A majority of the game is spent outside of Pripyat and once the player arrives, exploration of all the visual landmarks comes mostly from player’s curiosity instead of being driven there by the main story.
The disconnect may come from the simple fact that GSC made it rain in S:SC by letting you waltz all the way into Chernobyl and then expects you to be overjoyed by making it rain with scratch tickets in the abandoned neighboring town. The mighty dollar rains and reigns better so if you decide to play S:CP, you’re rolling the dice on finding the same amount of pleasure that you can get out of S:SC. (Available on Steam)
Rating: 4.0 {on a scale of –10 to 10}
The latest and vastly different game released by THQ and 4AGames (founded by former developers of GSC) after S:CP was called Metro 2033. This release was more of an accessible horror/survival game in order to reach a broader audience than the previously mentioned games being released on consoles as well as PC. The play environment is again Russian based taking place very near Moscow yet most of the player’s time is spent underground as its title hints at. In Metro 2033 you play the child of a survivor after a terrible apocalypse ravaged the world’s surface. The survivors of Russia have hid themselves within the nearby metro tunnels of Moscow scraping by with their trusty thirsts being quenched by whatever little vodka they can find.
Changing from a sandbox game to a very linear one, Metro 2033 still focuses much of its gameplay within the horror genre. A very dark game graphically forces the player into the same realm of Doom 3, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, etc, where most of the scares are caused by visual panic from enemies having the same working distance as a dance partner. A unique feature in Metro 2033 is a flashlight with what seems like the shortest battery ever but can be recharged by hand. This creates situations where in the midst of battle, time management of the player’s visual aid must be taken into account. Another unique feature is managing a needed gas mask’s chemical cartridges in order to stay on the surface or within oxygen deprived tunnels. The player’s breathing becomes the ambient noise when the mask is on and adds a new source of tension as changing situations shift the rate.
The story is a bit interesting but has a very odd ending not causing any type of beckoning to replay Metro 2033. A single play through is all that’s really necessary and can be done in about 10-12 hours based on difficulty chosen. Most of the game is very close combat forcing gun preference toward shotguns over assault rifles or long range sniper weapons purely for spread fire room clearing. In all the FPS games over the years, Metro 2033 takes the cake as far as keeping the buckshot flying. I used so many shells that for the next few games that I played I swore off the sound of an empty shell hitting the ground. The controls are simplified and sometimes slightly awkward on the console as everything is jammed onto a controller. The AI is good at flank techniques yet not impossibly difficult when they outnumber.
The overall game is fun but an unnecessary one to play through unless one is a large fan of the genre. Rent it if slightly interested, but skip it over S:SC if time and cash is limited. What Metro 2033 does do indirectly is point out that GSC Game World and 4AGames should be around for years to come making quality games from across the back pond. Even if they are bloody reds they do know how to make a good horror/survival game. (Available on Steam)
Rating: 4.5 {on a scale of –10 to 10}
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