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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl |OT|

Borys said:
****ing warezers.

Fuck off and die.

Well, if this game really is a bug ridden sluggish piece of crap, some people might want to know about it before paying 50 euros. But apart from this, there's no excuse.


FartOfWar said:
Of all things, this is what you want to know?


The feel of a weapon might very well make or break a shooter. This isnt 'just' a shooter though, but come on, these things do matter :p.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
I think I will purchase the game this week. It sounds extremely appealing.

I simply wish I could enjoy it as intended. :( For one thing, my PC is only a P4-3.6 with a 6800. I doubt the game will run well. Secondly, I'm stuck using an LCD for now. For horror games, LCD = total ass. I need a CRT.

I'll still buy it regardless...
 

Draft

Member
FartOfWar said:
I just finsihed it again (fishing for another ending off late game saves) and am shaking. The final three levels (if you want to call them that) are just boiling-point pressure. And the area right before the sarcophagus? ****ing massive with no reason to be and I love that about the game. You know where you need to go, its late in the game and you ought to just be pressing on but you decide to see if those buildings over yonder have interiors and such and it turns out there's just even more, massive amounts of real estate with things to shoot and foes to fight. Americans just don't design that way these days. (OK, at least not in the FPS space)
Can you clarify that? What's with these "levels." I'm sort of imaging STALKER like so- Morrowind style overworld, all real time, with houses, caves, small factories, shit like that which can be explored in real time (ie- without loading to another map.) In addition, there are BIG dungeons, stuff that's hard to complete and that advances the story, and those ARE seperate maps, with bosses, preplaced enemies, traps, unique items, etc. Pretty close? Not close at all?
 
Fallout-NL said:
The feel of a weapon might very well make or break a shooter. This isnt 'just' a shooter though, but come on, these things do matter :p.

It makes or breaks a shooter for me, cetainly. Doom 3, for whatever reason, had some really poor-sounding guns and it killed some of the amazing atmosphere.
 

tedtropy

$50/hour, but no kissing on the lips and colors must be pre-separated
JRW said:
Static

Dynamic

(X2 4800+ / 2gb / 7800GTX 512mb / WinXP)

Damn, it's a subtle difference and yet still an impressive one. I get the impression my paltry 128MB 6800 just isn't going to do the game much justice even with static lighting enabled and, as much as I want to play a cool new FPS, I don't want it sputtering along all the while.
 

Diseased Yak

Gold Member
It's been asked but not answered yet, so I'm bringing it up again:

How long does a typical play-through take?

This is my biggest thing, but really for $35@Target I'll get it even if it's less than 10 hours.
 

Kinan

Member
Big Nate said:
It's been asked but not answered yet, so I'm bringing it up again:

How long does a typical play-through take?

This is my biggest thing, but really for $35@Target I'll get it even if it's less than 10 hours.

afaik, it should have 7 endings, 4 of which are "false". Will take some time to finish all of them. :)
 

Avalon

Member
Kinan said:
Dynamic lighting makes it look much more atmospheric. Without it it looks like a game from 2004. :p Damn, I need a new rig. :p

Isn't it though? :p

Sucks not being able to use the dynamic lighting... even though it was running at 15 FPS is looked really nice. I'd much rather have 60 FPS though.
 

Defcon

Banned
8 out of 10 from Eurogamer is good stuff. I'm there. CVG also gave it an 8....

It may not be all that was originally promised and it has its faults, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has still turned out to be a good game.

Uppers
Brilliant and unique game world
Very satisfying combat with equally satisfying weapons
A-Life more than just a gimmick
Cool and sometimes weird horror moments

Downers
Story struggles to make itself heard, poor characterisation
Interface issues
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
Big Nate said:
It's been asked but not answered yet, so I'm bringing it up again:

How long does a typical play-through take?

This is my biggest thing, but really for $35@Target I'll get it even if it's less than 10 hours.


I've heard it'll take somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 hours to complete if you just follow the main storyline; 30+ if you do all the sidequests.

Plus, just think of all the creepy exploration this game has. That's an extra 5+ hours right there, if not more.
 

FartOfWar

Banned
I'm impressed by Eurogamer's excellent review, but want to point out that the game does, in fact, have quicksave and quickload options.

Re: " the lack of a quicksave means lots of ugly sorties to the main menu to save your location."
 
FartOfWar said:
I'm impressed by Eurogamer's excellent review, but want to point out that the game does, in fact, has quicksave and quickload options.

Re: " the lack of a quicksave means lots of ugly sorties to the main menu to save your location."

Cool. I was looking for this. It's hard to believe that PC game doesn't have quick save option.
 

FartOfWar

Banned
Fallout-NL said:
The feel of a weapon might very well make or break a shooter. This isnt 'just' a shooter though, but come on, these things do matter :p.

They lack the punch of say Call of Duty 2's weapons but aren't as easy firing and insubstantial as HL2's.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Anyone run across benchmarks for this game? I'd really like to see what kind of performance people are getting across various rigs.
 
have the released the multiplayer demo?

I remember there was a beta demo....I want to try out the game now...maybe it will run on my system.

3500 AMD 64
6600 Gt
1 gig of Ram
 

Xdrive05

Member
bigmit3737 said:
have the released the multiplayer demo?

I remember there was a beta demo....I want to try out the game now...maybe it will run on my system.

3500 AMD 64
6600 Gt
1 gig of Ram

On my overclocked AXP, 128mb 6600gt, and 1gig RAM, I get 50fps+ at all times even into the hundreds with these settings:

1280x1024, NO AA, FULL AF, full settings, static lighting.

Using the HDR stuff makes my fps go from like 50 to 15, and it's not that big of an improvement IMO (just makes the shadows and lighting a bit more pronounced as far as I can tell).

I love the game so far. It's very atmospheric.
 

White Man

Member
Linkup said:
I was under the impression that Vista doesn't do much for game performance, if anything it is going to take more of your ram when you run the game.

Games that are optimized for multiple cores can run better on Vista. See also: SupCom. Vista is optimized for multi-core systems moreso than XP.

Also, I don't want to see any more impressions until this game is out, unless you are a press person.
 
White Man said:
Games that are optimized for multiple cores can run better on Vista. See also: SupCom. Vista is optimized for multi-core systems moreso than XP.

Also, I don't want to see any more impressions until this game is out, unless you are a press person.


fear_and_loathing.jpg
 

Acosta

Member
If you enjoy terror games, you will love this, can be really terrorific.

I think it´s a extremely complete game, with ton of things to offer. Go for it (and yes, I am press and I have published a review already, put that gun down).
 

bee

Member
due out on friday my local indie getting it in tomorrow though :)

post some impressions then, should run good on a 8800.
 

JDSN

Banned
Eurogamer's review. said:
As I moved through the dark heaps of wasted masonry I saw movement: large things ahead of me in the valley. In the rain and dark I would not have seen them, except for the lightning. I sat there in the rain, terrified, watching these things move through dead scrubland. Should I just wait for morning? Could I just sit here in the rain, hiding behind some smashed concrete? At least that would be less terrifying that going onwards. I waited for a long time, paralysed with indecision. Finally the things made the decision for me: they closed, attacked, and ended the moment with a brutal close-range fight. I stumbled backwards into a nearby anomaly - my gravity-fluked corpse danced around in a tree.

Ok, im getting this.
 

FatalT

Banned
This game really has my interests piqued. Is anyone interested in the multiplayer aspect? From the sounds of it, it seems like its going to be a bit like Counter-Strike except not with ungodly gun accuracies. Hmm...
 

chespace

It's not actually trolling if you don't admit it
Okay, that picture made me want to buy this game.

Even though I KNOW FOR A FACT that my laptop won't be able to handle this game.
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
IGN Review

6.0 Presentation
The story is decent in concept but poorly told. Nebulous, badly compressed cinematics do little to inform. UI / PDA can be clumsy, though it still functions.

7.5 Graphics
The overall effect of the visual package is gripping, though many of its parts aren't that impressive on their own. A demanding game in terms of system resources, and the framerate often hitched.

8.5 Sound
Though the NPC voices sometimes overlap excessively, there's much about this game's audio to love. If only the guy on the loudspeaker near The Bar would shut up once in a while.

8.0 Gameplay
Highly entertaining gun battles, though bugs pop up more often than they should.

8.0 Lasting Appeal
A sizable main quest with numerous, though limited, diversions. An ample amount of space to explore, and a pretty good multiplayer mode.

8.2 Overall Impressive

They have a Video Review up as well.
 
Schafer said:
http://pc.ign.com/articles/773/773803p1.html

IGN review.

6.0 Presentation
The story is decent in concept but poorly told. Nebulous, badly compressed cinematics do little to inform. UI / PDA can be clumsy, though it still functions.
7.5 Graphics
The overall effect of the visual package is gripping, though many of its parts aren't that impressive on their own. A demanding game in terms of system resources, and the framerate often hitched.
8.5 Sound
Though the NPC voices sometimes overlap excessively, there's much about this game's audio to love. If only the guy on the loudspeaker near The Bar would shut up once in a while.
8.0 Gameplay
Highly entertaining gun battles, though bugs pop up more often than they should.
8.0 Lasting Appeal
A sizable main quest with numerous, though limited, diversions. An ample amount of space to explore, and a pretty good multiplayer mode.
8.2
Impressive OVERALL
I said WOW
Purchase Confirmed.
 

chespace

It's not actually trolling if you don't admit it
Fallout-NL said:
It's a fact that laptops can't handle anything.

Bzzt!

I had fun with Company of Heroes for a long time on fairly decent settings. Even if I had to play the damn thing over a pot of cold water. :lol
 
chespace said:
Bzzt!

I had fun with Company of Heroes for a long time on fairly decent settings. Even if I had to play the damn thing over a pot of cold water. :lol


Which you no doubt used for tea after a proper tank rush :lol.
 
Fallout-NL said:
Which you no doubt used for tea after a proper tank rush :lol.
:lol I borrowed a laptop from my dad for a while and put C&C3 on it, about 30 min. into a skirmish my lap was on fire! Ran the game at all High settings though!
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
The IGN video review was pretty good. Apparently, the game doesn't even force you to explore the entire world. You can go through the main storyline without seeing a lot of what's out there.

Can you say replayability?
 

Xdrive05

Member
That video review was very, very positive. I was expecting high sixes or low sevens because of how they usually like to nitpick at little issues and act like they invalidate the end product entirely.

Seems like the game was a success after all!

:D
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
That Gamespot review was way too ****ing short. 6 years of development and all you lousy bastards can manage is three minutes?!

You could have at least padded the time by making a few DNF jokes.
 
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