"STALKER". Oh, how many memories are associated with this word, which initially meant dudes wandering through abandoned places and other forgotten places, after 2007 they forever became associated with the trilogy of games that were created in the post-Soviet space, and therefore became so atmospheric and great for people from the same post-Soviet space.
Now, shortly before the release of the second part, it’s time to write a review of the games that have already been released in this series. And now I’ll tell you about the first one, about “Shadow of Chernobyl”
Now, when it comes to this city, we don’t hesitate to remember this particular game, and we take such thoughts for granted, but initially Stalker was supposed to talk about a fictional man-made tragedy in Crimea, and only then did the developers decide that it was better not to invent some kind of tragedy, but to make their own project based on something that really happened.
The game was waited for a very long time (just like the second part), and then in 2007 it finally came out, and it came out with a bang (even after so many years of development). Why? Well, for example, they cut out several locations, which were returned in the two subsequent parts, the originally conceived, ambitious life system of the game world "A Life" significantly degraded at release, the NPCs in the game were extremely stupid and did not even know how to throw grenades (but in the next part they learned do this), they even wanted to implement stealth in the game, but at release it was almost impossible to quietly kill even a lone bandit. It seems like they also wanted to make the count better, but this was also abandoned. (There was a bunch of other stuff that was cut out, but I’m too lazy to list it)
And despite all of the above, the game was appreciated, praised, and is still being played. To this day, there are dozens, if not hundreds of YouTube channels, telegram and VK groups, and other communities that make content on this game. Why is this so? Well, firstly, because of its native CIS atmosphere, which is in everything: in the characters’ speech, in curved textures, in the fire effect, in locations, in grass, in shootouts, etc.
There are also some colorful characters: the first one that comes to mind is Sidorovich, a slightly weird junk buyer, and part-time the guy who gives Marked (that’s the name of the main character) the first quest, and also his meme phrases, which have become legendary: “You would I collected some more cans,” “Good hunting, stalker,” etc.
There are even sudden plot twists here, for example: in the hero’s PDA from the very beginning there is a quest: “Kill the Strelok”, and towards the end of the game it turns out that this “Shooter” turns out to be Marked himself)).
At that time, science fiction was at the peak of its popularity and GSC Game World certainly took advantage of this: the game has several atmospheric and creepy laboratories that are teeming with paranormal things created scientifically. Collecting artifacts (which also degraded, but returned to its originally intended form in “Clear Sky”) - collecting strange multi-colored balls that you can put on yourself, pumping up some of the Persian’s skills, and at the same time adding ailments to him or selling for a substantial amount.
The game has a bunch of different weapons (which, as you might have guessed, could also initially be upgraded and we will only be able to do this in the next part) and bells and whistles for them: sights, silencers (although they are useless), even an under-barrel grenade launcher.
In the game you have to fight with gopnik bandits, and with warriors, and with sectarians from the Monolith, and of course with mutants of any size and height. In general, the fauna of enemies and factions is very wide. Speaking of factions, there are two somewhat neutral organizations towards the hero, but two of them stand out - “Duty” and “Freedom”, which are complete opposites (and initially one could join them, but this was left for “Call of Pripyat”). “Duty” is for strict discipline and the destruction of the Zone, and “Freedom” is for democracy and for studying the Zone. And what’s noteworthy is that “Duty” wears black anarchist suits, and “Svoboda” wears green military overalls, the former use modern weapons from NATO countries, and the latter amuse themselves with what they inherited from the USSR. Interesting note isn't it)
The game is moderately difficult, but this complexity does not cause discomfort.
And a little about its endings: initially they planned to make one or two endings, but the publisher insisted that there be more of them, and we have two “real” endings in which Bullseye/Shooter decides the fate of the mysterious organization “O-Consciousness”, and as many as 5 fake ones where the hero makes a wish (which it is decided according to the principle of the style of your passage of the game), but as a result of their riddle, the hero dies one way or another, either from his greed, or from his bloodthirstiness, or from a thirst for power, but one way or another he dies.
For that time, the game had good graphics (it still remains so for me personally), not the best optimization, but later a lot of things were fixed (but not everything), extremely atmospheric sound, starting from the music in the main menu , ending with the rustle of leaves and the crackle of a fire. Speaking of the fire, I can’t help but mention the wonderful evening gatherings around it, where other stalkers exchanged interesting stories.
Even the multiplayer in the game was extremely mediocre, but it still hasn’t died.
But we also need to talk about mods for stalker, which have become an integral part of the series. There are so many of them and they exist for absolutely every taste, from fan remasters and gameplay additions, to new stories, mods for other particularly large mods, and even the return of lost content. Speaking of the latter, initially the first part of Stalker was conceived under a different name and generally with a different plot and different mechanics. Fans were even able to return this unreleased game, and it can actually be played from start to finish. (Its name is “Oblivion: Lost”, it seems)
Conclusion:
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a rather crude product, but one way or another it has become a legend, which people never tire of playing through dozens of times and creating more and more new ones for it. new modifications and cut content.