Alright. Let's get down to business and state how part of the graphics are bad. There are a lot of reused human and monster models typical of any game as well as textures that are quite blurry and sometimes it's very "Shmeh" I mean, the creatures are imaginative but not "that" imaginative. Then again there are only two new creatures and all of the others came from the last two S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.
Now that that's over with let me say that the environmental graphics are top notch. You look around and (with maximum graphics permits) in a clear day you can spot an enemy from so far away. Each environmental factor is put into thought. Murky water, Lightning in a rainstorm, Clouds and even the way rain falls down or how "anomalies" light up the surroundings makes you start thinking about how spooky the environment is visually. The lighting is also beautiful. Sun rays and shadows are beautifully rendered. I didn't even mention how it is at night. At night the environment isn't so much different as it's dark. Most games usually make their night cycles like a permanent twilight. Anyone who has ever been out at night (Not a lot of us have ever been out at all.) can tell you that without any moon or stars or any source of light you will realize that you cannot see. That is how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. COP will play out. You have to change your entire fighting strategy at night not because there are harder enemies or they all come out at night. It's harder because you can't see without a flashlight on and you will realize and appreciate the graphics when you are stuck walking in the desolate but still green environment at a rainy night with your flashlight illuminating the six foot tall grass only to suddenly hear a growl right behind you.
Speaking of growls, let's talk about the audio on this game. I would have to say that there is no music in this game. Aside from the occasional Stalker camp where sometimes someone brings a guitar and you hear russian folksongs by the campfire or the occasional bar room singing but there is no ambient music. This makes it double scary when you start hearing the growls or the gunfire or the occasional rustling anywhere near you. The pistol shots and rifle shots are standard if not realistic and the over all sound system they have merge well with the environment that they want to portray which is basically irradiated no man's land with nothing but mutants and other greedy humans who want what you have. 
Now for the voice acting, I'm no expert in voice acting but....It's quite horrible in this game. I think that the people's voice acting basically have three tones in this game: Joking, Angry, Neutral. Now when someone jokes to their friend that they can take a blast of hot steam and live through it and watches them get knocked unconcious they don't ask for help to a nearby stalker with the same voice. Let me explain through his exact words: Guy 1: "Seee your suit can take it.. *BLAST OF STEAM* Stalkeerr please help uuuusss." It's very robotic. Most dialog though is text so you won't hear much of the voice acting but you will occasionally hear someone call you a c***sucker while you shoot his motherf*cking a**hole full of bullets. (Why not go all out?) Now, the gameplay is very "immersive". That's my single word for this part of the review. You play as a USS operative hiding out and checking why did five military grade choppers crash into this anomaly ridden field of traps, radioactivity and illegal smuggling called the Zone. You have a number of things that set this apart from other FPS's. Let's number them and explain shall we? 1.) Anomalies: Ok, I can classify theses as Nature's boobytraps. These usually play out as....how do I explain this....You know when you step on dog sh*t and you go crap? You don't see it. You don't smell it. You don't even know it's there till you step on one? Well that's how anomalies are. Except, think of dog sh* but instead of noticing it they get you killed. We've got Gas, Gravity, Psy anomalies to say a few. I won't name all of them because I don't want to spoil the surprise for any of you going to play this game. Gas is like...a ball of toxic acid. You usually see it because it's green and glowy at night and it will usually melt your face off in a few seconds. Gravity..well...There are different kinds of gravity anomalies. Usual type is the type that sucks you in and crushes you into a small ball. Psy anomalies you can sort of know you're running into because everything starts to look blue. and you start realizing that you're going to die if you aren't careful. From my experience you can know if there is an anomaly three ways. If you die for almost no reason, Throw an iron screw (which you have an infinite supply of) and see the screw's reaction, See an enemy run into one. And yes guys, It is actually funny watching a running blind ravenous dog suddenly start twirling in the air and explode.
2.) Customization: Not that original but there is Weapon tree customization where you have to think about what you want. Reliability or Accuracy, Flatness or Less recoil, More artifact pockets or bullet negation etc. etc. From your helmet to your gun you can customize whatever is on that tree. Though you will need Rubles or vodka to lessen the price but that is how it goes in the zone.
3.) Artifacts: Think of these as radioactive lucky charms. No, not the cereal but more like four leaf clovers and etc. They make you heal fast or protect you from radiation or even heal radiation too! Now you ask how do I get these things? Here's the tricky part. They're in the middle of huge masses of anomalies. Like a village that burns forever with Burner anomalies or a scar with a huge psy signature. Most anomalies can be reached but one false step and it's one less Stalker in the zone. I would like to add that selling artifacts is a good way to gain lots of rubles. That is if you're greedy like that.
4.) Real Life/Real Time AI: You can be at one side of the map and you suddenly realize while walking throuh the Zone that you see a ton of dead dogs, a boar, a few flesh and a dead bandit or two. That's what's great about this game. It's mostly random sometimes and animals fight for food. Factions shoot each other. Treasure hunters eternally swirl and body parts explode in anomalies trying to search for treasure. People camp and sing songs when they're having a little R and R by the side of a gigantic gravitational anomaly with two fireballs spinning around. No one game is the same.
As I said before. No one game is the same. I'm sure though that if you finish the game it might be difficult to want to start again without the will to go through the whole storyline and etc. all over again. The sidequests are colorful and the environment makes me think why don't other games do the same. To me it is a very unique world and you probably won't finish it in a weekend. Not with all the sidequests done. The beauty of this game is exploration and even the E in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. means exploration. If anything this game will probably suck a week and a bit out of your life if you play with breaks and etc. etc. Beautiful. Interesting. Tense Moments do happen. Story is alright. Most importantly, This game has by far the fewest bugs of the stalker series. If anything this is a nice all around job by the people at GSC and I think if you can get past the subpar voice acting and a little outdated model graphic then you can really see this game shine.
Recommended PC specs: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400/AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+, 2GB RAM, nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX/ ATI Radeon HD 4850/ 512 MB Dirext X9 or 10 compatible video card
HOW DOES IT LOOK? S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat has a good knowledge and detail regarding the devastating nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl. They really capture the essence of danger and mutation through the game. Whether it is abrupt environmental changes, to dead grass and ruined cities. The people at GSC Game World, know what they are doing.
HOW DOES IT SOUND? The voice actors did a horrible job representing emotion, but aside from that there is not ambient music which adds to the frightening experience the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise is known for.
HOW DOES IT PLAY? The game itself is wonderful. It is fun and always different every play through but sometimes you feel that what you do is very repetitive which can cut down a little bit on the replayability.
HOW LONG WILL IT LAST? It is a long game, with multiple missions and side missions you will surely be busy for sometime. As a rough estimate, I finished the game with at least 40 hours in it (and that is not even getting everything), so you will be surely pleased with the length.
HOW IS IT PRESENTED? If you want a new take on "Post-Apocalyptic" gaming then you should consider S.T.A.L.K.E.R Call of Pripyat. Even if you haven't played the past games, this game doesn't leave you under the bus for it begins with the same concept, but a whole new story line.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Oh god, that Post-Apocalyptic Stormtrooper scared the shit out of me.
I saw this game at a shelf, and I was wondering what it was. Thanks for the review!
Pretty good review! Buying it on steam right now!