Posted on: February 6, 2014
sparkyhodgo
Games: 500 Reviews: 8
Tremendous Atmosphere
One of the most atmospheric and memorable games I've played. Be sure to play with the Zone Reclamation Project mod, which enhances graphics and gameplay. SoC has the best atmosphere of any game since Bioshock. It's a dark world with mutant wildlife. Every step can mean death. The experience is as user hostile as a nuclear wasteland should be, so prepare to die. But die as you appreciate shadows and lighting, *excellent* texture shaders, and heart-pounding ambushes. And it's a compelling world: every building and ruin is unique and believable. I feel like this is a real place. Much like my favorite games, Half Life and Bioshock, the story finds you. Prepare for some great twists. Perhaps my only criticism here is that some of the other characters should have been more memorable, but this reinforces how much you're on your own. My only criticisms involve the difficulty, inventory, and backtracking. This game is DAMN hard. Seemingly everything kills you in one hit and I had some sections where I was reloading from death every few seconds. Re inventory, you can't carry much, and many quests involve retrieving items, so you're constantly playing inventory management minigames. Re backtracking: one downside of a big hard world is you have lots of ground to cover and ambushes from bandits and wildlife along the way, can make it a chore just to make it back to base. Solution to all: use the mod. I can't wait to try this with the Oculus Rift.
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