S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

Fun, but unforgiving first person looter/shooter. Set on open maps facing mutants, factions and deadly anomalies. Performance wise up pops that awful micro stuttering once again like in the very first title.

Although this game is a stuttery mess like the two before it's still a masterpiece. It offers great gameplay, creepy atmosphere and cool range of weapons. I would recommend you buy it only if you are not a perfectionist, I am thats the only reason I gave it 3/5.

The GOG version does not launch, you have to use extern open source engine to start it. GOG does not fix it since ever, really a pain... better get it from an other provider if you know what I mean.

i've now played through the whole game and don't really see what the fuss is about. the chernobyl scifi wasteland setting is really cool, but gameplay is uninspiring. you just shoot stuff, get boring quests from NPCs, and occasionally upgrade equipment. very standard fare. it sometimes flirts with horror survival which is nice. it's open-ish world, but you basically only encounter each territory one time, which makes it feel surprisingly linear. the acting and story are both distractingly bad. it's just a grindy shooter. many other games more deserving of your time.

Playing games since I was six years old in the 80's when I got a C64. I am at the point where I just can't play certain older games anymore that I used to be able to play and really get into. This is the most recent example. I actually got into Stalker relatively late and this was my first Stalker game around 15 years ago. I was very immersed and truly got into the game and the "mega-mod" for this which I played after completing Call of Pripyat. They totally immersed me for months. Now I am trying it again, after having tried last year, and I just can't play this anymore. Nowadays, it just feels like an unfinished alpha game. I tried again to play just before writing this and gave up after 3 stalkers just had ZERO reaction to getting attacked by a mutant dog and let themselves get killed. I killed it with no problem. Looking back, I think my early 30's self was more depressed, an alcoholic, and DESPERATE for escapism. This game fit the bill perfectly then. Now I see this just doesn't hold up at all anymore. It just feels like it is a waste of time putting up with it. However, it makes me happy to see how much more discerning I am with my entertainment and happy I am not so desperate for an experience to use precious days of my life just playing this. Glad to have grown out of that sad state of being 15 years ago, but at least the game did fill the void I had for a time. I could never recommend this game to anyone today unless I felt the were truly desperate somehow as I was back then. But even then, I might recommend something else more uplifting. I think the game did fuel some bad drinking even though it was fun at the time. Even writing this review gives me some needed perspective and provides a bit of closure to that period of my life... goodbye old self!