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

(keep in mind I play this stalker unmodded vanilla)The S.T.A.L.K.E.R series has a cult following of passionate gamers, that are in love with the games thick melancholic atmosphere, challenging difficulty, and well put together in a sandbox open world that feels organic, and alive. Cop is a game that in my humble opinion improves on mostly everything from the last 2 games (except a few things I will talk about). The difficulty is lowered and not as brutal as the last 2, but still challenging. The side quests all have their own stories to them and actually effect the way the game ends which gives you a reason to go out and do them. The controls and quality of life improvements such as being able to sleep in a shelter, hotkey controls to heal much faster and easier, able to get weapons fixed and no longer have to continually drop and pick up new weapons to have a gun in good condition, start off with a assault rifle and some supplies instead of a weak pistol that barely does any damage. The world is packed with detail, dense, and the atmosphere is amazing and undeniably S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Some things that some fans don't like or have a mixed opinion on is the fact that most humans you come across are not hostile and won't shoot you on site (aside from monolith, and zombies) which makes the world feel less dangerous. Mutants are MORE dangerous and can kill you very quickly unprepared, and gunplay feels the best in this game out of the 3. My only cons are the game is much shorter than expected, and the world is the smallest out of the 3, but due to the tons of mods out their the replay value is insane. I strongly recommend this game to fans of the atmospheric, survival, horror games.

The third part of the legendary gaming franchise S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Compared to previous parts, the game was brought to mind, the graphics with physics were slightly improved, as well as optimization. It is worth noting a good combat system, an interesting story with tasks and an unforgettable, terrible atmosphere. Large arsenal of weapons and equipment, many interesting quests, convenient controls and interface...And most importantly, a living world filled with different mutants, anomalies and groups. GSC Game World created a really great and addictive game. 10/10

The STALKER games (the original trilogy) are masterpieces. Simple as that. Yes, the budgets were not that high, and bugs were present, but the soul of these games are just incredible, and the bugs/issues have been resolved by the incredibly passionate community. The STALKER games are the most atmospheric games that I have ever played (and I have played many games) with such incredible world design and environmental story telling. To understand the STALKER games, think of Fallout meets Deus Ex meets Far Cry set in the Chernobyl area of Ukraine with subtle supernatural elements made by actual Ukraine developers for extra authenticity and heavily inspired by the movie STALKER (which is in turn inspired by the novel "A Roadside Picnic"). There are just no other games like the STALKER games. The games are so unique: melancholic, philosophical, noir, artistic, fun, exploratory, action-packed, RPG, just everything in one that "just works". The games are ridiculously addictive and engrossing with tight gameplay and perfect pacing/scope. The trilogy is in my top five games of all time (having played close to 35 years of many many games). The passion of the communities for these games is also astronomical and totally rightfully so. STALKER - Anomaly and many other STALKER mods are always pretty much the most popular mods on ModDB and there are such incredible communities built around these games. It is extremely difficult to put into words what experiencing STALKER (especially the original Shadow Of Chernobyl for the first time) is like, it is magical and something so unique. Just pure masterpieces born from passionate developers and so different from traditional "western games" so to speak. Like so different, but still familiar...difficult to put into words. Those other fellow STALKERS that "get it" know that once the Zone has you...it never lets you go, and few other games ever make you feel and have an experience like the STALKER trilogy.

If I could take only one game to live on a desert island, without question, it would be this one. This is my all time favourite game of all time. On one occasion after I had played it through, I immediately started up another game and played it through again. I honestly believe I could never get bored playing this game. In my humble opinion, as separate entities or as a whole (The Trilogy), these titles must go down in video game history as some of the best games ever made. The game is not perfect by any means and does suffer with a few glitches, but none that will spoil your enjoyment of the game. However, my biggest bugbear with the game is the "double crouch" mechanism, which does mean that you will need a spare pare of hands to implement it :) I have played it with and without mods. My personal favourite is the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete Mod. It doesn't change the gameplay at all, but makes the game look a little sexier and best of all, it comes with a free sleeping bag (and some post emission options), a must for any fashion-conscious Stalker living in The Zone. The Misery Mod is on my To-Do list. The story line isn't as strong as Shadow of Chernobyl. The experience isn't as poignant as Clear Sky. But it does deliver a more enriched and atmospheric environment over its predecessors. You do get a sense that a shadowy apparition is constantly following you and as you spin around to face it...There's nothing there...Or is there? Death is literally stalking you (Excuse the pun). There you have it, three games in a series and each one bringing something different in experience and improving on the previous one. But this one is the pinnacle of the series. Encapsulate it all with a unique and fitting soundtrack and you have a gaming experience you just have to give in to. It's the law! I could literally bang on for hours about this game, but if you call yourself a gamer, then you owe it to yourself to play this at least once. I promise it won't be your last.

I had never played a STALKER game before and was pleasantly surprised by how engrossing the atmosphere and exploration are. I recommend installing the mods below though; the default values of FOV and grass draw distance are really low by modern standards. field-of-view-switcher-17 grass-draw-distances