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

The game is great. Think Resident Evil crossed with a darker version of the Fallout type environment and Half-Life level of weirdness and story. Captures atmosphere perfectly. Graphics: Nothing special by todays standards but for their time great. The tone is excellent and will really bury you in the zone. Further there are tons of mods to improve texture quality out there that are pretty easy to install. Sound: Pretty great, and atmospheric. Gameplay: Terrific for an open world shooter/survival horror type game. Has a few issues with the engine lagging as it loads in the enemy AI, will be experieced as stutter and there isnt a lot you can do about it -search google for ini settings tweaks. Hits register well and hit boxes are accurate, at higher difficulties enemies can be sponges if you arent going for the head and the combat relies on you being stealthy/careful and not trying to Ironman groups (get used to sniping and creeping your way in to areas). Can equip 2 weapons and an armour suit and helment that have different bonuses (higher combat survival versus higher environmental hazard etc), along with 'artifacts' - magic stat boost items that have bonuses but usually penalties too (until the top tier ones later which have mostly just bonuses). Lots of guns to choose from but will probably fall to the usual 1xSniper and 1xAssault/SMG weapon. Bit of an inventory management game involved due to the guns and ammo types, armours and healing supplements etc. Lots of quests and exploring available. It has a few flaws though in the mechanics of the enemies behaving like they are psychic and have super strength to throw grenades. Engine can crash randomly. Mods:There are overhaul mods that are excellent to try, many of the better ones try to make the game torture and more hardcore (I Work Alone mod, Misery mod - Black Road start), they are interesting but tend to skew heavily certain ways and make some of the problems from vanilla worse. Definitely worth trying.

(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.

Отличная игра! Интересные сюжетные и второстепенные квесты, завезённый directx 11, респавн артефактов, полноценный сон. Эта часть самая допиленная и я думаю она ближе всего к тому самому сталкеру. Ты можешь полностью погрузиться в атмосферу игры и почувствовать себя настоящий сталкером.

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.