Thirith on 10/12/2007 at 09:43
I finished Stalker yesterday, and I must admit that I rushed towards the ending. Why? Because I felt the game was seriously unbalanced in how it kept throwing soldiers at you. At some point it gets so forbiddingly difficult that I downloaded a trainer.
It's a shame, because in terms of the world and atmosphere the game creates, it's quite an amazing experience. Pripyat, under the dark, forboding clouds, lightning illuminating the streets, was fantastic - or it would have been, if it hadn't been Stalker's version of Sniper Alley.
Perhaps I'm getting too old for difficult games, but regardless of this I felt that the game suffered from bad pacing. Towards the end there were almost no moments when you can just walk around and take in the atmosphere... and since that's the best part of the game, at least in my opinion, my assessment of the game as a whole went down somewhat.
However, I've now installed the Traveler's Mod, and I'm looking forward to exploring the Zone without having to worry too much about bullets to the head. After all, it was never the enemies that scared me - it was the dark of the night and the feeling that I'm in one of the most forbidding places ever.
GRRRR on 10/12/2007 at 11:26
Everyone "rushed" the NPP and Prypriat i think, because its the most straight-forward tunnel shootery part of the game. Bit of a shame about Prypriat, it should have been longer and somewhat slower paced (mebbe even some smallish mission where you take over the city from Monolith) instead of "TOMG FOLLOW TEH RUSHING DOODS" with respawning enemies from everywhere. The city being sorta the Monoliths last stand before its an all out race for the big price at the NPP.
Didnt like how NPP played out at first too, but in context it makes sense. Like you said its one of the most forbidden places of the zone, and now imagine it like the Garbage or something, with quest-givers, Stalkers wandering about etc. Would be kinda strange i think.
Thirith on 10/12/2007 at 11:39
I think I would have been a lot less bothered in the actual reactor if there'd been the well-implemented option to sneak. It's the combination of "lots of enemies, lots of radiation, no other option than shooting your way through" that rather diminished the atmosphere for me.
242 on 10/12/2007 at 11:48
Quote Posted by Thirith
Perhaps I'm getting too old for difficult games, but regardless of this I felt that the game suffered from bad pacing. Towards the end there were almost no moments when you can just walk around and take in the atmosphere... and since that's the best part of the game, at least in my opinion, my assessment of the game as a whole went down somewhat.
Hmm, usually youth have small love for difficult games ;) Actually if you have proper equipment (f.e. Military suit, Thunder OC-14 + Vintar or Dragunov), some experience, and you aren't hasty, then even 100% cleaning of Prypiat or Red Forest isn't that difficult. Respawn is absent in the areas until you enter stadium or finish X19 appropriately, so take your time and pick enemies one by one, the first rule - don't be hasteful there, do it slowly and you'll have time to explore.
Quote:
Everyone "rushed" Prypriat i think, because its the most straight-forward tunnel shootery part of the game.
Not me, I cleaned it ;)
D'Arcy on 10/12/2007 at 11:59
I don't rush through Pripyat. I clean it out. I go there more than once, actually, often returning to the Bar to sell stuff I bring back. The only thing that really annoys me is that I've never been able to bring a Gauss rifle back: all the snipers I kill leave their guns on top of the buildings.
Rogue Keeper on 10/12/2007 at 12:17
Well I also thought that enemy spawning in Stalker is horrible ... until I tried Call of Duty 4, in comparison with which is Stalker a PEACEFUL GAME!
There is also Pripyat mission in CoD4... I have plenty of screensies from it and I'd like to present them here for comparison... well maybe ... someday.
Thirith on 10/12/2007 at 13:41
Quote Posted by BR796164
Well I also thought that enemy spawning in Stalker is horrible ... until I tried Call of Duty 4, in comparison with which is Stalker a PEACEFUL GAME!
True, but I went into Stalker with different expectations, and for a long time those expectations were met. The two games aren't exactly the same subgenre.
Rogue Keeper on 10/12/2007 at 13:52
Indeed not. But just like I suggested in CoD4 thread in GenGaming, Pripyat portrayed in CoD4 can on some levels compete with it's counterpart in Stalker. The interior design of buildings in the town would be more interesting in CoD4 than in Stalker, which is better in exterior design.
BEAR on 10/12/2007 at 14:57
Quote Posted by GRRRR
Everyone "rushed" the NPP and Prypriat i think, because its the most straight-forward tunnel shootery part of the game. Bit of a shame about Prypriat, it should have been longer and somewhat slower paced (mebbe even some smallish mission where you take over the city from Monolith) instead of "TOMG FOLLOW TEH RUSHING DOODS" with respawning enemies from everywhere. The city being sorta the Monoliths last stand before its an all out race for the big price at the NPP.
Didnt like how NPP played out at first too, but in context it makes sense. Like you said its one of the most forbidden places of the zone, and now imagine it like the Garbage or something, with quest-givers, Stalkers wandering about etc. Would be kinda strange i think.
I let that pack of stalkers get massacred before we hardly got into the city and then I explored and cleaned out the whole place solo, much more fun like that. It was such an awesome place I had to sneak through everything. I was like a cat exploring a new cubbyhole.
Bjossi on 16/12/2007 at 05:35
I ran through the first part of Chernobyl for obvious reasons, but I explored Pripyat thoroughly and took my time in the insides of the Chernobyl plant.
