S.T.A.L.K.E.R Call of Pripyat
polycounter lvl 18
Anyone playing this?
I am enjoying this one even more than the first 2 games. The immersion factor is just much higher this time. It still has its pitfalls that keep it from being a game of complete excellence, but I still love it.
I'm not that far into it, but I've had some wonderful experiences and stories to tell. The thing I like most about the Stalker series is its sense of wonder and mystery, and my imagination is filling in lots of holes. Not many games do that to me. I know that's why I'm hooked. I really dig the new anomaly storm idea and getting to cover, and hunting for artifacts in those cool environments with a detector.
I am enjoying this one even more than the first 2 games. The immersion factor is just much higher this time. It still has its pitfalls that keep it from being a game of complete excellence, but I still love it.
I'm not that far into it, but I've had some wonderful experiences and stories to tell. The thing I like most about the Stalker series is its sense of wonder and mystery, and my imagination is filling in lots of holes. Not many games do that to me. I know that's why I'm hooked. I really dig the new anomaly storm idea and getting to cover, and hunting for artifacts in those cool environments with a detector.
Replies
Maybe i'll get back to it in a week or so, but I can say that the time I did play it, it was amazing.
I believe it is closer to the original stalker, yes
Would be kind of nice to play one without the ten billion bugs their games have at launch...
I think the next interesting thing is that metro 2033.. cant wait to get my hands on that
edit: shit, so many games to play, Bioshock 2, MW2 and now this
Clear sky i got as far as that first tower only to get killed by some blast leaving me
no chance to escape.
So... no thanks.
...That's supposed to happen, you wake up back at the base. :poly142:
But yeah, Clear Sky was inferior, God I hate the spammy protect this - help those missions. Also encountered a bug which basically prevented me to finish the game, ending was shit anyway.
haha!
The newest S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (Call of Pripyat) finally made it to North America on Tuesday. I snagged a copy of the Collector's Edition (just came with nice packaging, a map, and some stickers) for $40 at my local Target. This is by far the most stable S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to date - I haven't had a single crash or broken mission. The maps are much larger, and they've improved on everything from weapon upgrading to mutant animation and sound to artifact collection and unique anomalies.
The graphics are beginning to show the age of the engine, but I agree with IGN when they said that this is a case where art triumphs over tech.
I did a exploration video that you can see here: [ame]
And, I have a few screenshots uploaded here: http://s209.photobucket.com/albums/bb134/EvilViking13/STALKER%20Call%20of%20Pripyat/
But here are some of my favorites:
As 3DLee said, the graphics aren't always so awesome, but the atmosphere is so right, and the structures feel very real.
I reached Pripyat a day ago, and I'm still really enjoying it, I've had a few pretty scary experiences in some of the underground areas (I agree with rooster though, most times you scare yourself more than the actual scare deserves, but that's still fun).
Oh and yeah, only had one crash (and it was after loading a zone, it had auto-saved just before), very impressed by the stability, and the lack of scripting bugs, compared to the 2 previews titles.
I feel the game really does make you forget that the engine is a little dated, and then again once the modders give it a scrubbing it looks a whole bunch better too.
It's a great shame that the dev team lack decent publishing support, and thus potential players, CoP in particular has suffered a really shoddy release.
CoP Variation mod
Call of Pripyat Variation mod adds new skins & meshes to the variation of Stalkers in Call of Pripyat, no gameplay changes have been made and is meant to be used with vanilla just to add new skins and variations to the world.
Better Flashlight
This mod adds in a better flashlight, that has new textures and configs. It also replaces the rain particle texture that makes it a bit larger than the normal rain and re-sizes the binoculars.
AtmosFear
ATMOSFEAR is a mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call Of Pripyat that tweaks and expands the vanilla weather system to be more realistic and various.
In my opinion, few other games immerse you in the world as much as CoP. I'd go as far as to say it's the most immersive game I've ever played. All you need is a bit of imagination and you'll be forgetting it's a game in no time.
My Advice? But it! It is so much better than Clear Sky, and probably represents what the dev team wanted the original Stalker to be. I have a feeling this game will turn out to have a massive cult following in the future...
This is actually really interesting that you say that. Like in films, what you can imagine in your head is always far more frightening than any realized creature effect, CG or real.
Its always said that stalker nails the setting, and that probably why it resonates with so many people. Stalker is one of those games that really gets into your head. I just wish is played a bit smoother.
I agree with you that the creatures, or climax`s to those sequences were always a letdown in one way or another.
I just gave clear skies a run through a month ago and was pleased with the updates, but it still felt disjointed and broken - I also missed the removal of the freaky scripted sequences. It was nice to have that dynamic clan system, but I want my monster moments dammit!
does C.O.P. have these?
Now let's see what they're cooking with the next (real full) sequel!
Btw, for those of u debating, Paripyat has the move cohesive, bug-free and user-friendly game design, and is mostly focused on exploration and atmosphere. The second game (clear sky) is mostly about fighting, and the first is somewhere in between, altho certainly has more bugs (crashes and whatnot). Still, the best parts really are simply scouring the land (at night!) walking around between random side-quests and enjoying the dreamy scenery.
No other games immerse like the STALKER series!
There was one other game tho that received such dedication and delivered such atmosphere... Thief.
I guess I should try it out sometime