Reviews// S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl (PC)

It almost goes without saying that your role in this game is as one of the Stalkers - one that's a bit wet behind the ears and unable to recollect how he ended up in the Zone. You're immediately introduced to an English-speaking trader, complete with an ‘authentic’ thick Russian accent (by which we clearly mean a ‘horribly clichéd’ accent). With little more than a pep-talk and a hunting knife you're sent on your way into the Zone to complete your first mission - locate and retrieve a flash drive from a missing Stalker.

Each mission takes the form of a primary objective, plus a set of sub-tasks - in this case you must first make contact with another Stalker to find out where about the target and situation. Mercifully, he provides you with a pistol. Most characters chatter away in Russian, but the actual dialogue is delivered as text, enabling you to skip through all the fluff if that's not your bag. It's probably a good idea to pay a little attention though, as characters will often give some insight into a situation you might soon find yourself in.

Throughout conversations you get to select one of several responses: from idle chit-chat to probing for specific intelligence. Some contacts will also be able to give you further missions, which can be accepted while you're already mid-mission. In these cases you can branch off or stick to the current objective and pick it up later.

You're equipped with a PDA that provides a list of your ongoing missions, along with access to a map and diary of events. You also have an inventory system that lists the items you currently hold, with details of their qualities and uses.

As you make your way around the countryside, you're comforted with the occasional beep, which lets you know of changes in proximity with the anomalies that scatter the Zone. As you draw closer, the interval between beeps shortens - very useful when you're legging it from a pack of starving dogs. The anomalies take the form of ripples, vortices and electrical discharges which, as kindly demonstrated by the dogs and boars that are likely to be pursuing you, will quickly dispatch any living thing that entered it - usually in a limb-from-limb manner. So, while you've got an eye out for those hungry animals, your other eye better be watching for anomalies.

If you've got an eye to spare, you'll have that trained on your map watching for bandit Stalkers and the military, usually travelling in groups. These guys have a tendency to make you very unwelcome, greeting you with a hail – of slugs not kisses. If you’re unsure of a character's level of threat, getting close enough to put your weapon sights on them will pop-up their name and allegiance. However, getting too close with your weapon drawn will always be met with hostility, as you might imagine. Just holster it and get about your business.

Most FPS games claim great artificial intelligence but very few deliver, so you'd excuse me if you spotted that pinch of salt seeping through my fingers. S.T.A.L.K.E.R., however, comes good. That might not be such a good thing if you're a bit crap, as I found out. Having dispatched two guards, another couple poked their heads around the corner. Going in gung-ho to the spot where they were last seen, the crafty bastards had flanked me, giving me the good news between the shoulder blades. Be warned, the enemy also work together - if you alert one perimeter guard, you can be sure that others will turn up in double-time, and they won't just attack from the front, so a bit of retreat and reconnoitre is one the cards.

As I mentioned, some bandit Stalkers will greet you with open fire, but others are neutral. You can opt to remain neutral yourself, or ally yourself with a faction. This obviously can have positive and detrimental effects on your missions, and force you to change your approach. To gear up for an engagement, you're going to need weapons and ammo, but you won't find any ammunition stores in these woods. The easiest route to acquisition is to kill somebody, then search their body for valuables. These can be weapons, vodka, medikits or anti-radiation serum.