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S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl - Hands On Preview
Chris Leyton
25/02/2007
There once was a game from Ukraine, that caused THQ incredible pain...
When rumours of discontent first began to emerge from Russian gaming websites towards the beginning of 2006, it appeared that THQ had a Duke Nukem Forever situation developing on their hands. A delay can often become a timely boost to any game of AAA standards, escalating the weight of expectation amongst a fanbase hanging for every drip of information. Further slips, however, run the risk of cranking this up a notch too far or pushing the game beyond most gamers' interest and attention span - any further and you run the risk of making the Top 10 of Wired's Vapourware list (an accolade STALKER can already lay claim to).
History has taught us that games stuck in endless development cycles are rarely worth the wait, so it's easy to see why S.T.A.L.K.E.R has been mentioned in the same manner as Ion Storm's Daikatana on several occasions. In development since 2001 (originally due for release in 2003) and undergoing a couple of name changes along the way, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl seemed like a game lost in the same wilderness that it was trying to portray. Recently, however, there have been signs that the game may just make the Q1 release date that THQ are determined to maintain, with the eventual appearance of the multiplayer BETA and a preview build that has recently surfaced at TVG.
GTA: Chernobyl City?
From the Ukrainian based GSC Gameworld (Cossacks, Codename: Outbreak), S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl is set in the year 2012, six years after a mysterious second nuclear explosion devastated the area once again. Presumably, GSC originally intended for a 'near-future' plotline, but later changed this to 'alternative-reality' to accommodate the effect of the delay. Drawing influences from Russian Sci-Fi material such as Strugatsky' 'Roadside Panic' and sharing the same name as Tarkovsky's prophetic 1979 film, S.T.A.L.K.E.R casts players as an unknown Stalker, local inhabitants of "The Zone" who scavenge what they can to exist. Disputes and the need to survive have splintered the people into rival factions, many of which you will team up with or fight against based upon a constantly changing relationship dynamic. Amidst tales of Stalkers that have returned from "The Zone" with great artefacts, the mystery behind the origins of the area and discovering your identity, provides the main impetus behind the game.
Beginning in the underground bunker of a trader who serves as an early mentor, S.T.A.L.K.E.R features a heavy free-roaming structure that allows you to choose missions based upon your standing with the many different factions in the game. Early missions suggest the final game will hopefully feature a sufficient level of variety throughout, with objectives such as rescuing a hostage and defending an outpost from attack. Travelling across the landscape will also open up further side-missions: an injured stalker crying out for a first aid package, or another that has come under attack from mutant hounds. Encountering side-missions in a game world that measures 30sq km seems to be largely a matter of luck, but hints of a natural sense of progression in the final game, as you explore the environment and listen out instead of running between Point A - B objectives.
Decayed Urban Areas From Years Gone By...
Many of the seven years in development appear to have been spent on the X-Ray engine that powers the game. Although there's some reservations as to whether GSC have been able to keep up with the times (which we'll hold onto until review) at this stage, the environment at least presents an eerily post-apocalyptic landscape with which to base the game upon. Decayed urban areas from years gone by, overtaken by nature's eventual reintroduction, the X-Ray Engine has been upgraded throughout the years to accommodate everything you'd expect: Shader Model 3.0 support, HDR, Per Pixel Dynamic Lighting, Day/Night cycle, Weather Effect...
Strange patches of space appear throughout the land. Named "Anomalies", these areas are distinguished by their mysterious refraction of the light and the increasing clicks of your Geiger counter. Stepping inside these will distort the screen with a white-noise visual interference, whilst prolonged exposure will induce deadly levels of radiation that can kill in a matter of seconds. Although the effect doesn't quite convey the "brain-bubbling" that other stalkers warn of, they are nonetheless deadly to anything that unwittingly stumbles too near, obliterating unwitting animals in an explosion of blood.
Playtesting, Missing Features: TBC
Unfortunately, at this, (presumably) late stage in development, S.T.A.L.K.E.R is still looking rough around the edges and we're concerned that vital playtesting and balancing is still a major concern for the team. A number of issues make the opening hour of gameplay more frustrating then it should be, relying on systematically saving the game every couple of minutes to struggle past what feels like an unfair and frustrating challenge. Combat rarely feel like a test of skill, more a case of strategy, determination, and luck, held up by a clunky item interface that makes restoring health far too convoluted; a health gauge that's hard to keep tabs on in the heat of combat; and a questionable hit-point system that seems overly realistic - often a few bullets in the head or a full clip at short range still isn't enough to put these guys down! These aspects combine to create an extremely frustrating combat system that relies too heavily on trial-and-error gameplay. Whilst we're hopeful that GSC have been busily playtesting and balancing the game in the weeks since the build was compiled, we're slightly concerned by the amount of time this could take - could it be a question of a further delay, or a game shipped that still isn't entirely right.
The team have reportedly spent as much time on the AI of the radiation soaked animals that frequent the land as the human characters. Although watching mutant dogs hunt naturally in packs and scamper off when they're isolated and feel threatened is impressive, the statement is made slightly questionable when the combat AI of rival Stalkers seems a little 'broken' at this stage. Too often, combat involved ducking behind a wall to reload, only to find the opponent had turned around and constantly failed to recognise the danger of turning his back to somebody with a gun! Being optimistic, I'm hopefully that the talk about S.T.A.L.K.E.R "A-Life" technology will be more than the overstatements that traditionally linger around games lost in limbo; it needs to be faultless, given that the system is a central component to the believable living/breathing world that GSC are trying to create.
The crunch to get S.T.A.L.K.E.R ready for release also appears to have resulted in features cut from the final game. Although vehicles were originally mentioned, Stalkers will have to traverse the barren landscape entirely on foot in the final game. A gameworld of 30sq km seems adequate for the inclusion of vehicles, although their inclusion often meets with mixed results so it doesn't seem like a massive loss - for every Halo there's a Chrome. Given the glitches that are still evident in this build, it seems the added complexity of vehicle physics are a luxury THQ and GSC deems not worth waiting for - although there are some suggestions the code will be present for prying game modders.
An indication of the work that's still left, the preview build required a hefty 2GB RAM just to run with an acceptable frame-rate. Although we have every confidence that optimisation will bring these down to something more acceptable upon release, S.T.A.L.K.E.R will still likely come with a hefty target specification if you want to enjoy maximum settings.
Light At The End Of A Very Long Tunnel
Despite these reservations, there are aspects about S.T.A.L.K.E.R that managed to keep me plugging away, and left a hope that both GSC and THQ will be able to tidy up the loose ends and ensure the game meets its full potential. A non-linear, free-roaming, structure is uncommon in the first-person-shooter genre, and there are some early signs that the game could provide a highly charged, atmospheric, experience beyond the typical shooter.
Certainly, S.T.A.L.K.E.R appears to offer much more then just a straightforward shooter, with items playing a strong role in the game, lending a light RPG feel to the proceedings. A horde of items, weapons and artefacts of a stranger disposition are found within the gameworld, each has a variety of functions such as the health replenishing properties of food or the defensive capabilities of a mutated jellyfish hanging from your belt; however, items must be balanced with the weight that you can carry. Although trading with individuals was the most likely cause for S.T.A.L.K.E.R to crash miserably to the desktop in this early preview build, buying and selling with rival stalkers and traders will likely play another significant RPG'ish aspect of the game.
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