S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is doing its best to quell any rumours of its vaporware status. In fact, GameSpot UK goes as far as to say "GSC Game World's long-awaited PC shooter is nearing completion." Some of their impressions:<blockquote>As well as implementing brand-new technology in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., the developers have had time to implement a branching storyline that has seven different endings. The team talks about five of these being "false," while two of them are "true." Predictably, you'll have to put in the work to see one of the better endings, as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s open-ended, do-anything structure lets you choose how involved you want to be in the game. If you decide to take part in the secondary goals and help those in need, you'll earn one of the better finales, which the makers claim will take 40 to 60 hours to achieve. Other considerations, such as how much you trade and who you decide to kill, will also affect the game's conclusion. While you won't be able to continue the game after completion, the team expects that you will want to go back through a number of times.
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Although S.T.A.L.K.E.R. appears to be a traditional first-person shooter, there's a role-playing element to managing your inventory. You're limited in the amount of equipment you can carry by weight, so you have to balance the guns and ammo you take with you. You can swap weapons with those from fallen enemies, and we soon found weapons that suited our individual playing style based on their ranges and firing spread. Likewise, although carrying stronger armor will prove useful against enemy attacks, it's heavier and takes up more room in your inventory. As you travel around the zone, there's plenty to scavenge, as well as buy from traders, so you'll be able to experiment with a variety of combinations as you play.</blockquote>That's not sounding too good on RPG elements there. GameSpot also notes that "[w]hile S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is big on ideas, it currently looks a little dated when compared to its next-generation contemporaries."
Link: Hands-on impressions of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. on GameSpot
Spotted on DaC
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Although S.T.A.L.K.E.R. appears to be a traditional first-person shooter, there's a role-playing element to managing your inventory. You're limited in the amount of equipment you can carry by weight, so you have to balance the guns and ammo you take with you. You can swap weapons with those from fallen enemies, and we soon found weapons that suited our individual playing style based on their ranges and firing spread. Likewise, although carrying stronger armor will prove useful against enemy attacks, it's heavier and takes up more room in your inventory. As you travel around the zone, there's plenty to scavenge, as well as buy from traders, so you'll be able to experiment with a variety of combinations as you play.</blockquote>That's not sounding too good on RPG elements there. GameSpot also notes that "[w]hile S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is big on ideas, it currently looks a little dated when compared to its next-generation contemporaries."
Link: Hands-on impressions of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. on GameSpot
Spotted on DaC
