S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Once again casting about for distractions, I found the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. bundle on Steam relatively inexpensive. There are some good reviews out there. After my experience with Far Cry 2, I was wary, though.
So... this is about what you get if you take Fallout 3, remove the quirky sense of humor, add a little more color variety to the palette, replace advancement with survival-style elements, and maybe knock the graphics down a peg or two. I find it kind of strange that Shadows of Chernobyl (the first of the games) is as engrossing as it is.
The story's sort of weak so far (several hours in, but not complete). Without any sort of XP system, there's very little incentive to do "side" missions. With scarcity of ammo, weight of gear, and wear to weapons/armor, there's actually incentive to avoid most of them. The only improvement to be found is better weapons and armor, and even then things feel more "realistic" than most games. Even with a scope (which helps immensely), a rifle shot may be anywhere in the neighborhood of the targeting reticle rather than consistently dead center. Head shots are easy to miss regardless of player skill or (non-existent) character stats and it's easy to burn through a full clip or more just trying to hit some of the faster mutants or dogs in the game.
And yet... even with those difficulties and the aging graphics, the game manages to be pretty entertaining, even atmospheric or spooky at times. I wanted a shooter that was less scripted than I was seeing lately, and this qualifies (even though there do seem to be some scripted and/or repetitive spawns). It's interesting. If the technology were updated, I think I'd go so far as to say I really like it. As it stands, it's good enough to play more.
So... this is about what you get if you take Fallout 3, remove the quirky sense of humor, add a little more color variety to the palette, replace advancement with survival-style elements, and maybe knock the graphics down a peg or two. I find it kind of strange that Shadows of Chernobyl (the first of the games) is as engrossing as it is.
The story's sort of weak so far (several hours in, but not complete). Without any sort of XP system, there's very little incentive to do "side" missions. With scarcity of ammo, weight of gear, and wear to weapons/armor, there's actually incentive to avoid most of them. The only improvement to be found is better weapons and armor, and even then things feel more "realistic" than most games. Even with a scope (which helps immensely), a rifle shot may be anywhere in the neighborhood of the targeting reticle rather than consistently dead center. Head shots are easy to miss regardless of player skill or (non-existent) character stats and it's easy to burn through a full clip or more just trying to hit some of the faster mutants or dogs in the game.
And yet... even with those difficulties and the aging graphics, the game manages to be pretty entertaining, even atmospheric or spooky at times. I wanted a shooter that was less scripted than I was seeing lately, and this qualifies (even though there do seem to be some scripted and/or repetitive spawns). It's interesting. If the technology were updated, I think I'd go so far as to say I really like it. As it stands, it's good enough to play more.
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