Stalker reviewed in PCG UK

[Llama]

87% - Not as good as the hype, but far better than Boiling Point.

C+C 3 also got 82%

Discuss :smoking:

 

[Sebastian]

what were the pros/cons?

 

[Tamer17]

"but far better than Boiling Point" - Yea, like that says much..Stalker wil prolly end up being "just" good.

 

[Sebastian]

"but far better than Boiling Point" - Yea, like that says much..Stalker wil prolly end up being "just" good.

If this is the case, it goes to show that you shouldn't put your faith in games that take years upon years to develop.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

But boiling point was a rush job. If the developers went to another publisher, they might of ironed out all the bugs and produced something entirely different.

STALKER could of got better if some of the other features were kept in, like driveable vehicles (hoping that they are easily moddable, or if they still have the files in the game directory, just disabled)

This obviously won't deter me from getting it, above 80% is still a brilliant result

 

[Dynasty]

80% or above are still top of their class. 90% and above are ground and genre-breaking games that set the benchmark for the next line of games.

80% is worthy of any gamer's collection. UK PCG are usually pretty damn good with reviews, so im worried a bit about C&C3...

 

[mortiz]

87% ain't bad for a game that but a few months ago we were all calling vaporware. Normally when these long delayed games do finally come out they're bad beyond belief. 87% is respectable.

 

[Sebastian]

I suppose we won't know how good it is until we try it. until then, this is all hearsay.

 

[Evo]

80% or above are still top of their class. 90% and above are ground and genre-breaking games that set the benchmark for the next line of games.

80% is worthy of any gamer's collection. UK PCG are usually pretty damn good with reviews, so im worried a bit about C&C3...

True true!

They said that Stalker got the higher score because it was more innovative, C&C3 only got 82% because it failed to offer anything dramatically new to the series and the genre

They have a point

 

[Dynasty]

Theyve kind of done the same with C&C3 as what happened with Doom 3 - everyone was expecting a new game, but what was released was just more of what made the previous game great but with a different engine. So i still think its going to be awesome.

C&C3 has gone BACK to its original C&C roots (none of this red alert 2 crap), which makes it a worthy title for RTS crown...but CoH wins i think.

 

[Tamer17]

BTW , S.T.A.L.K.E.R. = S.T.A.L.K.E.R.S. -- Scavengers, Trespassers, Adventurers, Loners, Killers, Explorers, and Robbers.

Pretty lame if you ask me. They could just continue and list nouns to infinity.

But yeah after all the delays and setbacks it's good to see the game's out and being a much decent one. Final verdict when I play it.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Yeah, this is great and all, but I can't wait to decide for myself!!!

 

[destrukt]

Mods could really save this game.

It'll be interesting to play this game for the first time.

 

[Kester^]

Theyve kind of done the same with C&C3 as what happened with Doom 3 - everyone was expecting a new game, but what was released was just more of what made the previous game great but with a different engine. So i still think its going to be awesome.

C&C3 has gone BACK to its original C&C roots (none of this red alert 2 crap), which makes it a worthy title for RTS crown...but CoH wins i think.

That was always the plan to go back to C&C, it was common knowledge that C&C was a trilogy when the first one was released. You make it sound like it was never going to happen until they realised some people didn't seem to like RA. Oh and didn't C&C2 come out after RA?

 

[CptStern]

If this is the case, it goes to show that you shouldn't put your faith in games that take years upon years to develop.

what? 87% is somehow a shit review?

and comparisons to Boiling Point were just silly ...I mean did they even play the game? it's was a buggy unplayable mess from the get go

 

[Gargantou]

I've read the review, and they say they've never played a game with this kind of atmosphere since System Shock 2, they say it's very good, main cons being that it's buggy, but it's already known a release-day patch will be out on the 23rd March.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

Tiberium sun came out after the original RA

 

[Sulkdodds]

what? 87% is somehow a shit review?

and comparisons to Boiling Point were just silly ...I mean did they even play the game? it's was a buggy unplayable mess from the get go

Having read the review, the only comparison with Boiling Point seems to be (to paraphrase) "Stalker, while occasionally patchy, is nowhere near as buggy as Boiling Point".

 

[Sui]

Sulkdudds, GIVE ME SCANS.

[Edit] ...HL2.net does not condone posting scans in any way, shape or form. I apologise for my appraisal of this action and PLEASEHELPME MUNRO HAS A GUN TO MY HEAD

 

[CptStern]

Having read the review, the only comparison with Boiling Point seems to be (to paraphrase) "Stalker, while occasionally patchy, is nowhere near as buggy as Boiling Point".

the only remotely close comparison to boiling point is that devs from GSC split and formed their own studio ..they made Boiling point. Does it go much into detail as to what the bugs are? any show stoppers?


and I agree with Sui -cide ..scans are a must

 

[Sulkdodds]

No show stoppers. Allow me to quote:

Crash bugs? A few, seemingly linked to loading a new section, but at least it autosaves first. Compared to the Boiling Point-type mess many expected, the twitchiness is less openly crazy.

The game works. In fact, most of its tics are actually fairly commonplace in games. Atmosphere is still broken when people walk into each other indefinitely, or enemies try to shoot through walls or even floors. The AI as a whole is bizarrely schizophrenic. When it's in a good mood, it's actually impressive: more than in most games, your opponents spend a lot of time running away and giving the impression they'd rather not be dead, if it's all the same to you.

I will certainly not be able to provide links to scans later on in the evening, when my scanner will not have stopped being so awkward.

As an aside, Sui, since you're reading this, you have my permission to go ahead and level at your leisure, as my in-game letter says (albeit vaguely more hysterically). I simply haven't the time enough to be trying to chase you up the experience bar - so while I'd be extremely happy if you slowed or stopped just for my benefit, I don't expect you to do so. I would ask you to stop at 60, though, if you please.

 

[cadaver]

Quote:

t:The stalker review is by KG. It's 6 pages and a good balance between text and screenshots. Imo it's the best review i've read in a while; taking time to analyse the game rather than just recounting cool stuff that happened in it or a creative writing essay with a few references to the game thrown in.

Anyway:
"Allow me to introduce you to STALKER; the bravest, most futurist survival horror game since System Shock 2."
"It's best described as a first-person shooter/roleplaying game/ survival horror hybrid, in that order....the horror is the thing that underlines the whole game. It's what makes it work. It's what makes it different."

"It's a game full of suprises. For the cynics...the biggest is that it works at all."
"The biggest problem stalker now faces is those early rash promises. To get a game which works, features have been trimmed back. For anyone who's been following the aga, there'll be a moment when they realise something they were hoping for isn't there."

KG then talks about a few side missions that have variable outcomes: Asked to join in defense of a base but dawdled and was chastised when arriving as they'd already fought off the attack. Asked to wipe out a camp but it was empty as they were off attacking a scrapayard.
It makes the game sound exciting and unpredictable.

"And there are other suprises. With all the screens of tentacle-monsters, you'd be expecting to see a lot more of them. In actual fact, monsters are rare. The vast majority of things you open fire on are fellow humans. This leads to a unique atmosphere in a PC science-fiction gam, where the strange is strange."
"This refusal to simply collapse into sci-fi hokum gives the game that rarest of auras: cedibility."

"which isn't to say that Stalker avoids the standard horror tropes of dark places and sudden noises. It excels at them"

"Crash bugs? A few"
"most of its tics are actually fairly commonplace in games. Atmosphere broken when people walk into each other indefinitely, or enemies try to shoot through walls or even floors. The AI as a whole is bizarrely schizophrenic. When it's in a good mood, it's actually impressive..."

"There's a lot of inventory-based worrying"
"The character development is solely based on getting better equipment and selecting for use up to 5 of the artefacts you're carrying."
"Character interaction has problems too...few memorable characters and the plot is badly told."

"Where the game's makers fail in telling the specific story of your character, they excel in telling the bigger story of survival in the zone."

"Few games are as atmospheric as Stalker and none have its specific atmosphere"

It's: Enormous, buggy, atmospheric
It's not:The hype, nearly as buggy as you'd expect, monster-stuffed

http://forum.v5g.de/showthread.php?t=7816

 

[VictimOfScience]

Man, this has really gotten me excited for it now! Must go pre-order when I pick up my copy of God of War II tonight! :E

 

[Sulkdodds]

The stalker review is by KG. It's 6 pages and a good balance between text and screenshots. Imo it's the best review i've read in a while; taking time to analyse the game rather than just recounting cool stuff that happened in it or a creative writing essay with a few references to the game thrown in.

Agreed. I figured it was Gillen a couple of paragraphs in, confirmed when I flipped to the back.

I was uncertain about this game, as most were, but I'm now positively excited.

 

[CptStern]

thanks guys for typing excerpts from the reviews ..sounds great, cant wait


this made me lol:

"your opponents spend a lot of time running away and giving the impression they'd rather not be dead, if it's all the same to you."

 

[Sui]

As an aside, Sui, since you're reading this, you have my permission to go ahead and level at your leisure, as my in-game letter says (albeit vaguely more hysterically). I simply haven't the time enough to be trying to chase you up the experience bar - so while I'd be extremely happy if you slowed or stopped just for my benefit, I don't expect you to do so. I would ask you to stop at 60, though, if you please.

Read my reply!

 

[Sulkdodds]

/me reads the post above him.

Er...done. Anything else?

 

[Gargantou]

And about the buggy review, as I said earlier, keep in mind, there will be a release patch on 23rd that will fix alot of bugs, and some have even hinted at it adding a co-op MP mode, having the ability to have STALKER NPCs and monsters in MP maps!

 

[Lucid]

Why the **** are there bugs?

The game's been in the works for what? 4/5 years?!

 

[jondy]

It's odd, but I wasn't hyped for this game until I read this thread. I sure-as-hell want it now, though.

 

[brink's]

87% is quite good, i have no idea why someone wouldn't be satisfied with that response

 

[Cole]

I'll prob get it.

LALLALALALLALALLA.

 

[Sebastian]

Hopefully the final product doesn't feel rushed.

 

[Unfocused]

I'm a bit concerned about the weapons though. I don't know about the PCG review, but in one Polish game magazine (that claims to have the first review evar BTW) I read that the weapons tend to break quickly and that going for headshots is a must, cause they sometimes needed to empty a whole clip into someone's back to kill them. And to get those headshots you need to be rather close, as weapons get unreliable pretty quickly as the distance increases.

Seems strange.

 

[Krynn72]

It's odd, but I wasn't hyped for this game until I read this thread. I sure-as-hell want it now, though.

Qft. Its too bad that im neigh broke.

EDIT: Actually... when is the game going to be on the shelves?

 

[CptStern]

I'm a bit concerned about the weapons though. I don't know about the PCG review, but in one Polish game magazine (that claims to have the first review evar BTW) I read that the weapons tend to break quickly and that going for headshots is a must, cause they sometimes needed to empty a whole clip into someone's back to kill them. And to get those headshots you need to be rather close, as weapons get unreliable pretty quickly as the distance increases.

Seems strange.

if it's anything like mp I've killed someone with a single shot to the head from across the map without using a scope

 

[Asuka]

Good stuff. Was picking it up for sure, this just turns it into a good buy rather then a risk buy.

 

[Alan00000]

Isn't this game like $39.99 U.S. dollars. That cant be good if thats true.

 

[Krynn72]

Isn't this game like $39.99 U.S. dollars. That cant be good if thats true.

??? DOES NOT COMPUTE ???

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

It is 40 dollars, I don't see the problem there..