Call of Pripyat takes you once again into the vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor that exploded in 1986. This so-called "Zone" is a highly contaminated area cordoned off by the military and now is combed through by the so-called stalkers, modern fortune hunters, in search of unique artifacts. In the role of Agent Alexander Degtyarev, who is dressed up as stalker, you have to investigate the mysterious disappearance of five military helicopters and thereby stand one’s ground against the various stalker groups.
Pros:
-3 large completely new areas to explore
-Retains the amazing atmosphere of the series. There are some locations you will be very reluctant to enter just from their haunting appearance.
-Vastly improved game engine that's more stable than the previous X-ray versions and delivers better visuals than any other engine out there with much better performance when properly tweaked.
-NPC interactions feel much more connected and meaningful compared to the previous two STALKERs.
-Upgrade system properly implemented and enhanced from Clear Sky
-Side missions feel more like actual quests rather than chores. No more go kill random stalker and get money quests.
-The modding potential is massive, and mods are capable of fixing every negative aspect of the game
Negatives:
-The zone feels fairly inactive. Very little happens without you being directly involved. The most random action you'll find are groups of 2-3 stalkers fighting each other or a small band of mutants
-Weapon handling feels incredibly unnatural, though this is probably necessary to make some of the upgrades even worthwhile.
-Far too easy on the hardest difficulty. Your primary enemies are zombified stalkers which are pushovers. Medkits are common to find on dead stalkers/zombies and stashes are spawned from the beginning making it easy to become well equipped from the start if you know where to look.
-The game goes downhill in the last third of the main quest (I.E. when you reach Pripyat). The final mission is a joke, especially to anyone who finished SHoC's gauntlet of a level with the best ending. Nothing is a threat once you get the gauss rifle. The endings are cookie cutter slideshows similar to the Fallout 3/Fallout NV endings
-The main story is not very interesting overall.