A group of stalkers, for the first time, reaches the very heart of the Zone-the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant-and triggers a cataclysm on the brink of a catastrophe. An immense blast of anomalous energy transforms the Zone: the once reliable and relatively safe roads are no longer so, the landscape is wiped clean by outbursts of anomalies, and previously unknown areas appear on the Zone map. Stalkers and expeditions perish or end up isolated within the lost territories.
This review may contain spoilers
I'll be honest, I feel pretty stupid for getting this over SHoC. Allow me to explain; I have been goofing off in the beta for a while and It was fun to walk around and explore the ruins of the city. I then looked at videos of SHoC and saw you could walk around and explore Pripyat and Chernobyl aswell as other areas. Then the winter steam sales came around. I noticed CS was cheaper than SHoC and I noticed it was the prologue. Being the ridiculous person I am, I bought CS. The opening scene was okay, it could have had more of a grip though. You then wake up, the first 5 minutes of gameplay are going around the CS Camp talking to people. Then comes the time to go out. First of all, yeah Its cool having a secret base and all, but really? Theres a Faction War on men, stop wasting my time and yours and let me pass. Then I got to the first anomolies. I was familiar with what they do from the Beta, but I wasnt aware of where they were. In the beta they were clear as day, but in CS I have to pick a route, try it,die, then try a new one. The bolts really weren't much help either. Eventually though, I got out and on to the open-ish world. First combat against humans, a pain in the ***. I'd rather not waste my time finding cover to administer bandages, thanks. I eventually got the hang of combat, though. Then came the first sight of STALKERs. Can't get near 'em to complete my task though. So I say to hell with it and blow the unlucky bastards brains out. Then get to the task, which is another go that way mission. A word of advice: Go a different way. The shortest way is always the most deadly. I then got to the messenger, who told me to go to the Freedom base, who told me to do a bunch of ****, only to tell me to go back to where I found the messenger. I'm no further than that. On the plus side, I don't have to buy weapons all that often, the levels are all brilliant, the graphics are brilliant, some of the lines are hilarious, but all in all, Go for SHoC.