Mac Gaming

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is one of the scariest, most atmospheric games I’ve ever played on the PC. I’m not a huge horror fan — not even a little horror fan — but that didn’t stop me from buying S.T.A.L.K.E.R. last July. In fact, two things overrode my instinct to not get the game: 1) Shawn Elliot repeatedly mentioning the game on the GFW Radio podcast and this article by Jim Rossignol on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

I put a lot of time into S.T.A.L.K.E.R. when I first bought it, traveling through the somewhat unpredictable Chernobyl wasteland, fighting bandits, mutants, and soldiers alike. What I really enjoy about the game, though, is how the world goes on with or without you. While you are the hero of the game and drive the plot, the environment has a life of its own and you can actually watch as it creates and plays out its own narratives. For example, you can be traversing the zone and see other S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s fighting bandits in the distance, and you have no idea what group will win.

Moreover, the game lets you create your own stories. For example: Very near where you begin the game is a camp full of rookie S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s. A little ways away is an army outpost. The army guys are hostile if you get too close, but usually don’t cause trouble. However, on a whim, I decided to take potshots at the army guys. Realizing I was outnumbered, outgunned, and out-skilled, I ran away — back to the camp — thinking the enemy wouldn’t follow. But they did follow and a huge firefight between the rookies and soldiers took place. I hid in roof of an old building as the army slaughtered the rookies and the camp’s one quest-giver. Knowing I was still there, they weren’t going to leave until I was dead. My only chance of escape was to blindly toss grenades outside, hoping to kill enough of the army guys to even the odds so I could shoot my way out. And I did make it out. The ground of the camp was littered with bodies, but I was still alive. I looted the corpses, sold what I didn’t want, and moved on — the life of a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Anyway, I’m playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. again, almost a year later, this time with the Oblivion Lost mod. Chernobyl is as frightening and deadly as ever. Below are settings I’m using to play the game.

My Settings

The Verdict

At 1280×800, the frame rate can range from 15-40fps and averages at about 25. I don’t know if Oblivion Lost adjusts any of the graphical settings, but the game still looks great even though it’s two years old. It still plays well, too.

I often think of Fallout 3 when I’m playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and vice versa. The similarities are mostly superficial, but I can’t help but feel that if they got together and had a mutated, irradiated, three-eyed baby together, it would be perfect — equal parts FPS and RPG, a whole lot of atmosphere, and a living, breathing world that wouldn’t care if you lived or died. Fallout 3 on its own is almost there; with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.‘s gunplay, it would be amazing.

Metacritic.com User Score

8.2/10