Silicon Fusion >> Previews >> S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Oblivion Lost (ECTS 2003)

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30th August 2003:
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Oblivion Lost (ECTS 2003)
GSC Game World showed us their new, apocalyptic first-person shooter at ECTS, so here are our impressions of the game so far.
Posted by Marc Hull - PC - UK and Europe

Although at first sight you may stereotype S.T.A.L.K.E.R as just yet another first-person shooter, the concept behind it is actually quite innovative. You are allowed to roam around the game's environment, the apocalyptic Chernobyl site, pretty much at will, and are allowed to complete the game's missions in whatever way you like. There are no set levels as such, nothing pushing you down a particular route through the game; it is promised to be an entirely non-linear experience. As such, the developers claim that every time you tackle the game it will be different, providing vast amounts of replay value.

The story behind the game tells of another nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl site in 2006, leaving the area uninhabitable for some time and exhibiting some unusual energy disturbances. With a disaster of this size, even the most advanced protection suits are useless, stopping rescue teams from entering the area and forcing the Army to quarantine it. Four years after the event, expedition teams can finally enter the zone and investigate what happened, and among these are the Stalkers, whose sole aim is to find artefacts exhibiting anomalous energy behaviour and sell them to the highest bidder.

You play the part of a Stalker trying to find these artefacts that are hidden throughout the Chernobyl site. With a pocket computer on-hand, you are sent messages from interested buyers outside the world telling you what artefacts they are looking for and setting a price for them, then it's up to you to locate these objects and sell them. However, you are not alone in this world - the game keeps track of many other Stalkers who are all trying to complete the same missions you are. Whoever finds the artefacts first can sell them for the highest price, so it's in your interests to locate them as quickly as possible.

The other Stalkers in the game each have various personality characteristics that determine how they would respond in various situations. For instance, sometimes you might find yourself trapped in an area of the game world, and you'll have to send out a distress signal for help. If this is heard by nice Stalkers, they'll probably come and help you out, while indifferent ones may just ignore it. Evil ones, however, will probably track you down, kill you and steal your artefacts, so it's a good idea to be careful!

The game's world is also populated by other characters, including mutant animals that are only interested in killing you. These mutants range from the slightly weird, such as the odd-looking rats that scurry about the place, to the completely abnormal creatures that have special abilities, including group intellect, telepathy and telekinesis. You will also come across military personnel inside the zone who don't take too kindly to Stalkers stealing artefacts, so they will try their utmost to put you off. To make matters even worse, the radiation itself is causing particular areas of the environment to show some strange behaviour, so you have to detect and avoid these bits if you want to stay alive!

Graphically, although not matching up to the likes of Doom 3 and Half-Life 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R still has its fair share of impressive bits. The outside areas of the game are vast, quite detailed and sport a large draw distance that allows you to see for miles. These sections contain derelict buildings, trashed cars and various mutants roaming around that add to the eerie, apocalyptic feel of the game. Meanwhile, the inside areas seem quite small, but with lots of detail and great lighting effects such as shadows and reflections. Some of these bits are in complete darkness, so you have to get out your trusty torch to see where you're going - when you do this, every shadow and reflective surface changes dynamically, which looks very nice indeed!

Another impressive part of the game engine is its physics system, which causes every object to react realistically and not just have scripted responses. Shoot an enemy in the leg and he'll fall in that direction; if he's at the top of a building he'll probably fall off it and hit things on the way down. The characters' skeletal animation system makes their movements look realistic whatever happens to them. You can also get into various vehicles dotted around the environment and these also drive realistically over the terrain, with suspension and centre of gravity being accurately simulated. Admittedly, these things have been done before in other games, but they all help to make the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R a little more believable.

Overall, the game seems to be shaping up well so far, although with it not set to hit the shops until next Summer there's still plenty to do. We hope to find out more details about the missions you'll receive during the game, and determine how much variety there is as you progress. Also, the title seems ideal for a good online multiplayer mode, so we're looking forward to hearing more about that in the future. Keep you eyes on the site for more details about S.T.A.L.K.E.R soon!

Marc Hull

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