S.T.A.L.K.E.R - Shadow of Chernobyl: Official PC video game site

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl stalker videogame official THQ site. Visit the Stalker site for game news, video downloads, characters, weapons, monsters, mutants, art, screenshots and insights into zone hazards, blowouts, artifacts and anomolies. As a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. you are free to explore the entire world of the Zone, with no physical restrictions and no time limits. You will become a Stalker � a cross between a mercenary and a treasure seeker; a person who is seen as a plunderer, a scavenger, a loner, and as food. Your task is to locate and retrieve artefacts from anywhere within the Zone. It's a bit like picking red hot embers out of a blazing inferno. And that's the easy part.

Once you've found a few artefacts, you have to find a dealer who you can trade with but take note - they're not on the High Street, they don't belong to any bona fide business association and they'd just as soon cut your throat as cut a deal. Assuming you can negotiate with them, you'll walk away with some cash. Now you can buy weapons, ammo, protective suits and other essential equipment which will enable you to complete tasks in radiation-filled, inaccessible areas.

Though you work mostly alone, you can use your wiles to gain mutual benefits from other Stalkers. You can meet and exchange information or trade goods but if you behave like a badass, then retribution will be swift. All your actions have consequences and will impact on the world around you. Not only that, this world exists whether you are there or not. Time passes, the weather is notoriously changeable, anomalies assault the landscape, players and characters interact and feed off each other. Things are never as you left, and never quite how they seem.

The longer you survive, the more you learn about the ways of the Zone. You develop your skills and improve your reputation; you also find out how not to die of starvation. With luck and intelligence you may gain the respect of other Stalkers. However, that still leaves the military, the mutants and the unfathomable upheavals of the blowouts to contend with.

Good luck. Or perhaps we should say Goodbye?

FREEDOM OF ACTION AND MOVEMENT

The key game motif is the freedom to choose how to play. You are entrusted an entire world, a huge territory populated by various creatures, impacted by unknown and bizarre laws. There�s a fine line between life and death, so you must choose your path to survival. On top of that, you are given a minimal set of equipment and assigned an intriguing task. From that moment on you must choose your destiny � where to explore, when to fight, when to run. The gameplay reacts to your style of play. Prefer noiseless stealth operations with ambush attacks? Do you go in all guns-blazing for adrenaline-fuelled assaults? Perhaps you like to explore and trade? Or maybe deep in your heart you are a warrior. Freedom of actions is the basis for the game you can�t play twice in the same way.

A LIVING, BREATHING WORLD

Think game worlds and environments must remain static? Think again � you are no longer just a trigger for set pieces and cut-scenes. In S.T.A.L.K.E.R., you never know what awaits you around the corner. There may be a camp of friendly stalkers, a den of monsters, an insane sniper or bloodsucker, a wounded stalker or a lurking murderer. The world lives its own life; events unfold independently of your actions. This is a living, breathing environment and you are to choose whether to calmly observe the happenings or become an active participant.

A-LIFE

How does the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. world come to life? It is the system of life simulation (otherwise known as A-Life), a groundbreaking AI system, which is responsible for controlling all of the game characters and events in the Zone. Over 1,000 stalkers go about their business, accomplishing their tasks, exploring the Zone, engaging in combat, taking rest, eating � they truly live in the Zone. Monsters get in packs to attack stalker camps and fight with each other. On the global level, the AI controls even the wars of factions. Creating background events and generating an unlimited number of secondary tasks and random quests, the A-Life system takes care of it all. Owing to the efficiency of this innovative system, your play-through of the game will not only be new every time, but also completely different from other players� experiences.

DAY & NIGHT CYCLES IN REAL TIME

As you learn to live and survive in the Zone, the time flows concomitantly. Day gets changed by night and the bright sunny weather is ousted by stormy skies. As never before, the time of the day in the game impacts your gameplay � while you and all other stalkers suffer poor visibility at night, most of the weapons can aid your vision. Beware of monsters that lie in wait underground by day, but crawl outside at night; venturing into the Zone by twilight. Do your best to find rare artefacts visible in the dark only � don�t lose your chance to get the most out of the game (exposing yourself to the greater risk of travelling at night, you can get bigger rewards as well). Of course, it is for you to decide whether it�s worth the risk.

EQUIPMENT & WEAPONS

Travels into the Zone go hand-in-hand with great danger. This is why we couldn�t send you into this survival school without the proper equipment. We have prepared a whole set of protective suits, detectors, stalker-friendly foodstuffs, medkits, bandages, means of radiation protection and other survival stuff. You can acquire a selection of weapons in the Zone, ranging from knives, pistols and rifles up to a weighty grenade launcher, and each weapon features different ammunition types.

Weapons behave very true-to-life in the game: Pistols, rifles and machine guns fire with realistic force and along the correct trajectory; they also suffer from wear and tea and occasionally misfire. If you have some money burning a hole in your pocket, you can get your guns improved with upgrades, including silencers, barrel-attached grenade launchers and sniper scopes � ask at the dealer�s closest to you.

Well, it looks like you�re briefed now and are ready to feel the glow of the Zone on your face. Get out there� and stay alive.Immerse yourself into captivating battles within the terrifying and dangerous world of the Chernobyl Zone over LAN and Internet. There are 10 maps available, so join up with other players in a game supporting up to 32 combatants.

Opt for one of the sides � stalkers (weapons/equipment set in general ex-USSR manufactured) or mercenaries (weapons/equipment set in general NATO manufactured) and battle in one of the three multiplayer modes available.

Death Match: Every man for himself. The task is to kill more enemies than the other players, until the time- or frag- limit is reached.

Team Death Match: Players split into two teams, which have different weapon sets. Kill more enemies than your opposing team before the time- or frag-limit is.

Artefact Hunt: Players split into two teams. The main objective is to find and deliver artefact to your team�s base. Artefact appears randomly in pre-destined places on the level. The team which collects the most artefacts wins.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.�s network game includes an abundance of equipment, grenades and armaments which differ in firing rate, damage inflicted and accuracy. In order to have options to equip with the best items, the player should have enough money and the corresponding rank.

The game rules are similar to classic game modes, however the unique S.T.A.L.K.E.R. atmosphere makes its MP stand out from the rest.

The unique MP features include:

Ranks: The player starts the game as Novice. While playing he may get promoted a further four ranks � Experienced, Professional, Veteran and Legend. Each new rank provides access to new sets of weapons, equipment and ammo.

Weapon upgrades: Most of the weapons are upgradeable � silencers, sniper scope and barrel-attached grenade launchers are available.

Different ammo types: Each of the weapons accommodates standard and special ammunition, which affect piercing power and damage. Special bullets will prove invaluable when battling better-protected opponents.

Real bullet ballistics: Realistic ballistics are calculated for all the ammo with parameters such as weight, speed and environmental resistance taken into account. This ensures each weapon feels unique. For example, the bullets of the Russian Vintorez will lose speed with distance and fly along parabola. While firing sniper rifles, make sure you fore-stall your fire.

Artefacts and anomalies: Be careful while moving across the environments, as deadly anomalies may be waiting around the corner. Radiation will not allow campers to sit and wait for long!

Dynamic day & night shift: Time of the day changes in real-time, which impacts the game tactics. As night settles in, it is sure to make, for instance, the life of snipers much tougher, as players take the opportunity to sneak up on the enemy.