Absolutely the best of the STALKER games. It combines the best portions of the original and the ill-fated prequel, and brings with them almost none of the issues. While not as revolutionary as the original, it does take it a significant step forward not only in terms of story, gameplay, but also in atmosphere. The expansive levels are packed with secret caches and various nooks and crannies to explore, and the game goes to great lengths to encourage sandbox game-play. While not without it's flaws - actual gunfights are few and far between, and the ending is, while better paced then Clear Sky's finale, a gigantic, unexpected ramp up in terms of difficulty, but if anything it's a fitting end for the first sequel to ShoC - and the multiple endings will give the game plenty of replayability compared to ShoC and CS, if the following free-play mode doesn't that is!… Expand

A sandbox FPS is an ambitious undertaking, one that games like Far Cry 2, although graphically awsome, never quite managed. So here's a game that can tryuly be called free roaming. STALKER has all the elements of an RPG rolled into an FPS, inventory, trade, repairing items and so on. It also has another element very rarely found in games - atmosphere. Wierd mutant creatures hiss and growl before leaping at your face.
So on paper it all sounds very good. Yet STALKER is let down by outdated code and outdated graphics. Both of which really should not be an issue whether a game is great or not. But having a jerky screen update in an FPS which requires you to be extremely accurate with your aiming is gaming suicide. Seeing 6 of the exact same character model standing around makes you feel you have entered a cloning facility. The textures look like they were made 10 years ago. I also find it odd that when the NPCs are away from you they speak in Russian yet when you interact with them they speak in English?? Either one or the other please. The missions are hardly ever clear and, indeed, part of the game seems to be figuring out what it is you are supposed to be doing. For many people, there just isn't that many hours in a day to spend wandering around aimlessly.
Some good ideas are in STALKER but unfortunately the game is let down by the execution.… Expand

No other game series has ever caused me to continuously talk about it for weeks on end. My friends are now getting so used to hearing me talk about STALKER that they automatically assume anything random sounding coming out of my mouth as STALKER related. Call of Pripyat is no difference, and brings the atmospheric survival horror fps up another level. Look forward to when the mod community gets a hold of CoP.… Expand

STALKER Call of Pripyat is a very detailed and atmospheric welcome to the STALKER series. The game play has made a 180 degree turn back in favor of STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl game play where exploration and item management are key. Lots of side quest that have purpose instead of go get this or go eliminate that. The games graphics are amazing and the game itself installs and runs without all the bugs and patches of previous versions. The amount of gun fights has been turned down in this version but playing on a high difficultly level will make each encounter seem brutal. Also the NPC A.I. is incredible they search for artifacts, raid dead corpses, and make great combat decisions against.… Expand

About a year ago I bought a game called S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat. I knew that it was a great game (since I played CS and SoC) but to be this good I didn't think it would be. Sure it's got some drawbacks (Atmosphere is not as good as it's predecessors, no factions) but these are only minor, and everything else (Weapons, graphics, audio, characters,...) is just perfect. But, if that is not enough for You than you can just download some of the mods for the game and make your game beyond perfectness. Have no doubts, this is a perfect game. (your first words will be: "Holy Sh??")… Expand

The first S.T.A.L.K.E.R game, Shadow of Chernobyl, is a ten in my books. Call of Pripyet is a solid addition to the series after the flaky Clear Sky came out. What gives Call of Pripyet the legs to stand along side the original is the improved gameplay and continually surprising atmosphere. My only gripe with this installment is the story does not hit as hard as the original (keeping in mind that you get the proper ending with the C-Conciousness business). Pripyet also feels short as if there were parts missing or some side quests taken out. I loved Call of Pripyet and felt back at home in the zone, but in all honesty this game could have been an expansion instead of a stand alone addition to the series. I have very high hopes for the next installment because Call of Pripyet seems to be going down the right track.… Expand

Practice makes perfect, I suppose. Or perhaps the third time's the charm? This game is what S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Skies should have been. Unfortunately, the designers opted to recycle nearly everything that you have seen before and it is all starting to feel rather dated. The weather system is still unmatched by any game I've played and highly impressive but the weapon models, weapon feel and NPC models have all been copy-pasted from previous installments and aren't very interesting. Nor do they ever manage to feel right. The shooting is still jerky and the NPC's still dance all over the place during a fight. The game world feels alive, but only to a very limited degree. There is a lot less loot now and caches are extremely well hidden. The stalkers still speak in Russian and wander around without doing much other than wandering. The different groups do now travel from waypoint to waypoint, allowing you to go with them for a quick transfer. Some of the mission objectives are still rather vague and sometimes the conversations you are having do not quite seem to fit the situation at hand and sometimes things happen without you knowing exactly why. But that's how it's about been in S.T.A.L.K.ER and you either hate it or just take it for what it is. Still, if enjoyed the previous installments, you will enjoy Call of Pripyat.… Expand

This is my first ever review on Metacritic. Having used the website for years, I've never actually written a review until now.
Reason being is that this game is truely unique and I believe that people should at least try a STALKER game at some point in their lives.
I love this game, even in spite of it's flaws. I personally think that it's the best of the 3 STALKER games, due to the level of polish that the previous games never quite reached (Especially Clear Sky, which I think is the least significant title in the series) as well as it's increased graphic abilities - DX11 support etc.

I spend hours at a time on this game, roaming Chernobyl, just to explore the World. To be quite honest, I've barely touched the main story. I've just spend the most part of my time on the game exploring the World and completing various side-quests for money - there is simply so much to find in Chernobyl. As well as this, the curious as rewarded rather generously - during your travels, you will come across little treasure troves known as "Stashes". These "Stashes" provide you with a range of resources. Sometimes, you'll find a couple of cans of food. Other times, you may discover a new rifle for your arsenal. These stashes are a great addition to the game, and add a bit of reward for people like me, who simply like to explore.

Now, I have to admit that I play a modded version of the game, known as "Misery", which enhances the game in a number of ways, but the Vanilla experience is still stellar. However, I would recommend the "Misery" mod to anyone with a reasonably powerful PC looking for a second play-through, as it changes the mechanics of the game in a number of ways, whilst completely reinventing other areas - graphics, sound effects etc.

Unfortunately, there are a few issues that can disrupt your playing experience, and there are a few design choices that will scare away some players altogether.
Firstly, in contrast to the "classic" RPG trend, there is no level system, ie, you do not earn experience and you do not level up. Similarly, there are no aspects such as "Perks" or "Skills" like those found in other RPG games. Some people will not like this at all. Personally, I find it enthralling and more realistic that your competence in this wasteland is down to your equipment and expertise - rather than being able to tank your way through the game loaded with perks and skills. Similarly, there is no issue with level scaling, as there is no leveling system. (You won't find yourself killing everything with one punch like in other RPGs, where you could be a level 50 character battling with level 10 enemies).

On the more technical side, there are a few problems with the Vanilla game's optimization - it is awful. To remedy this, you can use any of the many overhaul mods on the Internet, such as the "Misery" mod I mentioned earlier. Others include "Call of Pripyat Complete". All of the mods that I have tested have yielded better graphics, whilst also maintaining a high frame-rate than the Vanilla game.
Another issue is that the game is sometimes very reluctant to operate on 32-bit PCs with less than 4gb of RAM - But there are mods on the Internet that fix this. The overhaul mods aforementioned also bypass this problem.
I have no problem here, as my PC is a 64-bit PC with 8gb of RAM.

Aside from it's technical issues, which can be overcome with patience and the right mods, this game is something that any RPG fan should try out at some point. I'll probably never finish this game, as it is just too damn fun to just walk around finding stashes and killing mutants. If you're a fan of "apocalypse" RPGs, such as Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, I would strongly recommend this game.… Expand

Most polished and complete of Stalker series. Didn't encounter a game breaking glitch or a crash to desktop a once during my whole walkthrough (that's new!). It's also nicely balanced, much easier than previous games and without annoying spikes in difficulty - pacing is just right this time. Game's oriented more on exploration than on endless combat with waves of enemies, which is accented by maps design - they feel more open than SOCCS ones. Parts with forced linearity and grindy battles almost doesn't exist. Game's not revolutionary by any means (it's rather an expansion of a franchise), but still a very good product with series' annoyances ironed out - strongly recommended stuff, provides hours of great, atmospheric fun without frustration. I'd give a 10 points, but I subtract one for rehashing old material ("new" bloodsucker animation and "new" monsters were in early alpha builds etc.) and borrowing most improvements from modders :>… Expand

Very atmospheric. I love the sounds/effects. Good Inventory system. ...and this time I can play from the start to the ending without bugs.

So as i look, to my right i see games like, Uncharted, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Modern Warefare 2, Call of Duty 4, Grand Theft Auto 4, Assassin's Creed 1&2 MSG 4, Batman Asylum and a lot of other great games. Well my fellow gamers God Of War 3 Blows away the compitition with Superior Graphics, Storyline and a No nonsense Badazz God Kratos destroying everythign in his path. I'm telling you now that anyone who gives this game anything less than a 10 is an idiot. It's the best of everything a true Gamer would like in a game and the very best for this Generation. So my local Gamestop opens at 10am and i got there at 9:50am and there was a line out the door (about 30 people) I guess they all called out sick from work like i did lol. Of course I pre ordered the Ultimate Edition and If you didnt well, You're an idiot because Pandora's Box looks awesome and is bigger than I thpught it would be.(great place to keep my God of War collection:) Remember If you're thinking of getting this game you're an Idiot! If you're running out the door, tripping on that banana peel and end up in the hospital on the way to Gamestop you're an half idiot. If you make it there get the game and then go have Lunch afterwards before heading home to play, you're a Moran!. If you make it there in one piece , get the game, and come straight home and Play the Greatest Game to this point in time, well you're a Genius:) Hey just to let you in on a little secret! Even Fanboys were on line to pick up a Ps3 and the game lmao. Never thought I'd see the day. I'd like to give a Shoutout to Telegraph who scored Bayonatta above this Game lmao. (look for them on Metacritic reviews at the bottom) where they belong in the basement. Seemed they had to close there comment thread because real gamers caught on to their Bias and called them out! Guess they couldnt handle the pressure. The pressure of seeing GOW take flight and they didn' t have a boarding pass!… Expand

This game is extremely realistic feeling and atmospheric just like all the other stalker games. STALKER Call of Pripyat surprised me, i expected another bug filled constantly crashing game but what i got instead is a highly polished and exciting game

A very impressive addition to the STALKER franchise, this is what Shadows of Chernobyl ought to have been right off the bat. Call of Pripyat manages to take all the best parts of Shadows of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, and third-party modifications like Oblivion Lost, and fuses them into a highly enjoyable experience. The new quest system is much better thought out than in previous games; instead of simple fetch quests or kill X or Y Stalker missions, you're treated to actually interesting scripted events, memorable characters, and unique settings. If you're a fan of the STALKER series, this is not a game to pass up, and while newcomers might be slightly baffled as to the plot (It contains many throwbacks to the previous titles in the seires), the gameplay is streamlined in a way that can appeal to a much broader audience than the other titles in the series. Highly recommended.… Expand

The first game, "Shadow of Chernobyl", was truly amazing. It brought something new and different to this kind of genre. Even though the second game, "Clear Sky", can be considered a step backwards to the series, it never got boring to play and actually it was better than the previous game in some areas. But "Call of Pripyat" is beyond perfection. OK, maybe 'perfection' isn't the right word, but it's definitely the best S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game to date. Every single aspect of the game was revised and improved. Now there is no reason why I (or you) shouldn't play this game for weeks and love it.… Expand

AMAZING game, I will not waste time saying the things other reviews have already said so I'll just start off saying: the caches are cooler, you can upgrade/repair equipment, amazing open world, and I am once again proud of GSC for not giving in to the "release DLC everywhere for all of our games" craze other developers seem to have jumped on. Only thing that could have possible improved this game, would be a lot more sidequests in pripyat (which in my opinion has the best atmosphere in any area of all the stalker games so far)… Expand

This game is better than average and provides many more hours of entertainment than the standard FPS. Pros: Polished game play compared to S.O.C. Once you get it setup properly there are very few if any bugs. Plenty of side missions that provide good rewards. Decent combat and tactical missions but much less of it than in S.O.C. Cons: The Armor: You have three choices for the first 50% to 60% of the game; crappy armor, slightly better than crappy or the best armor in the game. This could have been balanced out with more options.

The Zone can get kind of monotonous after a while.

There is a lot of empty space on the map - it may seem large but exploring does not have much of a payoff other than medical supplies and lower to mid- tier weapons for the most part.

The weapon grades for resale - it sucks picking up a weapon and not being able to get anything for it unless you repair it to 100% and than only make 10% off the deal. Overall it was worth the money I paid for it and all of the cons can be fixed with mods if you are inclines. I actually gave it a 7.5 but rounded it up for prosperity.… Expand

STALKER:CoP was an enjoyable sequel to STALKER:SOC and even though many people say that this is how the first STALKER should have been, I must disagree with that statement. CoP has indeed less bugs, more balanced gunfights etc but at the same time I feel that it has lost much of what made STALKER the game series it is. I enjoy the large scale open maps but what I don't enjoy is that the big area has not been used properly. No stalkers roaming around, no stashes to be found (except the ones you get on your PDA), Scavenging has been reduced. It feels empty and it's sad since CoP has such a great atmosphere and environments that could have gotten better wild some more life into it. But Shadow of Chernobyl stays, for me, at the top and Clear Sky stays second on the list of STALKER games but CoP is still a worthy sequel and if you are a STALKER you shall not leave CoP un-played!… Expand

Highly recommend it to RPG fans, and even shooter fans, if i can use three words to describe Stalker, they would be: Atmospheric, addicting, and scary. The action is great, but what really captivates me is the atmosphere of the zone, and the various enemies you encounter. What i mostly love is the AI of the mutants and enemies, more unpredictable, more challenging than most other RPG games and shooters, though fire fights can be few and far between, that's really what keeps them interesting IMO. Although I wish the game world had more underground to it, and I wish more of the buildings were explorable. Also wish the game had a bit more interactivity to it, ending was, eh...but still good game.… Expand

A modern masterpiece. This game will go down beside Ocarina of Time as a must on every gamers top 5 games of all time list. The atmosphere is second to none. You don't play STALKER, you experience STALKER. The graphics and enviroments are impecible. The shooting is gritty, realistic, and unforgiving. Guns and ammo have weight, restriciting what you can carry. Guns actually have recoil, giving them a powerful feel. Quests are varied. The game is long. One instance you will be part of a sneaky expedition to kill some rival army members. The next, you are exploring a cave and hiding from mutants. Next, you might be just strolling through the streets of Pripyat, not knowing what's coming. It is an unique experience and a pinnacle of gaming.… Collapse

The third episode is far the best one ! I loved it, progression is very good, upgradable weapons, you can now sleep in many places, you have to manage the food, going to the zone in the night is very dangerous. The new labs are very creppy ! And the monster are still dangerous. There is no more faction war, but you can choose to help the duty or the liberty at some time.

Best S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game for now and one of the best RPG's. Buggs, if there any exist, are really hard to find ( i didn't find even one ). With good piece of hardware, this game is mead for eyes and ears. Best buy for its price and absolute must-have.

Remember the original STALKER? It was a little buggy, made you walk long distances and often murdered you unexpectedly. Remember the terror of getting irradiated and running into your first invisible creature?
Call of Pripyat brings all of that back and improves on it, everything is tighter, smoother and less buggy - that is not to say, without it flaws, but now with flaws you can forgive. Don't expect amazing graphics, you aren't playing Crysis 1 (or 2), secondly you should expect the occasional bug and glitch - sometimes you may get snippets of dialogue that should have been translated from the original Russian. But if you can forgive the game these minor faults you will have a great time.

What's been improved since the first game? Factions, firearms, missions, everything is back and it's all better. Your guns still deteriorate so you have to keep them repaired if you don't want unexpected jams, however you can now upgrade your weapons with enough cash and parts, but each gun and armour has an upgrade tree which depending on the mods chosen lock off other parts of the tree. You might spec for reliability in a weapon so you have to repair it less, but to do so you might trade off some accuracy or recoil, or maybe ammo/clip size. You are still affected by your carrying capacity but some armour mods allow you to up that, it all comes together perfectly. The atmosphere is still tense and moody, and get ready to run for cover when a pulse even happens, enemies are still deadly (especially the human foes) and the game has a good difficulty curve. If you go into this game looking for another triple A title like FEAR or Crysis, you will be disappointed this game doesn't have the spit and polish that either game has. But what it does have is a robust upgrade tree, RPG elements, excellent atmosphere, a compelling storyline and a fascinating open world with a myriad of ways to tackle problems. It's not flawless, but it makes up for that by being challenging and fun.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It will usually take 15 hours if you just plow through the game (No exploring or gathering better equipment), but will become increasingly difficult later if you do so. The game was meant for exploring a lot of areas and gathering better weapons and suits. Although the area is still based off from Shadow of Chernobyl, there's new stuff to find and many more missions and side quests to go on. I found the ending to be sort of disappointing, as there seems to be only one ending (On what I find).

**A BIT OF SPOILERS ABOUT THE DISAPPOINTING FIGHT AT THE END**
As soon as you're into the center of the zone, you don't even have to move. Just shoot at the enemy with a special weapon repeatedly. The game will end when he is done with. For some odd reason though, you can also travel through some warps, and fighter another bunch of Monolith soldiers. The boss will start traveling around the area, and then eventually the ground at a random location. Even if he is at a place where you cannot reach, shooting randomly causes him to die off anyway. Either way you go, taking the long and hard way to defeat him doesn't change the ending, neither did you need to take the long way at all. The extra work doesn't really pay off, and it wasn't really needed. Overall, the game was okay for me, and it was really a challenge when I was lacking equipment. But I think that made it much more fun in the long run.… Expand

Call of Pripyat's oozing with atmosphere, the bullet physics are some of the best in any FPS out there (the nuances in bullet trajectories is really apparent once you start customizing your firearms), and the dialogue is entertaining and completely believable while still being informative. Also, it's fun to explore the myriad mysteries the expansive and nicely detailed Zone has to offer. When your roll all that up, you get one of the most immersive and exhilarating gaming experiences out there.

P.S. Folk shouldn't compare this game to others like CoD and Crysis, 'cause it's got its own unique thing going.… Expand

Over the years I have played through all the STALKER games. This one is by far the best. The best atmospheric PC experience one can have. GSC has built on the other two games and created an experience, not just a game. One can say that a little passion; will go a long way for a developer. The level design is great; its nice to see a more open ZONE and a move away from the more linear experience of the first two games. The story is good, sometimes its nice to have a more strait foreword story like COP. This game is by far one of the least known gems in video gaming today. I cannot wait for the next game in the series.… Expand

My favorite game of all time. with complete mod of course, Anyway: This game is FANTASTIC, It's just so immersive, it combines fps and rpg beautifully without ruining one aspect or the other, It's a sandbox game, Meaning there is no storyline set in stone and I can't really find a category to put it in, I'll go into detail: 1) The immersion, WOW, There are times you actually feel like your there in the zone, When it comes to reviving a dying stalker it makes you feel so happy, and when someone you like it cut down by enemy bullets, its so gut-wrenchingly painful, When your out in the dark and can hear mutants, You just get so panicky, The atmosphere is horrific in a good way, Really gets to you, The things such as needing food and rest and to repair weapons and the weight of your weapons is also great . 2) The sandbox style, Again brilliant, It gives players the choice of either following the story or just going about there daily business in the zone. 3) The RPG/FPS, The game elegantly blends both RPG and FPS games with such things as your Inventory and trading with intense gunfights, The bad parts; The only bad thing I can think of to quote Ramus is: Seeing 6 of the exact same character model standing around makes you feel you have entered a cloning facility, True however there is mods for that, But still it's pretty lame sometimes but the masked models aren't too bad from groups like freedom and duty because of their "uniforms"

Anyway: 10/10 THE perfect game, It's games like this which developers need to look towards ^^… Expand

The best of the series, but it is still full of bugs and glitches that destroy gameplay. The dynamic lighting will kill your FPS down to about 5, so forget having that enabled. FPS will also drop when you wade through water or see your own blood spurt from your chest when you get shot during a gunfight. The graphics are okay, the ground is quite bland and repetitive. Key quest characters will often die before you have a chance to reach them or do anything about their untimely fate. The voice acting is very bad and the sound of the characters will sometimes get very slow during a cutscene so you will be unable to hear what is going on, once again the lack of subtitles is very sad. It's just overall a poorly optimized, very average game.… Expand

This is a good game, but not as good as it could have been. I haven't yet played the earlier two STALKER games, but this game was good enough to convince me to play both of those as well. The combination of FPS and RPG gameplay is done very well. I'm not of fan of standard FPS games, to me they are usually too repetitive and shallow to keep my interest for very long, but this combination of gameplay styles and a well designed atmosphere kept my interest very well. However, the main storyline in this game I found to be lacking, though it had the potential to be something much greater. Some of the mini-stories in side missions were more interesting to me than the main story arc. I also felt there could have been more interesting storylines developed around the several factions that reside in the Zone. I also wish the RPG elements had been improved upon. Experience points and level ups would have given me more incentive to explore areas of the map I didn't need to go to for specific missions, but as it stands I would rather just avoid coming into contact with unnecessary enemies since all I'd do is loose ammo and gain nothing as a result. I also wish the characters had been more complex and interesting, I had no real vested interest in any of the characters (even my own character was kind of a boring personality). Despite these areas that could have used improvement, I found the game to be very fun. Not a game I'll play more than once, but a game that was very enjoyable one time through.… Expand

I've had a special relationship with the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. titles from the beginning. They all have technical short-comings and have the obvious effects of an insufficient budget: the game isn't polished enough and loses pace as you get closer to the end. But, at the same time, they offer a unique experience that no other game I know of can deliver: survival in a hostile world. Sure, lots of games put you in hostile, stressing worlds, but they always look out for you. STALKER doesn't, causing you to really submerge into its world. You can roam away from safety in a rainy night and and accidentally walk into powerful mutants without the visibility to fight them if you want. You have to learn not to. You have to pack your own weapons and supplies every time you leave your safehouse, because the world is not guaranteed to provide. And all of this happens in a open world. Wait until the moment you find yourself tagging along a random sandbox-style patrol, because you're out of ammo and you can hear the mutants running in the bushes near you. This is survival.… Expand

The best of the bunch. PLayed it ona PC built before the game came out (E6800 3Ghz dual core and 280 GTX card, both predate this game by years) plays smoothly and flawlessly. Average fps at 1920x1080 is 72 minimum was 51 highest was 104. If the game is an issue for your PC - then it's your PC at fault not the game. PLays very well on my PC which as I said has technology that predates this game by years (CPU is 2007, GFX is 2008 - game is 2010) deeper than most FPS and a bargain if you can find it for $10 or less on steam or wherever. Good game, atmospheric, quite deep - interesting and good subject matter… Expand

What a great game. This title takes the very best from the previous games and adds just enough new stuff to make it feel fresh and new. Although not as horror-based as Shadow of Chernobyl the atmosphere is still as appealing as ever when you're out in the open, alone in pitch black darkness with only the strange howling and noises accompanying you as you hunt the areas for treasure. Being a big fan of gameplay over everything else I can't really think of anything wrong with this game, at least not enough to ruin the experience. There were a couple of times where I got stuck in a mission where I had to do something completely unrelated in order to solve it and maybe the main story is a bit short but that will not in any way take away the fact that this game is good. if you liked SOC you are going to love Call of Pripyat… Expand

By far the best STALKER game ever. This is the game we wanted the first STALKER to be. It's a very atmospheric and perfectly paced FPS RPG. There is no other games compared to this one this game is well for the money... Metro was awesome but these Call of Pripyat is one of a kind.

An excellent game. Not completely an open ended experience which I would have given a 10 but as near as you can get while sticking to a story format. Absolutely brilliant, technically dazzling and very memorable characters and situations. Call of Priyapt provides something badly lacking in most games even now. Immersion in a non linear environment. Not many games can do this.

Having played both Fallount 3 & Falllout New Vegas and Oblivion to the end, with Stalker CoP being an addition recommended by a close friend, I had certain assumptions based on the new RPG/FPS/Action Adventure Genre. Bottom line is - CoP feels more reaslistic. FLNV is occasionally almost cartoonesque with Fisto the robot and whilst gives it more scope for immersion, the immediate lack of safety you feel in CoP was something of a suprise. The lack of any intorductory training session such as in the case of FL3 may appear to detract from the suspense, but I found it added to it. Whilst the initial frequency of weapons on the bodies of dead stalkers made me initially think that trading would be easy, the Deus Ex syle inventory means you have to keep a careful watch on what weapons you pick up. Whilst I would normally decry the lack of "safe" trading areas, where you can perform skill related tasks, the CoP character development is soley dependent on equipment. Consequently, it feels more fluid. Oblivion is let down by a lack of, not realism, but believablity. The towns are huge, yet only seem to have 50 inhabitants. FLNV has a diverse rage of NPC's, but the points-led gameplay allows an experience gamer to screw his/her way to senioritiy too easily - e.g. I killled mister House at level 8. From a saturday morning enjoyability perspective, I appreciated both FLNV and Oblivion more that CoP, however, the excruciating realism imparted by CoP far outweighs these shortcomings. I WAS ACTUALLY AFRAID whilst playing the game -- SPOILER ALERT - I carefully and methodically went through the whole of the Jupiter complex and nothing but dogs came at me --- SPOILER OVER. In short, CoP is a super game, which encompasses RPG and FPS very well. What CoP does well is present a reasonable picture of no-mans-land where people are with you or against you. Unlike (to a lesser extent) FLNV or Oblivion or indeed far cry2, where virtually everyone is against you outside of the "safe areas". The absence of scripted encounters with those who are either neutral or friendly, does much for the feeling that you one amongst many chancers, just trying to make a buck. That is not to say it is without fault. The varying value and apparent importance of artifacts addds an unnecessary mystical quality, which jams against the very well researched arsenal of conventional weapons at you disposal. FLNV and OB feel much more like a civilisation (even a spardely populated one) and some of their charm was non shooting related activity. In short, OB and FLNV allow you to play the gentleman almost throughout,, CoP demands an unflinching ability to shoot **** and make sure you have ammo. In many respects the enitre system of CoP is like a zombie-infested version of Operation Flashpoint and anyone who has played that game, knows how much preparation is important.
Pros. The atmosphere, the feeling of loneliness and desperation is excellently executing even if the english translation leaves much to be desired. The fellow stalkers lend a sense of realism that you are one of many.
Cons. The lack of any deined rpg promotion makes you unsure whether you should be progressing to a certain stage. The obscure artifact system doesn't gel well with the story.… Expand

The most polished, thought-out installment of the series, and it shows pretty much everywhere. Though the world seems smaller than in SoC or CS (only three main maps), but it's packed with interesting locations, and the Zone seems more alive than ever. On the downside, if you farm the artifacts, you can get pretty buff in the first zone of the game, equipped with the best weaponry and armour, which smashes the difficulty in the head. And the game doesn't have quite as many locations which scare you **** like SoC - remember those laboratories? Of course you do, if you played that game, but in CoP there's only one.… Expand

Compared to Shadow of Chernobyl, this actually feels like a real breathing world, with intelligent A.I. This game makes SoC look like an uninspired mess, with uninspired quests.

The ambience is way better, the quests are way better, the AI is way better. No more annoying loading zones and fences that limit your movement in the area. I definitively recommend this for anyone who is willing to be completely imerged into the game, unlike Shadow of Chernobyl, which I didn't like at all.… Expand

I don't just give this game a 10 because i like to give zeroes and tens in general. I give it a ten because i am playing it for the past several months, and that's including the fact that i have started all over six times.
Any game that keeps me playing it for over a hundred hours is definitely a ten for me. Even Fallout 3 didn't keep me in for so long So, why is that?
The atmosphere! I played hundreds of games, and no game can claim a better, and more realistic atmosphere than the STALKER Series. When you play it you ARE the Stalker, you ARE in Chernobyl, and you ARE surviving. Simple as that.
I use SGM Sigerous Mod for Call of Pripyat and simply cannot stop playing.
10/10!… Expand

Really don't know what to think of this game. The world is massive and vast and the layout is interesting. Graphics are alright, they get the job done. The thing that bothers me with this game is that it doesn't seem polished, shooting mechanics are stupid as bullets act as arrows dropping once they reach a point distance making long range combat near impossible. The game feels too dark and stingy, which yes fits the atmosphere but just gets depressing to look at after a while. Player models are recycled endlessly, I've ran into the same two Stalkers at least ten times. You're given a main quest but there's so many extra quests that I feel kind of overwhelmed, I'm worried I'll miss something if I progress without doing these. As opposed to Bethesda games that usually pull this off well, the open world and it's many side quests are a bit intimidating to anyone who doesn't enjoy such a long, long game. The game demands a lot of time from the player, so if you're not prepared to use up hours of your time to scour the zone then this game is not for you.

I got this game on sale, and I'm reasonably happy with it, the atmosphere is fantastic and the joys of using your maintained and updated fire arms that you upgraded yourself is also another slight joy in this game. However the amount of **** you can do is so vast it's almost intimidating, the story is not interesting or driving in anyway as it's hard to root for your character when he's got as much personality as a tin of paint. Other characters are the same, so it's also difficult to try and symphasize with people who ask for your help. At the beginning of the game a bandit tells me he needs this artifact as his friend is dying, I without a second thought denied his offer and killed him and his little buddies. The game is not story driven in any way shape or form, it's driven simply by the players curiousity: What sort of artifacts can I find and sell, what sort of loot can I buy with this money? How should I upgrade my guns? This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it'd be nice if I felt some want to continue playing this game to the end.

Keep in mind I'm scratching the very surface of this game with 5 hours played in total but I'd love to know if it improves significantly. In short, STALKER Call of Pripyat is a gloomy looking post apocalyptic master piece but falls short in terms of story and characters but makes up for it in accurate representations of real guns and it's hours of gameplay. You will definitely get your moneys worth with this game but it's not for the faint of heart, as well as not being without it's faults. (Get's a 7 so far, but some personal citation is needed)… Expand

S.T.A.L.K.E.R Call Of Pripyat is, simply put, one of the best open world FPS games there is. Everything about the game is great, the atmosphere, the progression, the item collecting. Not only that but the game is scary, really scary, but that does not mean that every time you leave a safe area you are going to be peeing yourself, it means that when the game needs to be scary it can be. CoP also has many elements of an RPG. There is a great inventory system, lots of weapons and armor, lots of modifications for those weapons and armors, and so much more. Simply put CoP is one of the best games on the market.… Expand

I really love this game.. I finished it about 3 times (the last time with extreme difficulty).. This game is very realistic and fantastic!! The enemy AI is really smart and advanced. I hope with all my heart that Stalker 2 becomes a reality.

Oh dear COP looked awful and had really bad issues such as in game stuttering with the odd CTD Not as epic as the previous games. Replayed it with 'Reloaded' mod and had a more enjoyable experience.

Stalker Call of Pripyat do have some problems. The combat feels a bit clunky, especially against other humans. The quest-log is less than perfect and you sometimes find yourself in situations where you dont know what you are supposed to do to advance. The game is not really beginner friendly, it feels a bit stiff animation wise and the visuals are not the best. Overall the game feels a little bit like it is unfinished. Less so than its predecessor but the feeling is still there. The game does make up for most of its short coming though by being extremely atmospheric. This game is at its best when you are exploring an anomaly or sneaking through a mutant lair. And when the game is at its best few games can beat it. Sadly there is also all the running from point A to point B, all the time spent figuring out how stuff works by using google, all the time spent managing your inventory. A game like this need to have some ups and down but the ups could be a little more frequent and the downs could be a little less frequent. I don't want to sound to negative since i had great time playing this game. And if you are looking for a little bit different shooter with atmosphere so thick that you could slice it with a butter knife then Stalker Call of Pripyat may be the shooter for you.… Expand

Incredible game, never player anything like it, highly recommend. Brings the best out of both the previous games, whereas keeping its individuality, moving forwards with the interface and immersion, without allowing a single bug to ruin the moment, this game can simply go on forever, long missions with secret caches and different ways to approach the mission, unlike the other STALKER game. When some people simply shrug this off as an expansion, they are so very very wrong.… Expand

The game is interesting... Pretty good. But I really don't like it it is another mediocre game. The graphics are. The music is okay. It's very fun. But It's not creative. And there is NO Replay value.

Having completed this game 3 times i can safely say that this is one of the best fps games ever The atmosphere of the game is unlike any other As you make your way through a swamp crawling with bloodsuckers and anomalies or shoot your way through buildings while you're trying to save your comrades you really feel like a stalker If you want to live you have to fight Every stalker for himself Although there are many friendly stalkers in the zone most of them want to kill you in any possible way There are also bandits mutants monolith soldiers anomalies and other cute things that want to kill you as soon as they get a chance to Even stray dogs attack you in packs if you aren't careful enough The game is hard But not impossible To help you on your quest you can customise your weapons and armor And there are lots of weapons in this game You've got regular pistols and assault rifles sniper rifles you can find rocket launchers I don't recommend using them they weight tons and even a gauss rifle The A.I. in C.O.P. is really clever They keep you pinned down unless you are fast enough to flank them they throw grenades just at the right time to kill you and they work as a team You'll be forced to plan your moves carefully Let's talk about the environment a bit Animals and mutants act as they would in real life Dogs travel in packs bloodsuckers hunt for bandits in the swamp stalkers often fight other stalkers The ambient makes you have this weird feeling as you were being watched which is most likely the case during nights Yes there is day and night cycle Sound effects are done extremely well graphics is good and if you like open world shooters with unique atmosphere i highly recommend you check this out … Expand

S.t.a.l.k.e.r CoP brings improvements to the game with some goodies, such storms, where you have to find shelter, you can modify weapons-equipment and even more weapons. Unlike Soc however that sense of loss the zone can give you has gone. it seem more easy. Anyway there are still many scary moments.

Best in the series. This has the best main plot with a Fallout 3-style ending that changes depending on your actions in game. Very atmospheric with plenty of side quests that reward exploration and help flesh out the lore of the locations. Has a lot of depth with gun play and survival mechanics, requiring you to eat food while in the field and keep yourself bandaged up to avoid bleeding out. Call of Pripyat stands on its own feet and doesn't require any previous experience with the series; a must play for any FPS fans.… Expand

Got the other two stalkers but not this one. Just watched one of the videos and from the looks, its the same exact thing, just different missions and maybe mapping.. I feel sick of waisting my money, the game is pretty depressing.. a good ways from being my type of game, when you jump you already lost half your stamina witch means you can only jump one more time before you will have to wait for stamina to refill.. when you reach max weight limit your not able to move at all? somethin with the missions just don't seem right, seems bugged. 4/10 GFX look cool, items and weapons and inventory are cool, friendly's are cool.… Expand

Again, this S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game is better played with mods that take care of a lot of bugs and improvements. Then it's a fantastic game, even a little bit better than STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. The setting, characters and graphics once again create an outstanding atmosphere that'll get you as close to a post-apocalyptic zone as your computer screen possibly can.

Really awesome game, one of the best rpg shooters ever. Awesome graphics (demanding a really strong machine tho), great sound, good user interfrace. But most importantly this game is *IDIOT PROOF*. Great world, great story, great atmosphere, great fun. Beats pretty much any modern fps or role playing shooter, hands down. The entire series is a proof, that there's yet hope for modern fps games!

As a longtime player of games such as fallout and elder scrolls, i give this game a 2 out of 10 only for the vast map exploration and small features like weapon and armor customization and artifact mods. I played through the story a bit and here is where my review goes south. There was a lack of beginners tutorial on how to play the game. I explored many locations which seemed empty of any life to kill and loot, human or monster. There is no quick traveling except from specific nps's who may be a far walk from where you are at many points. Also the lack of character stats and skills is disappointing as in most arpgs nowadays that is a must have for multi play experience. I have heard rumor that Bethesda is taking rights to the stalker games and i will be happy as they will turn this god awful, fallout knock off around into a good game. 2 out of 10… Expand

I could handle the outdated graphics but the poor anti-aliasing and endless tearing that I witnessed made this game almost unbearable to play through. I never play RPG's but this is not what I expected my first Stalker experience to be, there is a very hard learning curve and it felt like there was too much RPG and too little action. I doubt I'll revisit this game, fighting mutants was a chore for me and I didn't understand the emissions since there wasn't much to do while you waited them out although I wish there were. What I did like about Stalker: CoP was the post apocalyptic atmosphere and various weapon customization options, I felt that part was realistic and I found it neat but the graphical errors and tough game-play made me bring this down to a 5. I don't regret playing it though because I did enjoy the atmosphere and gun-play. To be fair, I'm not sure if the issues were coming from my graphics card or the game, I used an EVGA GTX 460 SE.… Expand