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How Metascores Are Calculated
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Age of Pirates 2: City of Abandoned Ships
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
The player will become a stalker, a guy who earns money from shoveling embers out of infernal oven of Chernobyl Zone. Returning from the radioactivity-blazing Zone, he will sell anomalous formations to underground dealers and scientists in research camps on the Zone border. With the money procured, the player will purchase equipment, weapons and protective suits allowing him to reach previously inaccessible areas. This is a role-playing game without growing experience of your character, without changing characteristics and levels. We want the player to develop his real mastery, moreover Stalker is an FPS/RPG game and much depends on his ability to fight. [GSC Game World]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 93
PC Format
Broken. Absolutely and utterly broken. Not the game, oh no, it's my fragile nerves that have been shattered. Adrenalin is still coursing through my veins as I type, and what's more, I absolutely love it. STALKER is a thoroughly affecting game, and it's got me by the short hairs. [Apr 2007, p.56]
90
Yahoo! Games
Its setting is superb, its gameplay tense and convincing, and it boasts what are definitely the best fill-your-pants moments in a PC game for quite some time. It's hard to see how it could have turned out better.
 90
games(TM)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. leaves you no choice but to engage with story and character, deciphering between friend and foe, the truth and the lie. [Apr 2007, p.94]
90
Boomtown
The atmosphere of the game is so thick that you can cut it...Even though it all ends kind of sudden[ly], S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is still one of the best First Person Shooters I’ve played in a long time, especially if you like the post-apocalyptic atmosphere from games like "Fallout."
90
ActionTrip
I have become so jaded with idiotic titles that this one comes as a true breath of fresh air; with its strong attention to the important aspects of game design. This is the type of game I would go out and buy for myself... if that's worth anything to you.
90
AceGamez
I loved every single challenging, compelling, atmosphere-laden moment of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. It's just so different from everything else that's out there.
90
Game Over Online
The combat mechanics – weapon feel, body point damage system, enemy AI, running and sneaking, encumbrance and fatigue – have all been simulated excellently and with real care paid to balance and playability. The end-of-civilization free for all environment is a very exciting and engrossing setting for an FPS.
90
GameCritics
It's an incredibly rich, unique and innovative take on first-person shooters-yet it's also a flawed game, suffering from a few minor scripting bugs and some rough edges in the gameplay that occasionally interfere with what is, for the most part, an exceptionally engaging experience. But despite its imperfections, it is a truly groundbreaking game, captivating in its complexity, its mystery, and its vividly realized world that stands as a milestone in both imagination and engineering.
89
Games Master UK
Better than anyone could have honestly hoped for. [May 2007, p.68]
88
Jolt Online Gaming UK
That the gameplay itself is not of classic status is a shame, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is still a game that anyone with am interest in first-person shooters or richly detailed, immersive game environments should seriously consider buying.
88
GameZone
From its alternate reality setting and realistic gun mechanics to its trading system and action horror formula, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is radioactive rareness.
87
GamerNode
An epic game with a dark twist. Fans of games like Oblivion should have no problem spending a long time on this one.
87
PC Gamer UK
The bravest, most futuristic survival horror game since "System Shock 2"...A singularity in the landscape of PC games, it deserves careful exploration. [Apr 2007, p.90]
85
PC Zone UK
As a brave experiment in all-action shootery, STALKER has certainly succeeded, though with its dearth of personality and many peculiar foibles, you can't help but wish that the publishers had granted GSC some extra time to polish their creation. Oh, hang on a minute... [Apr 2007, p.56]
85
GamePro
An immense treat that offers fresh and innovative gameplay experiences. If I had to level one complaint against the title, it's the fact that it's missing the little bit of extra polish that gamers have come to expect.
85
GameSpot
It's got some quirks, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. delivers a dynamic and impressive first-person gameplay experience you won't soon forget.
85
Computer Games Online RO
Despite its shortcomings, STALKER is definitely one of the “must play” titles of 2007, whether you’re a FPS fan or not, even though you might do it just for the single-player part, with it’s incredible atmosphere and unique game experience.
85
Gaming Target
The things it does well (environment, story, character) definitely outweigh the shortcomings (tough ranged combat, uneven framerates). The multiplayer has the makings of a classic, and GSC is evidently working at improving it, since their first patch was mostly multiplayer fixes.
85
GamingTrend
The game starts off a tad bit slow, but once you are engrossed in the story nothing is quite like it (except a movie that is a tad bit similar to this game). I will be returning to this game once some more mods come out and when the vehicle mod is perfected.
85
PC Gamer
Installing and playing through S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was like discovering and opening a long-forgotten Christmas present. [June 2007, p.54]
84
IC-Games
The game can be difficult to master though, so new people to the genre might struggle at first but patience should be used because this could become the classic start to this engines long use in games.
83
Game Informer
You’ll likely split your time fairly evenly between cursing the problematic UI and localization, and marveling at the outstanding ambience or frantically trying to shoot or sneak your way out of a jam. If you’re willing to slog through some frustrations, you can find some diamonds in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s rough that you won’t find anywhere else in video gaming.
82
IGN
By itself, the game is a fascinating achievement, even if you trip over technical cracks more than you should.
82
Play.tm
It's certainly a little rough around the edges, but spend a little time delving deeper into the 'Zone' and you'll find you've chiseled away at a beauty.
81
AtomicGamer
The mostly-open, Fallout-style post-apocalyptic world is really engaging and its basis in a real-life event makes it that much more interesting, but the frustrating gunplay, high difficulty, and lack of transportation can get on your nerves pretty often.
80
Pelit (Finland)
Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl has arguably one of the most engrossing game environments ever, but it is annoyingly railroaded by tight fencing-in. Also, the constantly respawning enemies are annoying and take away the feeling of free exploration. Luckily, the great end-of-the-world atmosphere keeps the player interested till the very end. [Apr 2007]
80
Eurogamer
It's a warped behemoth from the Ukraine, and one of the scariest games on the PC. Stalker will remind you of all kinds of prior games, and yet it will also defy your expectations. Like the mythological Chernobyl zone it is based upon, this game is a treacherous, darkly beautiful terrain. Not everyone is going to enjoy venturing into the zone, but some of those who do will find what they've been looking for.
80
Computer and Video Games
Littered with a variety of anomalies which can cause the unwary to explode and other delightful stuff, mutant doggies, deserted buildings, weather effects, real-time day/night cycles etc. etc. - it creates a deliciously unique atmosphere.
80
1UP
The game's "exclusion zone" setting, a no-man's-land roughly 30 square kilometers surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, is very much "Mad Maxim": post-Soviet road warriors just beyond the containment dome. Bleak as the end of the world (or at least life as we know it), it's an invention as gorgeous as years-old graphics overhauled for a late launch get.
80
VideoGamer
It's a survival horror game with incredible ambition, so succeeding in a few areas is still very commendable.
80
Edge Magazine
Its troop AI is better than that of "FEAR," and environmentally more aware than that of "Far Cry." [May 2007, p.84]
80
PALGN
It's amazing that a slightly buggy game that was originally slated for a 2003 release can provide such fantastic gaming. It's almost scary to think just how influential S.T.A.L.K.E.R. could have been, had it been released 3-4 years ago with completely polished code.
80
NTSC-uk
The clunky interface, numerous bugs, fractured story telling and underdeveloped ideas do distract from what could well have been a real classic, but the fact that GSC have come through development hell to produce a game as memorable as this is quite an achievement.
80
G4 TV
An innovative and engaging game, provided you can get over the steep learning curve.
79
GameTrailers
One of those games that hardcore shooting fans will eat up, but the rest will be left wondering what the fuss is all about. It has some unique ideas with its open-ended world and myriad of mission objectives, but it’s all dampened by its questionable gunplay.
77
Strategy Informer
Succeeds and amazes in some areas but almost horridly trips and stumbles along in others. Still I find myself liking the game and am willing to overlook its potholes.
76
2404.org
It’s a good game that has many bugs and doesn’t seem to be appropriately optimized.
70
Worth Playing
From an objective point of view, it suffers so many technical flaws that I would normally caution against purchase. However, from a subjective perspective, I enjoy the setting and ambience so much that I recommend it despite the bugs and inelegant performance.
70
Sydney Morning Herald
Patient players looking for a unique experience ultimately will be rewarded by this atmospheric and ambitious shooter.
70
GameDaily
Not a fast-paced shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. appeals to a deeper sense of survival, in which players scrounge for valuables and information in a world gone twisted.
70
Game Almighty
Stalker attempts to be many things, which is a lofty and worthy goal, but its inability to deliver is a huge disappointment. It wants to be an RPG, offering you an inventory and items with modifiers, and yet has no implementation of experience, skills or adjusting your attributes. It also wants to be a free-roam, huge world, Oblivion/GTA hybrid, but comes across as having bitten off more than it could chew.
70
GameSpy
Multiplayer combat is quick and brutal, but straightforward and really nothing to get too excited about. It's really the single-player mode that shines here.
60
Total Video Games
A messy amalgamation of storylines and side-quests, coupled with poorly executed Quality Assurance and archaic game saving, STALKER is about as radioactive as plutonium, and should be treated as such - behind thick lead-lined walls of concrete. The lead-lined walls being a metaphor for the high spec required to play the game at a decent performance.
58
Cheat Code Central
Flaws abound in the game.
josh q gave it a9: Mark P gave it an8: Johnny D gave it a2: Logan M gave it a10: Kyle P gave it a9: Jim R gave it a10: David K gave it a10: |
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