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Having played through the first two levels it's clear that the developer finally listened to their long suffering fans and released a, (takes a deep breath and touches wood - not that kind), stable, playable and bug free game.
Yes, I know I am tempting the great gaming god in the sky to say that of a Stalker game, but it hasn't crashed once, all the quests have completed properly and the NPC and hostile environment are doing exactly what they are supposed to do.
So, if you are a fan, or a disillusioned fan of the series, go buy it, because this is a far superior version than the last expansion. The first two zones of the game are new / larger and re-imagined areas, that reduce travel time but increase the number of locations. It plays, shoots and feels like Stalker, so the gameplay is highly atmospheric, and the NPC and environment are unforgivably hostile.
Needless to say if you are not a fan, this expansion won't miraculously convert you, as it's just more of the same, so don't buy it.
For those of us who do like this type of game, it's been a huge amount of fun so far, and the first two zones are well worthy of a rock solid 85%. The rest of the game may go completely t**s up, but at this point I don't care, because I have already had my money's worth. That said, I doubt the game will suddenly start going haywire, in the third and final zone, as the developer have clearly made a huge effort to get this one playable, stable and bug free.
I was a big fan of the original, enjoyed all the mods, but thought Clear Sky was a bug infested disgrace, and the low point of the franchise. Yes, parts of the game were great fun to play when you were finally were able to play it, but it was inexcusable for any developer to release a game in such a bug infested condition, and some of the ideas sucked.
Call of Pripyat dumps most pf the bad ideas in Clear Sky, (faction warfare, linear maps, busy work missions, etc), and goes back to basics. The first two maps are huge wide open go anywhere / do anything affairs, with atmosphere and art to die for. The missions provide decent rewards, and send you off on interesting journeys of discovery. They feel slicker and more streamlined than Clear Sky, and quite a few of them will have you perplexed and scratching your head to solve them.
Those of us who are fans, will have played the basic map so often, that it long ago became predictable, especially with the mods and first expansion using that exact same territory. I wasn't therefore wildly excited by the thought of yet another expansion covering that same old geographical area. I was however pleasantly surprised to find that the first two zones had re-imagined the basic map. The change in map is by far the largest change to the game in those first two zones, and as the world itself is such a crucial part of the Stalker game, that was quite risky. However, the huge new twitchy and dangerous landscapes are a delight to explore, and mentally map, and they imbue this third installment with a massive jolt of freshness.
I have no idea if Call of Pripyat even has a patch, as I am playing it straight out of the box, and its completely problem free, which is something I never thought I would be saying about a Stalker game, (especially after Clear Sky).
Stalker: Call of Pripyat is highly recommended if you enjoyed the original, but if you didn't then avoid it, because this does exactly what it says on the tin.
Regards - Mr P
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