Marking what feels like the 25^th entrance in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, the first thing I wrote down after firing up my review copy was, “Man, this feels dated.” This is coming from someone who has never played any of the previous titles, mind you. Surprising right? S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s biggest problems arise from the lack of fluidity between level structures, however, fans of the previous game should take care when reading the rest of this review. Newcomers should please note the ad conveniently placed on the right of your screen and exit promptly.

Now, to be fair, the above paragraph may be judging the title a little too harshly. While many of the gameplay mechanics feel dated, which I’ll get into greater detail later, the graphics and engine have been updated with some charm – given you had $2,000 to get too crunk with when designing your desktop. I’ve got a slightly dated system (purchased about a year and a half ago), and it did not fare well with the title. Even on medium settings, I was getting approximately 30 FPS (Frames Per Second). However, to the game’s credit, even when on the games lowest settings, I was getting nice draw distances and bearable looking models, even if the terrain was slightly reused.

Pripyat’s biggest drawback, in terms of presentation, at least, would be the game’s colossally underwhelming sound design. AK-47s sound like pea shooters, and you never really realize when you’ve hit an enemy. The radiated enemies, when shuffling about tunnels, can manage to produce a few scares, but the game never really takes advantage of the numerous opportunities it has to blow you away with a screeching enemy or creaking barn. It’s not so much that the sounds used are bad, because it’s not all bad, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a sound design ever be more disregarded and underutilized in a game or film.