S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - M

A creepy, mature, first-person sci-fi shooter.

Publisher: THQ Category/Genre: Video Games - First Person Shooter Platform: Windows Price: $49.99 Online Enabled: Yes Graphics: Not as impressive as other games, but detailed and atmospheric. Playability: Intense, with over 60 hours of game-play. Reading Level: Light Release Date: 03/19/2007 ESRB Rating: M for Blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, use of alcohol

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that the extreme violence and gore in this game make it an adults-only affair. Anomalies tear bodies apart, characters and animals bleed profusely when shot, and chunks of flesh fly freely when hit by more powerful attacks like shotgun blasts or explosions. All of the weapons are extremely detailed and look very realistic. Also, shooting others in the head is possible and even results in a reward during multiplayer gameplay. The same goes for knifings: a voice proclaims "You are a butcher!" after you stab an opponent. This game offers an online gaming component.

Families can talk about how this game is purely science fiction. While it takes place at Chernobyl, years after the real-life nuclear disaster there, you are primarily shooting radioactive creatures and other baddies. Why do you think producers chose to use a real-life disaster as the setting for this game? With mature teens who play this game, you may want to discuss what happens to people and vegetation located near a nuclear accident or bombing.

Rate It!

Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Marc Saltzman

While it didn't make the papers, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in 1986 spawned an army of undead zombies bent on destroying humanity.

Well, this appears to be the case in THQ's computer game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: SHADOW OF CHERNOBYL, a creepy thriller for the PC that returns to this radioactive spot in northern Ukraine many years later to face bizarre mutants and other nasty threats.

Played from a first-person perspective, gameplay takes place in the near future and exclusively inside this quarantined zone. You're a "Stalker," a freelance mercenary who is also trying to regain his memory after a bout of amnesia, and your goal is to stay alive long enough to recover rare artifacts with magical properties to sell to the scientific community, military agencies, and anonymous collectors with deep pockets.

With the money you accumulate, you can buy better weapons, ammunition, equipment, and protective suits to be worn in areas with extremely high radiation levels. You can also trade items -- including the valuable artifacts -- with other characters in the game. You can consume artifacts, too, but each comes at a price: The gelatinous Slug artifact, for example, can drive out radiation and nourish you, but it also makes you extremely susceptible to thermal, electric, or chemical injury.

Because of its creepy atmosphere and disturbing creatures, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is billed as a "survival shooter" game, combining elements from the "survival horror" genre (popularized by games such as Resident Evil) and 3-D shooter games (including the Half-Life, Unreal, and Doom series). While at Chernobyl, you will also experience other game types, such as stealth, RPGs (role-playing games) and tactical-action games. With the latter, you can either go it alone or work with computer-controller allies to solve the non-linear mission objectives. In fact, the game's artificial intelligence is quite good -- if you take down a guard, for example, his colleagues will probably run for cover and radio for help.

And be prepared to play for a long while as the single-player game boasts more than 60 hours of gameplay to accomplish everything, not to mention multiplayer modes for up to 32 simultaneous players online. Along with familiar gameplay modes, such as "Death Match" (every player for himself; whoever gets the most "frags," or kills, before the time limit, wins), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. also offers fun team-based games, including "Artifact Hunt," where players are split into "Stalkers" and "Mercenaries," and each must deliver an artifact to the opposing team's base; doing so successfully gives the team one point. Players, presumably on a winning team, can also "activate" a stray artifact, turning it into a deadly anomaly that can't be picked up.

Because of its many missions and modes, chilling atmosphere, and interwoven role-playing elements, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. won't disappoint fans of first-person action games. Just be sure to take notice of the game's "Mature" rating (for players age 17 and older) because of its intense violence and gore.

Other recommended 3-D shooters for the PC include Half-Life 2: Episode One and Battlefield Vietnam. Parents looking for more appropriate gameplay for kids under age 17 should explore LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.

Rate It!

Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content
Violence As a violent and gory first-person shooter, players see bodies torn apart, lots of characters and animals bleeding profusely, and chunks of flesh flying. Realistic weapons are used and shots to the head rewarded. Knifing an opponent is also praised.
Language While not excessive, near the beginning of the game you'll hear "s--t" and "bulls--t."
Message
	Social Behavior You play as a mercenary in a radioactive zone trying to recover magical artifacts.
	Commercialism
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Liquor (most notably vodka) can be located and consumed all throughout the single-player campaign. It reduces radiation and applies a limited "drunk" effect.
	Educational Value