First-person shooter survival horror video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was created by G.S.C. Game World and released by T.H.Q. in 2007 after a protracted production. The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone had the second accident of unknown cause, which led to unusual alterations in the area nearby. This alternate reality is the one in which the game is set. The game combines role-playing gameplay components, including trading and two-way dialogue with non-player characters and a non-linear storyline.

In the game, the player dons the role of the Marked One, an amnesic man searching the Prohibited Zone surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in search of and attempting to kill the enigmatic Strelok. The story follows a fake second Chernobyl incident, which altered the local physics and induced odd, otherworldly changes in the local flora and animals. The Russian tale Roadside Picnic and its film adaptation Stalker inspired the game's setting and parts of its vocabulary.

Plot

Seven distinct endings are available in Shadow of Chernobyl, depending on the player's choices. The following conclusion is regarded as canon in the series.

A vehicle crashes after lightning strikes it in the game's opening scene. The only survivor, the player character, awakens in a local black market trader's bunker. The player has amnesia and just two identifying characteristics. The first is a tattoo that reads "S.T.A. L.K.E.R.", while the second is an entry on a P.D.A. that says "Kill Strelok." The trader, Sidorovich, gives them the moniker "Marked One." For Sidorovich, the Marked One completes several duties in exchange for saving his life. The player learns hints about Strelok's potential location through these missions and new contacts.

Gameplay

Despite having several RPG components, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is essentially a first-person shooter survival horror game.

• Instead of gaining new skills or stats like in typical RPGs (though the player does level up from "novice" to "expert" during gameplay, which has little impact on the player's ability to aim precisely), the player is given the option to attach artefacts that can alter their traits.
• Except for a few rare artefacts that primarily have good benefits, all artefacts discovered in the Zone have positive and negative effects.
• The player can customise the game in various ways, although their options are limited mainly by how much exploring they undertake.
• The game also tries to combine the story and character interaction typically seen in RPGs.
• Except for accepting or rejecting assignments, dialogue branching is exceedingly scarce and has little impact on how the game plays out.
• The Zone is a sizable and diverse region of wild, populated areas and several well-guarded military bases. However, the game's globe is made up of 18 discrete maps that are divided up by loading screens.

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