The original, Shadow of Chernobyl, told the tale of a mysterious stalker and introduced players to Zone. name (which I'm going to write as Stalker from here on out, because it's less annoying for everyone that way). So far GSC has released two games bearing the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. With tinned food, heels of bread, a few bandages, weapons, and ammo packed into your survival suit, it still seems all too little to ward off the brutal dangers and prowling, ghoulish creatures harboring unknowable intentions. There may occasionally be other NPCs wandering around in the virtual space, claiming loyalty to different factions with clashing world views, but eventually you always wind up cold and alone on the windswept, irradiated expanse of the Zone - the franchise's wasteland of a setting. games instill in players can't really be found anywhere else. The sense of unshakeable isolation and unnerving despair GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
