STALKER versus Oblivion - Where we would we roam?

Emergent. Immersive. Free-form. For developers, they’re increasingly popular buzzwords. They’re all to do with games that aren’t happy with just being games, but rather offer their best impression of an actual world; a place you visit. ‘Emergent’ describes games that have so many pieces modelled that they can interact to create the unexpected every time you play. ‘Immersive’ describes how easy it is to get lost in the game, almost to the point you forget you’re playing a game. And ‘free-form’ is a game that shuns traditional levels, preferring to let you just wander off and do your own thing.

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Oblivion was last year’s king of the type, putting you in the hobnailed boots of a fantasy adventurer. You can play any fantasy-hero type – wizards, warriors, whatever – and are given an enormous world of dungeons and quaint medieval towns to explore.

And, naturally enough, this enormous world is in peril, with rifts to the demon-realm of Oblivion opening up for you to seal. This year’s contender in the world of first-person immersion is STALKER, and a completely different animal. In the near future, the land near Chernobyl – that is, the ruins of Chernobyl power station in the real world – has started to act increasingly unusually. Along with the destructive anomalies, a symptom of this strangeness are valuable artefacts which litter the landscape. Enter the Stalkers, trying to survive as best as they can in a world gone mad.

In terms of being free-form, Oblivion’s the clear winner. After you exit the initial training dungeon, you’re literally free to go wherever you like. Sure, there’s the small matter of saving the world, but that can wait. Turn, face a direction and walk – you’ll find a city or a dungeon or some band or something. Conversely, STALKER’s world only opens up when you follow the main story. When you’ve unlocked the regions you can go back and forth doing whatever you like, but you have to follow some of the story.

Equally, in terms of what you do, there’s a lot less leeway in STALKER. In Oblivion you can make any fantasy hero (or villain) you wish by developing your character in such a way that they become a master wizard, fiendish thief or anything else. In STALKER you’re a Stalker. Your character is personalised by the weapons you choose to carry and by equipping a few of the artefacts you find, which give minimal boosts. You shoot. You sneak. While aspects such as choosing which political factions in the world you want to team up with are welcome, Oblivion has the same, but more so.

Things are more equal on the terms of emergence. While the vast array of things happening in Oblivion can lead to the unexpected, especially if you’ve chosen an unusual power setup, the world’s relatively static. Not so in STALKER, whose various bandits, mutant dogs and Stalkers are at each other throats. If you’re passing a base which happens to be under attack at that moment, a mission generates that rewards you if you help. You can even be hired to wipe out something, then get the reward when another inhabitant of the Zone does it for you.

Immersion cuts both ways. Due to simply being so much bigger and varied than its Ukrainian rival, Oblivion is a place where you can lose yourself for dozens – or even hundreds – of hours. It’s easy to make a second life there, including acts such as buying property. But STALKER manages its own immersion not by scale, but detail. The radioactive, mutant-strewn hell-hole of the Zone is a lovingly created place, and full of unique, memorable, horrific incidents. The strength of Oblivion is that it creates the fantasy world which people have dreamt of visiting, and lets you holiday there for as long as you want. The strength of STALKER is that it creates a fantasy world you’d have never, ever thought of visiting, so everything’s a (often monstrous) surprise.

Our verdict

• Buy it if... you like shooting, horror and something a little different from the usual videogame.
• Don’t buy it if... you’re looking for an enormous world packed with plentiful options. Also avoid if you can’t stand a few rough edges.

• Buy it if... you simply want to be a heroic fantasy adventurer in a world of treasure, maidens, and monsters.
• Don’t buy it if... clichés turn your stomach and you want something that’s a little more action packed.

STALKER and Oblivion are very different games. The latter’s far more polished and bigger, while STALKER is a neat first-person shooter with lots of atmosphere; tired of usual shooters, it’s a good choice. If you want a real fantasy holiday, choose Oblivion.

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