Getting to know your neighbors: A look at the factions in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
The first-person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl has been through quite a few ups and downs through the years. It’s been praised, delayed, anticipated… it even got a vaporware award. Things have changed though, and now that developer GSC Game World has THQ‘s backing, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is finally running on all engines for its planned March 23 release.
As a Zone bounty hunter in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., you’ll be scavenging the irradiated land in search of artifacts to sell off. Just because the landscape’s a bit uninviting doesn’t mean you’re all alone, so it would be a very good idea to be familiar with the other, uh, people that roam the Zone.
Read on for a quick look at the different factions that you’ll be coming across in your travels, courtesy of GSC Game World and CVG.
Stalkers. These are the Zone bounty hunters, brave souls who risk facing severe radiation and a lot of other deadly threats in the Zone to scavenge and scour the area for artifacts to sell. A dangerous job, but hey, everybody’s gotta make a buck. Survival is the name of the game for stalkers, and those who have been able to survive find their own way – either stay a lone wolf or join a community of other stalkers sharing similar values as their own.
The full article awaits after the jump!
The first-person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl has been through quite a few ups and downs through the years. It’s been praised, delayed, anticipated… it even got a vaporware award. Things have changed though, and now that developer GSC Game World has THQ‘s backing, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is finally running on all engines for its planned March 23 release.
As a Zone bounty hunter in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., you’ll be scavenging the irradiated land in search of artifacts to sell off. Just because the landscape’s a bit uninviting doesn’t mean you’re all alone, so it would be a very good idea to be familiar with the other, uh, people that roam the Zone.
Read on for a quick look at the different factions that you’ll be coming across in your travels, courtesy of GSC Game World and CVG.
Stalkers. These are the Zone bounty hunters, brave souls who risk facing severe radiation and a lot of other deadly threats in the Zone to scavenge and scour the area for artifacts to sell. A dangerous job, but hey, everybody’s gotta make a buck. Survival is the name of the game for stalkers, and those who have been able to survive find their own way – either stay a lone wolf or join a community of other stalkers sharing similar values as their own.
Duty. Led by brigadier general Voronin, Duty represents the remains of the military survivors who got stuck in the Zone. In 2009, when the first stalkers stepped into the Zone, the government decided to take the Zone territory under control. With this goal in mind they undertook a number of military operations and deployed specially-equipped forces. However, the unexpected anomalies led to many deaths and those who managed to survive became trapped in the Zone.
Eventually they settled in the area presently located around Duty’s bar where soldiers and officers fought with monsters, coped with hunger and deprivation, and a few of them were able to survive. When the Zone passages got less dangerous they returned to their units. They now work to hold the Zone’s key positions, cleanse the area from mutants and pave the way for mass-scale military operations to clean the Zone from stalkers and monsters.
Freedom. A mix of anarchists and terrorists, these guys treat the Zone as a testing ground for Third World War weapons and think that the military are eager to wrestle this from their hands and take the entire Zone under control so it goes without saying that Freedom and Duty don’t see eye to eye. Their activity is focused on diversions accomplished with particular brutality, fighting for free access to information about the Zone.
The leader of the grouping is Lukash, an ambitious savage. He is not the founder of the grouping however. The true leader went somewhere into the Zone center where he is rumored to currently abide.
Monolith. Stalkers of this clan were a grouping that believed an anomalous formation named Monolith exists in the heart of the Zone. It is said to contain powerful energy and is rumored to be responsible for the emergence of the Zone itself. This is why protecting the Monolith became the primary goal of these men. Then something occurred to leave nothing human in the Monolith stalkers. They appeared unchanged visually, but their behavior became increasingly erratic. Now they fight against anyone who is unlike them.
Loners. Not all the stalkers belong to groupings – there are a large number of stalkers who are independent and play their own game.
Mercenaries. Little is known about the Mercenaries. Operating on outside funding, they accomplish missions on order and are aggressive towards everybody. All of them are extremely professional, possessing both combat and stalker experience.
Via CVG