Every time I play Stalker I like it more and more. I like the spontaneous John Woo shoot-outs I get into. I like the hideously creepy atmosphere of the underground. I like the feeling of exploring an alien world right in my backyard. And every once in a while it throws something really spectacular at them. For one of the first times in my videogaming career, I have encountered a true moral dilemma.
As much as I might complain about having to save their incompetent asses from hordes of retarded Bandits every time I pass through, I have come to feel a true sense of obligation to my fellow Stalkers. In a way, my compulsive need to kill every enemy and take his stuff has morphed into a kinship with the other Loners. The guys in the Garbage train depot, the dudes chillin' in the Cordon village, those poor bastards at the farmhouse, I love meeting all of them. It gives me a good feeling to see them alive one more day. I still regret stumbling over Fox's chewed up corpse, and watching Mole drop to the dirt to a headshot. And when I hear gunfire in the distance but keep running to finish a quest, it tears me up to know I could have helped, and I wonder what became of them. Every time my minimap shows an orange dot, it fills me with hope and apprehension. Somewhere nearby is a friend, but I might (read: will) have to save his life. We're all in this living Hell together, even if I could take them all single handed, and even if they just respawn if I leave them to die.
I've all but given up trying to understand the Bandits and military. I know the soldiers are following orders, and I hate them for it. But they made their choice when they put on the uniform. They're expendable military drones and Russian ones at that, corrupt and brutal, and if they think they'll accomplish something putting their life on the line, I'm more than happy to oblige. But the Bandits, I wonder if they even know what they've stumbled into. Sometimes I think I could reason with them. If they want money, there's all the money to be made here. Without having to look over our shoulders for other men trying to kill us, we could plunder everything the Zone has. The wilderness preys on fear. But they chose to take on the Zone and every other man in it, and I oblige, if regretfully. There's just so much more we could do.
While scouring the Bandit fortress in Dark Valley, I found a Stalker in an outbuilding, curled up on the ground with two dead Bandits. I patched him up and he thanked me. He had nothing to show his appreciation with, but clued me into some nearby Stalkers selling high-tech guns for cheap; an easy going lot. I wondered why he ran off in such a hurry, but I had other leads to follow.
I later went down to the pig farm he tipped me to. And there in the minimap was his green dot, sitting by the fire. Sure enough, the Stalker at the door offered me a Gauss rifle for 800 rubles. I don't even know what a Gauss rifle is, but I can't turn down an offer like that. He goes in back to get it; when I get curious, his pal levels an SMG at me. Finally, he shouts back to me, something about Robin Hood and warning me not to come back if I wanted to stay alive.
It's not about the money really, I killed those chump soldiers for less. It's not about the Gauss rifle that I'm sure they don't have. But I helped that bastard when he was laying gut-shot, and he lied to my face. Hell, I would have given them the 800 rubles if they had just asked; they probably need it more than me if they're hitting up random Stalkers for essentially pocket change. Is this the caliber of men I've been risking my life to save? Are my fellow Stalkers just bandits who know a good opportunity? No, they're not all like this. And under different circumstances, if a Hind landed or the wolves mobbed in, I know we'd all be back to back again.
But therein lies my dilemma. Do I grit my teeth and walk away, knowing that, however ugly the method, I've helped my fellow men survive another day? Or do I march back to that shack with my RPG-7, and show everyone that nobody, but nobody, fucks with the Marked One?
Whatever the case, be damned if I haven't turned into the fucking Duty faction. And I thought those guys were a bunch of cockgobblers. I wonder if you can actually join them at some point.
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Topic: Stalker Series (Read 88697 times)