S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat Gets a North American Release

In 2007, when GSC Game World released S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, gamers everywhere got a chance to take an entirely new look at Ukraine and the disaster that befell the nuclear power plant and the region around it. The title drifted away from reality and presented the area around the plant as a poisonous, hazard region, where radiation had given birth to all sorts of mutated, horrifying creatures, and a wasteland landscape. But where disaster strikes and death is abundant, so does business and the area became a Holy Grail for adventurers, danger seekers and treasure hunters.

The game delivered a dark and grim, first-person experience, with plenty of scary moments in the abandoned ruins scattered throughout it. A year later, GSC Game World delivered a prequel to the title, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, and, while the combat gameplay and weapon system were greatly improved, the game failed to deliver on the story side, as well as on immersion and feeling, leaving players somewhat disappointed. But the Ukrainian developer did have plans for a proper sequel for it, and, this year, it released S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

The game first came out on October 2, in its original Russian version and, on November 5, it was released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but the rest of the world is still waiting. Not long after the Russian release of the title was made, fans tried to bring it to a far more accessible English version, and a cracked game had people replace the written dialogs and interface with English ones. While the effort was greatly appreciated by the gaming community, the end result was a very rough one, and the end quality could only be put up with by the most dedicated fans of the title.

But the game will finally be released in a more versatile garment, as Viva Media and Bitcomposer Games announced the localization for North America. The English version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat will be ready on February 2, and everybody will get a chance to see if GSC has managed to develop another game that will live up to the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.