S.T.A.L.K.E.R. gets a massive update

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was an opinion dividing game to say the least. Everyone waited for the game with baited breath and, when it finally did hit the stores, it both destroyed and fulfilled expectations in equal measures.

While some of us at bit-tech loved the semi-realistic feel and the level design, others hated respawning foes and poor translation - and we don't know anybody who liked the so-called ending.

Still, no matter how much the finale let us down, it was still a beefy game with enough gameplay to last through a real-life apocalypse and still hold some freshness. It also gathered quite a large fanbase.

Thanks to the success of the game and the continued support of the fans, GSC has announced they will be releasing a "big update" soon that will provide a new competitive game mode;

"We're preparing a big update with a new game mode - Freeplay, with no story tasks, including only the A-life driven ones, where the goal is to gain ranks, climb up in rankings, so as to become the best S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in the Zone."

There's still no word on the rumoured (and much wanted) co-op gameplay mode for the game, but a more sandbox style game mode won't go amiss while we wait for the sequels.

Hopefully the patch will also address some of the balancing issues that occured later in the game, though we'll take it one step at a time for now.

Still enjoy S.T.A.L.K.E.R, or are you more interested in Fallout 3? Have your own opinion on the game ending, or maybe you just want to moan about modern FPS/RPGs in general? Whatever the case, the forums are the place to do it.