Play this before first part?

[la merde]

I am willing to buy all three parts of this series. The discription is saying that this part is playing one year before the initial released part.

Do I get the best game experience when playing it in the correct order?

ty

[Craal]

I'm wondering that too.

[2point4]

Shadow of Chernobyl
Clear Sky
Call of Pripyat

Clear Sky is a prequel of Shadow of Chernobyl so chronologically the events took place first in Clear Sky. But playing it first will likely spoil most of Shadow of Chernobyl.

I recommend playing them in the order of release, which is the order I listed up there.

[Coldhands]

I'm trying to remember, but I don't THINK there are any spoilers for Shadow of Chernobyl in Clear Sky. It's been a while. Story isn't really one of Stalker's strengths though, so the order you play the games in doesn't really matter in that regard.

The only thing that might make playing Clear Sky first a little funky, is that it has gameplay features (like item modification and the way it handles artifact hunting) which ShoC doesn't, so you'd loose what really are improvements to the series after game one, and then pick them up again at game three.

I generally play Clear Sky first, because I'm pretty OCD about stories and timelines (even if they're pretty weak), but I don't think you'd necessarily have a better game experience either way.

So TL;DR version: Totally up to you.

[2point4]

The entire story arc in SoC is completely spoiled once you finish CS...

And weak on story?!?

[Game Epidemic]

2Point is correct. Play the games in this order: Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, Call of Pripyat.

[HunterKiller]

:(, i'm playing them sort of backwards.

[Coldhands]

Originally posted by 2point4:

The entire story arc in SoC is completely spoiled once you finish CS...
And weak on story?!?

I don't remember what's exactly spoiled anymore. I remember Clear Sky has a real rushed, sloppy end game, but I don't really remember any specifics being spoiled for ShoC. But like I said, it's been a while.

And yeah, the story is pretty weak. It's an interesting premise but they don't do much with it, and the story telling is. Stalker is all about atmosphere, which I think is actually helped by how few real details the story hands out.

[kaay]

I dont think the "correct" order is the best.
CS should be played last since it has the roughest start and its only recommended for players that are already familiar with the setting and gameplay.
Doesnt matter if you start with CoP or SoC, start with whichever you seem to like more in the begining.
CoP is more story driven and has a better sense of direction than the other two, also the fights are a bit more forgiving.

[Obi-Rotta]

I think its best to start with Shadow of the Chernobyl cause you are going to miss some of clear sky's features that are not included in first game

[la merde]

Very interesting. I guess I will play Shadow of Chernobyl first and then maybe Call of Pripyat or Clear Sky

[Obi-Rotta]

call of Pripyat is my own fauvorite S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game i played it over 150 hours and there is so much to do and new stuff i think that you can start with it too but then shadow of Chernobyl is not going to be so good experience

[Mexican Rambo]

I racked over 500 hours on CoP. But i like Soc more then CS.

[sentenza]

Don't start with Clear Sky, that's what I just did and it has a very frustrating learning curve.

On the other hand, I remember playing Shadow of Chernobyl a few years ago and it was simple enough to get into.

[Duelz]

I find CoP the easiest game out of the three because even at the start you can get good gear easily. In CS you start with terrible gear and get stuck into a mission before you can get decent weapons. SoC is easier than CS as you take less damage at the start which helps. In CS, you get shot more than 2 or 3 times and you are already dead. Just start in the release order as you get a better idea of how to play without getting frustrated straight away.