As a seasoned STALKER fan with countless hours spent navigating the treacherous expanses of The Zone since its original trilogy days, I can wholeheartedly say that the long-awaited sequel, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, has not disappointed. Its vast open-world and immersive gunplay have made it one of the standout games of 2024 for both Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC.
After finishing a comprehensive play session lasting over 100 hours on GSC Game World’s latest open-world survival shooter, STALKER 2, I am thrilled to express that it surpasses my expectations as an ideal sequel – larger in scale, more daring, and boasting a captivating atmosphere. The game offers enticing exploration opportunities and impressive modern firearm combat. Despite the current issues with A-Life 2.0 AI system, it stands out as one of the top games for Xbox and Windows PC in 2024. Regrettably, what I’ve yearned for since my initial experience with the original STALKER trilogy remains absent: cooperative multiplayer gameplay.
It makes perfect sense that wandering The Zone’s exhilarating open areas on your own could be even more thrilling when shared with friends in a cooperative mode. That’s why many STALKER enthusiasts had hoped GSC would include co-op in STALKER 2, but unfortunately, the developers decided against it. They believe that the unique and unpredictable atmosphere of the dangerous setting is crucial to maintaining an authentic STALKER experience when playing alone.
In a different phrase, here’s how you might rephrase that: There’s no doubt in my mind that having a companion would make navigating unknown territories and exploring The Zone’s eerie underground labs less nerve-wracking. Games like Helldivers 2 demonstrate the thrill co-op can bring even to shooter games, and I was hoping for a similar experience in STALKER 2. However, since it seems unlikely that co-op will be included in the sequel, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a cooperative mod for the original game, Call of Pripyat, is now available to the public.
That mod is X-Ray Multiplayer Extension, or xrMPE, and you can download the free launcher for it here. To play, you’ll first need to enable the Call of Pripyat addon in the Addons tab, then set up a Server with a custom name and password in the Server tab (here are instructions for server setup and useful console commands). Once it’s up and running, you and your co-op partners can then connect to it after launching the mod.
xrMPE allows for a multiplayer experience of up to four participants, offering an adaptation of Call of Pripyat’s game mechanics and narrative elements to ensure smooth and engaging cooperative play. While one player controls the protagonist, Major Alexander Degtyarev, gathering crucial quest items to drive the story forward, the other three players are represented in-game as his squadmates, joining him in The Zone on his mission.
It’s worth mentioning that because xrMPE was constructed using a free open-source adaptation of the X-Ray engine from the STALKER series, it operates independently from the commercial version of Call of Pripyat. Essentially, you can enjoy the mod without needing to purchase the game itself. However, I strongly encourage everyone to do so if possible, as it’s crucial to support the developers, particularly given the circumstances with GSC being impacted by Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
I haven’t had a chance to test the mod with my buddies just yet (as we’re looking forward to doing so soon), but from what I’ve gathered reading comments about it on its ModDB page and Reddit, it seems to function exceptionally well with only some minor glitches that can usually be resolved by quick saving and loading. You may encounter the occasional disconnection or lag spike, but overall, the experience should be quite seamless.
This comment from player _qqq__ gave me a laugh: “We’ve only encountered a few small bugs with UGLs – loaded grenades disappeared after loading a save, and upgrading a gun randomly gave me 30 nades. And one time I sent my friend into orbit by sprinting into him. Other than that, I was very surprised by how seamless the whole thing is.”
I’ve been thrilled to witness the tangible outcomes of numerous dedicated attempts to make cooperative play a reality in STALKER. This mod, if you can call it that, is the embodiment of my gaming aspirations for this series. Once I manage to rally my friends, our exploration into The Zone will be underway. Here’s hoping that one day, we’ll have something similar for STALKER 2 as well.
The highly anticipated game, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, is now available on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC. This year, it’s been ranked among the top Xbox games and top PC games. Priced at $59.99, you can currently find a discount on it at CDKeys. Additionally, you can play it through Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
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2024-12-17 23:40