Photo review of the foreign collectible edition of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

I was fortunate to get this edition just in time. I’m glad that work on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is continuing (even if the developers have changed, you can trust Bethesda), and I’m equally pleased that I finally acquired an overseas collector’s edition of the first part of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. My collection has accumulated a few editions of this game, but I have almost all of the Russian collector's editions (except for Call of Pripyat), and now it’s time to move on to the foreign ones. Read below about the American edition of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl.

The collector's edition includes:

- Artbook;

- Bonus DVD;

- Zone map;

- DLC for multiplayer;

- User manual.

One of the main highlights of the edition is the box itself, made of metal and resembling a metallic case, styled to look rusted and with other relevant oxidations. The front side features the game’s title and a radiation symbol embossed on it.


The zone map is not much different from our Russian editions, just in size and the backside. In our collector’s edition, the map is slightly larger and has a beautiful art print on the back, while in the American edition, the back side is simply aged.

Next is the user manual, which is also very similar to ours. The differences are minimal. It's nice that the text on the front cover is written in Russian. Inside this manual, there is a fairly detailed description of many aspects: weapons, your PDA, gameplay, and the game interface.

The most interesting part is the artbook. It’s a pity that there were no artbooks in the Russian editions of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Inside, everything is described in detail. There’s a description of many enemies you will encounter in the Zone, a list of factions, historical notes related to Chernobyl, and so on.


Instructions "on how to activate the DLC for multiplayer." Nothing special.

What disappointed me the most was that the discs are secured in a regular paper booklet. They could have at least included a DVD box, but I was actually expecting a metal box.


In the end, we get a pretty decent set in a beautiful metal case. It’s very difficult to obtain such an edition in Russia. The best way to get the edition is to buy it on ebay.com; it costs about 31 dollars second-hand. I was lucky; I managed to buy the radiation edition for 1500 rubles second-hand at a Russian gaming flea market just while I was resting in St. Petersburg.

Thank you for your attention!

Huge thanks for proofreading - MrPatogen