In S.T.A.L.K.E.R, the player assumes the identity of an amnesiac 'Stalker', an illegal explorer/artifact scavenger in 'The Zone', dubbed 'The Marked One'. The game includes role-playing and first person shooter elements. The game has a non-linear storyline and features gameplay elements such as trading and two-way communication with NPCs. The game is set in an alternative reality, where a second nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone in the near future and causes strange changes in the area around it. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a first-person shooter survival horror video game developed by GSC Game World and published by THQ.
