Wow. I have to be honest, cosplay has never really interested me as a part of a videogame lifestyle. But those pesky Russians sure know how to step it up a couple of notches. This website has some amazing photos of a large group of cosplayers re-enacting some scenarios in a landscape no to far from the Zone depicted in the game.



It's a shame I know no Russian, as there seems to be a weatlh of info concerning each shot. There's some makeup and SFX to depcit some of the mutated denizens of the Zone, as well as some nice touches such as the Stalkers wielding bolts to detect anomalies in the Zone.



It's interesting why S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can generate such an interest in cosplay; my perception is that the bulk of coplaying is usually attached to either manga and anime or Japanese games. It's fairly rare to see a Western game, let alone one outside of the US or UK that's go this much interest in it.



It's also a game that probably for many in Russia and former Soviet states, a lot of resonance to it; the ramshackle and devestated zone is akin to some parts of countries like Ukraine and Lithuania that have had a lot of industrial areas simply collapse. These grim modern ruins are something that people can easily go to and serve as a reminder of a not too distant past.



I can't wait for the next S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, Call of Pripyat; neither S.T.A.L.K.E.R game was perfect but a host of mods can make them one of the most absorbing games you can get for the PC.



Link via Kotaku