Aside from the mutants, other S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s, and bandits, there are some curious environmental hazards that presumably resulted from the disaster of 2008. You'll find Springboard anomalies to be plentiful around Cordon. According to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s encyclopedia, these unstable gravitational fields erupt in waves of shock damage when anyone approaches. On screen they appear as translucent but visible bending of the air, like concentric waves of glass emanating from the ground. Should you get too close without seeing one, an alarm will sound in your ears which pulses with increasing frequency as you close in. Another anomaly called a Whirligig sucks you up into a whirlwind if you step on it, an Electro detonates in a torrent of sparks, and a Vortex acts like a temporal vacuum cleaner, sucking in all surrounding debris and items. More important than the threat they pose to your character, these anomalies eventually yield artifacts, the acquisition of which can obviously be beneficial.

Initially your enemies, both human and mutant, won't be all that powerful, but still present a challenge. Against humans, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. greatly rewards those with an accurate shot. Body armor, especially later on in the game, can withstand severe punishment. We were standing near point blank against some army soldiers unloading entire clips from an IL-86 (a powerful gun) and caused the enemy to do no more but stumble. A single headshot, however, put him down for good. Outside of the scopes IL-86, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s early weapons are largely inaccurate at medium to long range, meaning your assaults on enemy strongholds or battles out in the open need to be as stealthy as they are precise. This isn't a game where you can wildly run and gun all over the countryside, rather one where you're constantly on your guard. Once nearby enemies are alerted to your presence, they seem to react with a moderate degree of intelligence to your attack patterns. They'll back out of rooms, run for cover, and pop out from behind walls to attack you. The mutants, at least most of them, aren't so smart, and tend to go for a blind charge more often than not. We have encountered a few enemies with more unique behavioral patterns, including a teleporting enemy and one that could telekinetically fling barrels.