When you first join a match, you’ll have the ability to choose your skin, and then a Buy menu becomes available. Depending on server settings, you will be given a certain amount of money with which to buy your first weapon set. Once you select your loadout and spawn your character, the fight begins.

There are a few different deathmatch types in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – Shadows of Chernobyl. First off we have the standard Deathmatch, free for all no holds barred type action. There is also the team deathmatch, for those who wish to have someone at their back. New to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is the Artifact Hunt mode.

In Artifact Hunt there are two teams playing a game very similar to capture the flag. When the round starts, after a short while an artifact will spawn randomly somewhere within the map, and will appear on everyone’s radar. The goal is to get the artifact and return it to your team’s base as quickly as possible.

The deathmatch modes all have the same feel as the single player mode, at least as far as how the game handles. You make money from killing people, and can even loot their bodies for more money, and pick up their weapon or ammo for selling at the end of the round.

The maps are modified parts of the different areas of The Zone, as well. They have tweaks to the areas to make them more deathmatch friendly. These levels have some of the most possibilities for places to go, or hide and snipe from of any multiplayer FPS, with a good open feel. Being able to go against other people in familiar areas is very nice, and a good change from shooting bandits all day.

The real downside with the multiplayer, is that even with a good ping there is a good amount of lag, at least as of version 1.001. Sometimes this is barely noticeable, which is good. Unfortunately it seems more often than not your opponents will be zipping around, making sniping all but impossible some matches. Hopefully there will be a patch released in the near future that fixes this problem.