Nice review, will play it when I get a chance.

Definitely one of those games you have to play. Very confusing at first, but well worth sticking with.

I should have mentioned really that it's pretty harrowing too. When you start exploring the underground labs... well... *shudder*

I did start playing this, but my pc is rather shocking and well it was very stuttery

I could not disagree with this review more. The a.i is so utterly piss poor it doesnt even know when you are behind walls, so that you have no safe place to hide. Hell even their pissant weapons can damage and kill you through big thick walls.
You say the gameplay and level design is open ended yet almot the entire game is either fenced off with fences or radio active parts so you really cant explore. Most of the characters aint even voiced and lets not start on the repeated dialogue. The missions are basic and boring failing to ever really get me involved or get me to care about it, for example if I mess up a mission where I am to protect a load of people from mutants I could not care less if they all die and would not reload it.
The graphics are really rather poor with no detail and some of the models looking like they were made 5 years ago. I have seen better looking mutant dogs on the toxic avenger. Not to mention how badly it performs on even the highest of specced pc's, that

You played the anti-stan version then. The version I played was completely different to what you've described. Nice review Craig

You can explore the radioactive areas, you just need to stock up on your anti-rad meds. I found that out after a bit of frustration at the start. Well worth perservering with, Stan.

And the AI isn't brilliant indoors, no, but it's not terrible. I suspect the shooting through walls thing will be addressed in the next patch. Outdoors it moves incredibly well, finding cover and flanking.

Keep the faith, Stanislav.

PS. Have you even got to the labs yet?

This game is a little rough BUT is very much enjoyable. It has its downsides and these are made acceptable by its positives. I was expecting a pile of crap to be honest due to all the crap they went through to produce it. This is quite an enjoyable game with combat being pretty good. I have just done the lab level which looks and plays amazing.

Each to their own I suppose.

More I read of this the more I want to try it actually

this game sucks,it irritates me every time I play it. C'mon guys ,you spent years to give us a shit.

That bad?

I dont think I have got to the labs yet, because quite frankly I dont want to put myself through that much torture to play a game I dislike. Sure some of those things may be improved by a patch but they aint fixed right now, thus I aint going to play it. It feels like its a five year old game. I even dislike how the guns feel in your hands. It just feels so artificial, not for one moment did I think the world was a living breathing place. Well wrote review, I just dont agree on the gameplay is all.

Right as I now have a new rig, I am thinking of giving this a go, of course not being able to use any of my save games if i patch it is ever so slightly fking shite.

I have been playing this game for the past week & it is the best single player game I have played in years . FEAR was the last game I played this compulsively & sure Stalker is clunky with some rough edges but the overall experience is quite unique. Things which stand out are the very tense tunnel / Lab fights ( just as spooky as Doom 3 ) & the constant thought required to managing your equipment load out . This game is with out doubt a must for the collection . The foe shooting at you through walls or doors did not phase me because guess what ... that's what we all used to do in CS so it goes with the territory . I am playing it on a fast (2.6 GHz) single core A64 with 2 Gig of PC3200 & a 6800 Ultra ( all very last gen hardware ) & it plays fine at 1024 & the lighting effects at medium . So if your having problems running this well then you probably have not taken the time to tune the game to your own rigs capabilities.

WTF spit, that was online this is single player if the a.i wall hacks you in single player something is seriously wrong. 95 percent of the people to interact with say the same things or dont have anything to sell. The missions are fairly boring, this whole open ended levels are actually all blocked off with wire fences so you cant really explore. And as for performance it runs like shite for almost everyone and if you look at the dated graphics they seriously dont live up to the performance. The guns feel like crap and dont actually go where you aim them untill far later in the game. I found the having to constantly manage your inventory to be increadbly annoying and frustrating. I think you two have played a different game to me. It feels like a unfinished alpha that should have been released years ago. I wish it was a good game but it doesnt even come close to the likes of Half Life 2, or Dues ex or any of the games it was influenced by. Fear was a average game as well, superb action

grrr didnt let me finish what i was typing ....
Fear was a average game as well, with superb action and weapon but piss poor level design and ultimately boring and repetitive gameplay.
I was really looking forward to stalker but it has let me down in almost every single way possible.
The enviroments are so bland and most look so similar, the whole rpg aspect they hyped up is really very basic and doesnt have a huge impact into the gameplay.
Since when can eating food reduce radiation, specially food that is probs contaminated itself.
I found myself not bothering to talk to 90 percent of the people in the game because most aint voiced and the rest tend to gave nothing to say or are just repeating the same old things. If a game as vast and huge as oblivion can voice all of the characters and give almost all of them unique voices and dialogue then surely Stalker could.
I am still shocked at you saying we put up with being shot through walls in cs, actually we didnt put up with

Oh and I found doom3 about as spooky and scary as the carebears.

Not to mention all the vehicles lying around that you cant even use, so instead you have to run the entire way, yet another reason why just playing it is a chore let alone exploring it.
It failed to ever suck me in and make me believe it was a living breathing world, instead it just felt like a mod some guys made in their bedroom.

Late comment, this will be a game I will try on my new rig though. Nice review and nice comments by Ryan and Joe. Surely I can get this for a tenner now anyway.

if you paly it at least install the realism pack to stop the AI from finding you miles away in the dark even though you cant see them, and also to stop their weapons doing amazing damage compared to yours.