Struggle through bugs, game restarts, CTDs, BSDs, broken factions and you get THIS ending???!?
Modders are probably the only hope that the game will be fixed enough that it actually works, let alone realize its potential. I had *33* crashes at the NPP alone! When I finally got close enough to Streloch to "remove his protection," he was stuck and would take no damage. I could stand right next to him and fire away, but nothing would happen. In fact, I had to restart the NPP end-game *5 times* right from the start to get the game to actually "end" as it should.
Which brings me to the reason I want to congratulate GSC. I have been a computer gamer since 1986. I have played and owned 100's of games. Of those games, SHOC is the buggiest game I have encountered by a whole order of magnitude. If the worst game I encountered prior to SHOC was, say, a 10/10 for bugs, SHOCs bugfest calls for a entire new scale, where it would rank somewhere in the range of 100/10. Maybe some of you guys have seen worse, but I have a directory bulging at the seams with zipped crash reports, the number of which was actually small compared to the number of CTDs that bypassed the bug report feature. Simply AMAZING, GSC!!
I wanted to like this game, I really did. But to struggle through all those bugs, restarts, CTDs, lost hours of game play with a faction system that doesn't work... and to be rewarded for all that tenacity with THIS ENDING??!??! It defies comprehension.
GSC, I feel like you owe me $$$, though I know I will never get any back. But I get some satisfaction knowing that you've lost MY good-will as well as effectively ruining your reputation with this POS game.
Score: 5/10 (some parts of the game worked, game has potential if fixed).
Recommendation: DO NOT BUY