This artifact is well worth digging for in a pile of jagged-edged, radioactive trash.
Game Difficulty: Veteran.
Video settings: Object Dynamic Lighting, Medium Settings, 800x600 (mostly).
STALKER is a game that tries hard to make you hate it. I'm not talking about bugs and stability problems here (as I haven't experienced any until the end of the last "bonus" level and that one was easily fixed by a reload), but rather about the overall, as though deliberate, lack of polish. Graphics engine isn't optimized, UI is bulky, translation seems to have been done by my Ukrainian grandma, side quests are rarely coherent and often pointless - the list goes on, yet making you hate it is one mission STALKER fails. Instead, it delivers an FPS experience you'll remember for a long time.
From the very first mission your inner Dorothy will realize that she's not in City 17 any more. Enemies dodge, suppress, flank, and use their "sprint button" so well, at times it will seem they appear and disappear at will, all the while pelting you with juicy tidbits of Russian slang. As a result, firefights are intense and extremely satisfying. There have been complaints about the lack of "choke point tactics" displayed by the otherwise very capable AI, but personally I thought the main (and only) problem was their inability to throw grenades they carry aplenty, especially later in the game. In fact, if they figured to toss a nade in the room before trying to storm it, some of the points in the game would require a dozen or more reloads to get through.
The graphics are on par with Half-Life 2, which isn't really an accomplishment at this point, but whatever the game's visuals lack in technical aspect, they more than make up for in artistic. Anomalies, thunderstorms, makeshift camps, abandoned cities and equipment, piles of radioactive debris, orange bogs and, of course, the huge NPP itself are all done extremely well. Flashlight and fire effects are probably the best in the business presently. Combine this with eerie ambient sounds and creatures that populate "The Zone," and STALKER makes DOOM 3 feel like Mrs. Packman's Adventure in comparison. It's simply the scariest game I've played to date.
That said, it could probably be scarier. Some of the best creatures are encountered only two or three times in the course of the main storyline, so 99 percent of your opponents will be human, which is a shame. Another weakness is the RPG element of the game. It seems you're encouraged to collect loot, but your carry limit is way too low for any meaningful gathering, there are only 3 1/2 traders in the Zone, the artifacts aren't as varied as you'd want, and the money you make from loot cannot be spent on anything. My advice: just get the stuff you'll use, don't bother with trading. Still, the inclusion of ANY kind of inventory system is a welcome addition to the genre.
Aside from being scary, the game really succeeds in making you feel a part of the living world. Both, scripted and unscripted AI makes for some memorable moments. STALKER supposedly has 6 or 7 different endings, of which I saw 3. Nothing spectacular, but not too bad either. What's too bad is the fact that the game doesn't have the option to return you to the Zone after you're done with the main quest. All in all, STALKER's roughness will undoubtedly alienate a few gamers, but those who stay in the Zone till the end will not regret it. Learning Russian is recommended for complete experience ;P .