After more than five years in development, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:Shadow of Chernobyl was finally released last week and now the reviews are starting to pour in from around the net. I have not played the game personally, therefore I cannot comment on it's gameplay. As far as graphics...considering the length of time since the game was first conceived, the graphics engine holds up quite well. Here's what some major gaming outlets have to say about it.

IGN (8.2/10) The game offers significantly more content than any other FPS out there, but struggles a little when it comes to the open world. What remains consistent throughout the experience is the compelling atmosphere. The gnarled trees, bleak skies, and rumbling thunderstorms of The Zone grab you firmly by the ears and yank you across irradiated wastelands. In your first hours expect to be filled with an intrepid glee as you acclimate to the game world. A little while later, you'll likely realize the environment's limitations and yearn for more.

GameSpot (85/100) "At its heart, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a first-person survival game that blends action with role-playing. This isn't a linear game, like Half-Life or Call of Duty, where you basically are restricted to a straight path and are taken for a tightly controlled and scripted ride. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s huge environments and open-ended gameplay make it more like a role-playing game, as you can go where you want and do what you want if you're willing to live with the consequences."

Boomtown (9/10) There’s almost a melancholic feel to running though the ruins and going though dark cellars deep under ground, listening to strange voices and sounds from the many anomalies caused by the accident – its downright terrifying, especially if you play in a dark room. ---- Even though it all ends kind of sudden, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is still one of the best First Person Shooters I’ve played in a long time, especially if you like the post-apocalyptic atmosphere from games like Fallout. It’s beautiful, it has a nice feel and is so well built that it deserves a 9.


Yahoo! (90/100) "given all its troubles we're fortunate to have a game at all, let alone one this good. Its setting is superb, its gameplay tense and convincing, and it boasts what are definitely the best fill-your-pants moments in a PC game for quite some time. It's hard to see how it could have turned out better."


Eurogamer (80/100) "For some people the odd rough brokenness of Stalker will frustrate and annoy. It isn't finely polished, and it's not Hollywood; this is more like an antidote to the Americanised way of doing things. It's a warped behemoth from the Ukraine, and one of the scariest games on the PC."

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s Multiplayer mode offers Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Artifact Hunt for up to 32 players.