S.T.A.L.K.E.R, a game title I hate to type, and henceforth known simply as Stalker (ahhh, much better), has finally arrived after much delay and a somewhat troubled development cycle. Stalker has been many things over its creation, and while elements have been amputated over the years, it still holds pretty true to its original intent, which is a hybrid of survivor horror, RPG, and first-person shooter. Unfortunately, it doesn't do any of these three things exceedingly well, though taken in combination I commend Stalker for delivering a unique, albeit flawed, experience.

In Stalker you assume the role of the Marked One who, like so many characters before, suffers from...wait for it...amnesia. After a brief tutorial, which I must say is one of the more humorous I've seen thanks to some creative scripting, you emerge, literally, from a hole in the ground to find yourself in a foreboding landscape in and around Chernobyl. It doesn't take long for the atmosphere to sink in. This isn't a happy place. Everything is run down and broken down, from trees to animals to abandoned trucks. This aspect of Stalker is easily its best feature; it succeeds completely in creating a believable world that has been tormented by a radioactive blast.

Along your travels you'll come across deranged human soldiers, rabid dogs, diseased livestock, ghosts, apparitions, and numerous other creatures, all of which go about their existence in a fairly believable way, whether or not you're actually looking at them. For instance, at one point I saw a hungry dog dragging a fallen soldier off into the woods for a little private feast. Events such as this are not scripted, so you can expect to witness all manner of interaction between the citizens and animals of the Stalker game world.

It's unfortunate that it took Stalker so long to arrive, as the rendering engine now feels dated and chunky, whereas three or so years ago it would have been state-of-the-art. If you have the rig to run it at maximum, then you'll still enjoy some of the effects, like sudden gusts of wind that interact with the foliage. You can't help but be reminded of Oblivion, at least in terms of rendering an outdoor scene, but I'm sure you'll agree that Oblivion does it better.

As previously stated, Stalker attempts to be many things, which is a lofty and worthy goal, but its inability to deliver is a huge disappointment. It wants to be an RPG, offering you an inventory and items with modifiers, and yet has no implementation of experience, skills or adjusting your attributes. It also wants to be a free-roam, huge world, Oblivion/GTA hybrid, but comes across as having bitten off more than it could chew, ultimately making it feel like an exercise in drudgery as you walk and run across long, boring distances with nary a quick travel option in site. Stalker would also have you think of it as a traditional first-person shooter, especially in missions that take place underground where you navigate hallways, and here again the game just feels bland and uninspiring. The one element where Stalker really delivers is the survival horror genre, especially in the later stages of the game. You'll find yourself jumping out of your seat on more than more occasion, and that's high-praise as far as I'm concerned.

The backbone of the game is based around interacting with NPCs who impart generic missions, usually of the Go There, Talk to Him, Come Back variety. There has been very little attempt at creating realized characters and one NPC is usually like the next, ultimately making the game feel light and empty. In a bizarre twist, Stalker is one of the few games where I wanted to turn subtitles on in order to better understand some of the heavy Russian accents and yet was stymied by the lack of a subtitle option.

One of the clunkier aspect of Stalker is the interface, from the way missions are displayed on the PDA to dialog windows taking up nearly the entire screen. There's no single aspect of the interface that couldn't have been done a hell of a lot better with increased functionality. As it stands, your missions will begin piling up in the PDA and you'll eventually lose track of just what it is you're supposed to be doing, or why you were doing it in the first place.

A highpoint of Stalker is the enemy AI, and yet it can also be its weakest aspect. Sometimes the AI is just incredible and you'll find yourself in some challenging firefights as the enemy uses any and all objects in the vicinity to hide behind or sneak around. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true and perhaps even more prevalent, as the AI just feels lobotomized at times, doing some of the dumbest actions imaginable, seemingly oblivious to your existence, despite the face that bullets are ricocheting all around him.

In the end, Stalker just fails to impress. All of the potential is there, just not delivered. Some of the issues can be fixed with a patch, but the majority cannot as they represent fundamental design decisions. You can't help but feel disappointed with the final product, if for no other reason than Stalker could have been one of the all-time greats. With greater focus and, I hate to say it, more development time, Stalker could have ranked up there with Deus Ex and Fallout. Maybe Stalker II will deliver on the dream.