The anticipation of STALKER...

[MinionZombie]

Sweet, kick ass review there. They mentioned nothing about vehicles, perhaps they really are taken out! If so, I really hope they put them back in with a post-release patch soon afterwards, the idea of yomping around in some Russian hunk-o-sh*t car squashing mutants and pulling off crazy A-Team stunts is just too much to bear. This game just sounds more and more awesome everytime...damnit, why can't it be February 23rd rather than March?! ACK! I feel like Cartman waiting for the Wii ... someone freeze me and wake me up when STALKER lands on my doormat.

[Neil]

http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/action/sta...ml?sid=6164919

[MinionZombie]

*rubs knees*

[MinionZombie]

I spotted online that that competition you posted about, Neil, went completely arse over tit. It was supposed to be a 24 hour marathon, but got cut to 12, then when the winners turned up - the organisers hadn't gotten hold of a copy of the friggin' game! (No doubt the same copy that was getting thrown out left right and centre to various game previewers) So that was a bit of a blunder, eh? Hopefully not a bad omen for the release (i.e. please don't be buggy! ... and ... please work on my computer really well!)

[MinionZombie]

Another little "MZ is a total STALKER fanboy" type thingymajig... Seems like Play.com are only getting one version of STALKER in - the limited edition tin with all the poncy packaging and booklets - and because that's the only one they're getting in, my pre-order for £18 still stands (of course), so I'm getting it for £7 cheaper than what it is now (and that's play.com prices too). See ... keeping that pre-order on all this time in the vain hope it'd actually come to fruition paid off extra it appears!

[Tricky]

You ever read the thick booklets that come with games?theres a massive one with medieval 2,i started reading it then thought "sod it,il figure it out as i go along"

[Danny]

why games have ingame tutorials and a booklet is beyond me, nope ive never read the booklets, the max payne one said at the back "max payne movie coming soon", so there info isnt technically accurate.

[capncnut]

Depending on the game, I will read the booklet. Sometimes there's a nice pre-game overview that fills you in on the more intelligent side of the story. If it's a racing game or a beat 'em up, HELL NO. I ain't wading through 35 pages just to look up on how to take a perfect corner, I'll work it out as I go along. I remember the booklet for KOTOR was immense and I thought "Sod that, we'll do it my way", which was good because I got into the game in no time and the booklet just overcomplicated the experience. Saying that though, I had to go back to the booklet to work out what force crystal went into what thingy etc, so they do have their use. Have you seen the booklets for golf games? Man, they're like mini-bibles.

[Danny]

the morrowind one was pretty thick as well.

[MinionZombie]

hellsing - I'm sure at the time it was pretty accurate, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered (likewise with Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory featuring a teaser trailer - with no footage - for a Splinter Cell movie, which has yet to materialise). But you can't go back and change such things, that's like being Ian Hislop on Room 101 and saying you don't like Silent Movies because they're crap due to their comparitive technological inferiority, as if when they were made they coulda done sound but just couldn't be arsed ... although technically they could have done sound cinema several years earlier, but the tech wasn't up to snuff yet and nor was it economically viable. Anyway, Tricky - I read through the book thingy that came with San Andreas for the PC, I've flicked through it a few times. I'm sure with STALKER I'll require the map, and will give it a skimming through to get the low down on the basics. And there's nothing wrong with in-game tutorials, perhaps better if it's a separate level (like in Max Payne where you go over the basics through a custom training level) ... the way Half Life 2 employs training is interesting, but it's still quite transparent when you think about it. Anyway, was chuffed that I'm getting - it seems - the poncy arse version for the same price I pre-ordered it for back in 2004, hehe.

[MinionZombie]

lol, been reading more information about the game, one of the enemies in the game are "zombie stalkers", people who have been zombified by radiation or whatever (or via some kind of telekinesis or something), and can initially use their weapons against you, but get progressively more stupid until they're just total zombies (probably more on the voodoo-ish side, not sure if they die and continue to exist, like a GAR zombie...) Anyway, with that in mind, there'll probably be a mod that'll come out that will feature just zombie stalkers to make a zombie version of the game, that'd be pretty sweet.

[MikePizzoff]

So I take it this won't be on 360? Damn it. The PC I use now can't run games for shiv. I have another computer that can run games well but the motherboard burned out and I can't be arsed () to fix the damn thing.

[EvilNed]

I'd love such a mode. Just imagine roaming that large city and it being filled with nothing but moaning zombies. That'd be great. It could be like one of those survival internet games - there's no goal except surviving for as long as you can, and the zombies multiply by the second.

[MinionZombie]

Nope, just on the PC *rubs self in smug oil and then bathes in a bath of PC-only smugness*... It is however, apparently able to run on a wide variety of computer set-ups - it is fully scaleable and has two main 'default' settings, either running the game on DirectX 8 or DirectX 9 ... I'm smack bang in the middle, erring on the side of "recommended" (rather than "required") when it comes to the system specs judging by the Wikipedia page, so I'm greasing up my balls over the next 5 weeks as I wait for this to come out, yeehaw! Speaking about the whole PC/console thing, I really wish that titles designed for the PC would be made first and then the console versions, or at best, the majority of resources go towards making the source (if you will) version for the PC first and then they can fart around for the console versions - why do I speaketh these words? Because Half Life 2: Episode Two is delayed A-FREAKING-GAIN, most likely (if the rumour mill is correct) to do with the console version ... so all us PC-dedicated folk have to hang around waiting for the flippin' console version, how is that fair? Grrr! Anyway, roll on STALKER, what rig have you got Mike? You might be able to run it, I mean heck, if Crysis will apparently run on "2 to 3 year old rigs", then you should do fine with STALKER surely. Basically, if you can run Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 just fine, then you'll be fine.

[capncnut]

So I take it this won't be on 360? Damn it. If the game is successful, it'll come to the 360. Don't worry about that bro.