2007 has got to be the worst year for games.  Two words for STALKER.  "Junk Code".  Typically I'm very much against reviewing a game based on how well it runs because the technical shortcomings of one's own system should not define the quality of the game itself.  All-to-often we see reviewers on Amazon rate a game badly simply because they don't know a thing about Gaming or PC's in general.  We all know and loathe these types because they unfairly give a game a bad rating, when the actual problem is them - not the game.

Anyway, with that out of the way, I have to say STALKER demonstrates a discouraging trend in current game development.  Games are becoming so dependent on API's and "Canned Code" that programmers no longer have to be programmers.  Game engines like Bioshock and STALKER make this all too evident.  I've seen these games run on some of the best systems out there and what people don't realize is they still don't run the way they should.

STALKER - like Bioshock - has the feel of a badly mod'ed engine.  No matter how good your system is, you WILL experience problems... and strange ones at that because what you have here, are game engines that are mod'ed beyond their capabilities.  It's almost as if these companies said, "hey, let's take Doom3 or HL2, shove as much of the latest and greatest API's into it, give it a storyline, and sell it".

By the way for those who don't know what an API is, it's essentially huge junks of pre-written code.  A lot of the lighting effects and physics in these games are API's.

Even if the API's are well written, a team who relays to heavily on them brings to question their technical prowess.  All the bugs in the finished game reveal the lack thereof.  Do you recall Bioshock's constant BSOD, STALKER does it too.  There are also memory leaks in FDL.  The problems are documented and the company actually suggests using community mods to fix the problem as well as installing 3rd party, freeware, OpenAL drivers.  Wow.

To describe the game itself... movement is chunky, the environments looked tinselly and 'floaty', and the character animations are not fluid or natural looking at all even with a high FPS.

The story seemed cool... but who cares really.  I want good optimized code.  Story is tertiary no matter what people try to sell me on.  GIVE ME GOOD CODE!!!

The future of game development is here and it does indeed look bleak.
2007 has got to be the worst year for games. Two words for STALKER. "Junk Code". Typically I'm very much against reviewing a game based on how well it runs because the technical shortcomings of one's own system should not define the quality of the game itself. All-to-often we see reviewers on Amazon rate a game badly simply because they don't know a thing about Gaming or PC's in general. We all know and loathe these types because they unfairly give a game a bad rating, when the actual problem is them - not the game. Anyway, with that out of the way, I have to say STALKER demonstrates a discouraging trend in current game development. Games are becoming so dependent on API's and "Canned Code" that programmers no longer have to be programmers. Game engines like Bioshock and STALKER make this all too evident. I've seen these games run on some of the best systems out there and what people don't realize is they still don't run the way they should. STALKER - like Bioshock - has the feel of a badly mod'ed engine. No matter how good your system is, you WILL experience problems... and strange ones at that because what you have here, are game engines that are mod'ed beyond their capabilities. It's almost as if these companies said, "hey, let's take Doom3 or HL2, shove as much of the latest and greatest API's into it, give it a storyline, and sell it". By the way for those who don't know what an API is, it's essentially huge junks of pre-written code. A lot of the lighting effects and physics in these games are API's. Even if the API's are well written, a team who relays to heavily on them brings to question their technical prowess. All the bugs in the finished game reveal the lack thereof. Do you recall Bioshock's constant BSOD, STALKER does it too. There are also memory leaks in FDL. The problems are documented and the company actually suggests using community mods to fix the problem as well as installing 3rd party, freeware, OpenAL drivers. Wow. To describe the game itself... movement is chunky, the environments looked tinselly and 'floaty', and the character animations are not fluid or natural looking at all even with a high FPS. The story seemed cool... but who cares really. I want good optimized code. Story is tertiary no matter what people try to sell me on. GIVE ME GOOD CODE!!! The future of game development is here and it does indeed look bleak.