PC; £34.99; Out Now

Generally speaking, when a game is delayed and its release date keeps slipping, it's a sure sign that the finished product will be unutterable shit; and after languishing in development for six years, things weren't looking too rosy for STALKER. But once you get your hands on this gritty adventure, you'll soon realise the tortuous delay was worth every minute.

Although essentially a first-person blaster, STALKER offers much more than traditional running and gunning. Using the ingenious A-Life system, the game thrusts players into a living, breathing world - staged in the grotty exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear facility - where life goes on despite what you do, with computer-controlled characters who'll chat and bicker among themselves, unpredictable and ever-shifting weather patterns, and mutant animals who'll attack each other for food and to satisfy their bloodlust.

Moreover, every time you begin a game the action will unfold in a completely different way, this freeform structure allowing players to ditch objectives mid-mission and choose their own paths, leading you towards a series of wildly different conclusions. Blending deep role-playing elements, realistic shootouts, multiplayer violence and the creepiest monsters this side of Doom 3, STALKER is guaranteed to keep you hooked until the end credits roll. David McComb