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POLLS INDICATE SURVIVAL FPS Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl is even more anticipated than Doom 3. Monaco Corporation took Gameplanet to Sydney recently to meet the developers and try out Stalker for ourselves.

While this reporter still has strong memories of the horrors of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster, a product such as Stalker does more than bring back the emotions of that fateful day in 1986. As one of the world's worst environmental disasters, the ill effects are still being visited on new generations of people and wildlife, which provides the basis for the story behind the events of the game. There have long been rumours of government experiments at Chernobyl, and ultimately in Stalker you will find out what's behind the mysteries and what is controlling events within the zones.

Stalker takes the player to 2012. Government agencies and various other interested parties employ stalkers to retrieve artefacts from the exclusion zones around the Chernobyl plant, a dangerous job in more ways than one. Not only is there radiation to deal with, but people and animals living in the area include mutants and natural predators. Because none of them is scripted, you won't know where you will next meet up with them, and their behaviour changes according to the seasons (including migration) and time of day. Some are reasonably harmless during the day, or alone, but become hunters at night or in packs.

Stalker features a persistent world of 30 square kilometres to explore. There are several key missions as well as the freedom to progress and explore as you desire, and random tasks also come up as you go, depending on places (and times) you visit certain locations. The zones also change according to the seasons, meaning the level of radiation protection required for safe access to different areas varies during the game.

Throughout the zones you will find dealers as well as stalkers. To stay alive and enter more radioactive zones you need to build up your radiation equipment by buying and selling artifacts to dealers in the game. There are around 100 NPS stalkers in the area, and again because there is no scripted AI in the game, they won't necessarily appear at the same place at the same time - a significant benefit for both the length of the game and replayabilty.

Having seen footage of the developers walking around Chernobyl with cotton masks for radiation protection, Gameplanet quickly wondered if Stalker was going to be alright. But having experienced Stalker first-hand at least we can tell you the game itself is in almost perfect shape. Living with 100km of the nuclear station would go some way to explaining both GSC's interest in and fearless behaviour around Chernobyl.

To add to the experience, Stalker features Reuters news footage of the disaster from 1986. In a neat transition, the footage turns into the computer-generated Chernobyl scene that starts you off on your journey. This transition alone is a strong indicator of the level of visual achievement GSC has managed with Stalker, which is easily one of the most visually impressive games Gameplanet has seen to date.

The rag doll physics are a bit over the top at this stage, especially with the punch of weapons sending heavy creatures flying. There were also problems with animal attacks - animals were effecting bites without being close enough, and there was no sound of their approach. However, these were about the only problems Gameplanet encountered in the game, and with some time to go until its release, such simple issues are bound to be improved or eliminated.

You can threaten and induce fear (for example by firing a weapon or killing one or two creatures in a pack), but you will be vulnerable if you are injured. Creatures can be aggressive, scared, hungry, or take rest. It is possible to kill other stalkers for their artifacts, but if someone witnesses the killing you may be reported, which will result in losing your business license.

The impressive audio covered authentic weapon sounds and a wide range of animal behavioural attributes ¨C essential for establishing the level of threat each creature respresents at any given time. Your character also has his own basic needs that you will need to meet by buying foodstuffs, medicine, radiation antidotes and weapons and other equipment. If you suffer from extreme hunger you may end up having to eat a mutant (as well as medicine to kill radiation - they say Vodka helps).

The version we played was running on DX9 (Stalker is part of NVidia's 'The way it's meant to be played' programme to where the game is developed specificially for NVida graphics cards and DX9), and the multiplayer mode will be available at E3. Besides some clipping the visuals were consistently among the best we have seen. Stalker runs at three million polygons per frame, including fully dynamic lighting with soft shadows. Most of the environment is bump mapped and although the frame rate on the system we used wasn¡¯t liquid (possibly 40 frames per second) it easily accommodated responsive FPS action in combat.

Stalker's mulitplayer mode will have a limit of either 16 or 32 players. The three modes are: capture the flag, deathmatch, and possibly a mission-based mode as well.

The screenshots provide a good indication of the level of care and achievement that has already been managed. Running on a high-end PC, it's the most realistic-looking game we've ever seen, but Stalker also promises extraordinary results on more common setups. We'll have more on Stalker soon, including some mutant sketches and shots from GSC's trip to Chernobyl.

Show me the screenshots!