It's free, there are crazy mutants in red robes that can make the car you are driving in go flying while it is smashing up zombies and there are no bloody impenetrable fences to stop you from seeing what is over the next hill.  It is the originally conceived S.T.A.L.K.E.R., or Oblivion Lost as it was once known, and you can download the entire game in all it's glorious buggyness via Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN.  Check out the movie recording of a flyover, there will be some very familiar places, some that you caught glimpses of and were never able to explore and some you have never seen.  Hopefully a few enterprising coders will take on the challenge of bug fixing.


"GSC Gameworld have released an early build (from 2004, to be precise) of their acclaimed STALKER – from back before too long struggling through development limbo saw the game enjoy a major rethink and some not insubstantial tinkering from publisher THQ. With GSC’s blessing, we now to get to find out whether this kick up the bum was entirely necessary.

The 1.2Gb build 1935 even carries STALKER’s original subtitle, Oblivion Lost – as opposed to the final game’s Shadow of Chernobyl. While none of RPS’s tired, tired men has as yet had the chance to delve deeply into this unexpected relic of the near past, word is it’s a tough old game. It’s not as if STALKER was ever a walk in the park, so presumably the difficulty is one of the rougher edges that ended up being smoothed off. On the plus side, it includes driveable vehicles and a stronger science fiction tendency."

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