In Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 film Stalker, not many people seem to know about the Zone – but those who have heard rumours of this strange place and its ability to grant one’s deepest wishes are drawn to its mystery and simply have to go there…

Likewise, non-gamers may be completely unaware of the tantalising rumours, unreliable announcements and ominous silences coming out of Ukraine for the past five or six years concerning a game called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.; those of us who don’t get out much, though, have probably been more excited by this title than any other in recent gaming history. We’ve endured innumerable false promises and missed release dates with a growing sense of resignation and a suspicion that the game was, perhaps, nothing more than a cruel myth.

But now, unbelievably, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.