The Ticktockman said:
Oh, a metaphor, I get it. I didn't realize we were critiquing games based not off of real faults, but metaphorical faults. Thanks for your input.
Well sure. It isn't like the design of maps was basically a one big corridor right to Chernobyl NPP with a few branches. Starting with the 1st map which is a one big corridor and ending with maps in the second half of the game - the map before Prypiat even had really small passages.
But hey I can live with that really - however Stalker had lots of another shit like mad respawn, non-existent excuse for a story, boring MMORPG quests, poor area design where locations feel like GSC just decided to throw stuff in them randomly, especially Yantar factory in the middle of the forest with no roads leading to it, enemies wearing some fat armour even if it looks like a jacket (bandits can take 10 bullets to the torso and still live like nothing happened. I remember with first guns it even takes 3 headshots to put one of them down). And that's just in the beginning of the game - whereas in the end it sometimes takes 60 bullets from G36(!) to put one spetsnaz warrior down.
Add to this shitty optimization of the engine and healing sausages.
Stalker is a monument to bad design and laziness. They've spent 6 years just to make a poor alpha version of the game.