My friend gave me Stalker free of charge so I have to imagine that gave me a forgiving attitude toward it. I liked it though, it was hard, but it wasn't really impossible. You had to use your brain and your reflexes, it was sort of a intelligent fps of sorts. After you get the better armor though you can take quite a few shots to the torso before you chew on the gravel. I liked it, it's long yes, but the story is deep enough to keep you interested, but vague enough so you can't take a guess at it. I would recommend it simply for people who've felt patronized by embarrassingly easy game-play to the point of immediately going to hard every time they pick up a copy.