It's been a long five-plus years, but GSC Game World's much-delayed first person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl has finally gone gold. The post-meltdown Chernobyl atmosphere is combined with a little bit of sci-fi to create a slightly odd, yet realistic atmosphere of an urban wasteland where fighting for survival is tantamount. The game will be in stores soon, and I've gotten a chance to try out the game's online versus modes.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s online play will work pretty similar to many games in the past - there's a built-in server browser letting you choose your game or sort by ping, number of players, and the like. After setting up various detail and control options, a quick hop over to the "Network Game" mode from the main menu brings me up a server list, and it's time to jump right in. This multiplayer beta has two maps included to try, and both a free-for-all deathmatch mode and team-based Artifact capture mode are included. Read The Full preview @ AtomicGamer