S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl's long and winding road to release hit another speed bump yesterday when THQ revealed that it had been delayed yet again. As of November, it has been scheduled for a May 2005 release. However, originally, the game had a holiday 2004 ship date until it was pushed back last July, ostensibly to stop it from going head-to-head with PC heavyweights such as Doom 3 and Half-Life 2.

　　Now it appears that there were other issues behind the delay. Under the headline "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s development will be extended," a post on THQ's German site obliquely conceded that the game would require more work before it would be ready for release. Oleg Yavorsky, PR manager of the game's developer, GSC Game World, even tried to put a positive spin on the rollback. "We're pleased that THQ granted us more development time," he said. "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is an extensive game which will set new standards in the [shooter] genre. We want to make sure that we publish the game only then if it fulfills the high expectations, which we ourselves and the fans have set, and no sooner." No new release date was announced.

　　First unveiled back in 2001, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a near-future, first-person shooter. Set in a to-scale re-creation of the ruined Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine, the game casts players as a "stalker," a cross between a bounty hunter and a poacher. To earn money and experience vicarious thrills, players' stalkers enter the radiation-riddled zone around Chernobyl to recover valuable artifacts that they then sell to researchers. But getting these artifacts is no walk in the park. The zone is rife with killer mutants and rival stalkers, both of which mean to do players' stalkers harm.

　　For more on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.