CS - "The Faction War" mod review

I'm back after a long time with a mod review for STALKER: Clear Sky - Total Faction Warfare or The Faction War. Right off the bat and without pain I'll tell you that this mod is easily the best mod ever made for STALKER: Clear Sky, but lets see how well does it compete with other mods. I was using the 3.7 version of the mod and the mod can be downloaded here: http://www.gsc-game.com/index.php?t=community&s=forums&s_game_type=xr2&thm_page=1&thm_id=23060&sec_id=21&offset=420. This review comes a little shorter, since I had some minor problems with the mod.
 The Faction War lets you choose a faction from 7 different factions, join one of the factions and attack enemy factions. It sounds fun, doesn't it? The idea is simple and great, but it comes with a clear problem - the mod is built on a not-the-most-stabile game - Clear Sky.
 The game starts off with you waking up in the tower in Bloodsucker village and you are spawned right into the action. You are Durad Vidic, an outsider who woke up in the Zone. Trying to find out what happened, you stumble out of the tower and a bloodsucker chases you away from the village you woke up in. Confused, you find a group of stalkers who tell you what to do and then you have to make the most important choice - what faction you will join. Of course you can also stay a loner, but that isn't as exciting as taking over bases and eliminating scum. Every faction has its pros and cons. Some give yous starting weapon, some have faction traders, some are faster and some are stronger. It really is your choice, after that, the hunt for the enemies will begin. For some factions, you have to build up the reputation with them that can take very much time, but some let you in immediately. In The Faction War, you can even create your own squad and recruit people from your faction. They can be very useful, but don't expect a stealthy run with them, they go in guns first.
 Graphically, the game is as good as usual, packed with the necessary AtmosFear and Absolute textures, so it is gorgeous as always. Nature looks nice and battles look detailed.
 There were many nice new features - the radio system from AMK, squad creating, new weapons and new storyline. Although, the tasks given got boring fast, they were all go kill those guys at this place and go stand there for 3 minutes and yes, there were tasks where you just had to stay in one area doing nothing for 1 to 4 minutes. You can get bored with this mod pretty easily, since the tasks can get repetitive. Luckily, the tasks aren't confusing and you can get used to all the new features and tasks easily and that's a big plus with total conversion mods for STALKER games.
 Possibly the biggest letdown with the mod was the stability. The game can crash or freeze easily. Whether you are just loading a savegame or entering a new area, the game can freeze and eventually crash at random times. Loadtimes were mediocre, but still decent. I was also disappointed about the poor A.I that the mod gave the game. Your squad members did the exact opposite what you wanted them to do. Sometimes they'd just walk into an enemy base while you were trying to cautiously attack it and you couldn't ever sneak into bases with your squad members. Once they see an enemy, they go blatantly crazy. The least they could do is actually hit the enemies.
 In conclusion, I can safely say that this is without a doubt the best mod for STALKER: CS. If only this mod could be on Shadow Of Chernobyl or Call Of Pripyat, then the mod would be executed perfectly, since I believe that the root of the horribleness of the mod came from horrible Clear Sky. Not to worry people, the next version will be coming out soon with bugfixes and new things.

8.2 / 10 - TFW is a mod that must definitely be tried out if you are a STALKER fan and even with the horribleness of Clear Sky, the mod will give you a whole new and interesting experience. After taking over all bases, you'll feel like the leader of the Zone. It's a feeling to fight for, a feeling to win for.