S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is yet another game that uses OpenAL to create a realistic acoustic environment. And this game was merciless to the Creative X-Fi. Added to the above-mentioned inaccuracy about the direction to the sound source was the incorrect reproduction of the distance to it. It is especially conspicuous for high-frequency sounds. For example, the grunting of bandits running at a distance sounds like you are already surrounded and about to be beaten hand to hand. Of course, this spoils your gaming experience. The ASUS Xonar D2 is quite another thing. It provides a fantastically sharp and natural acoustic picture for a complete submersion into the game world. It’s when you are shooting at a sound and always know how many people are alive behind your back. The wind is howling in your ears, the horrible roar from somewhere makes you shudder, and the bullets buzzing and banging against the steel chassis of abandoned cars make you hurry away from the line of fire even if you don’t see the enemy. I’ve never felt such a realism of gameplay, not even in the famous and awards-covered Crysis. There is almost no performance hit from the software processing of 3D sound.