UPDATE 3.45pm: Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 developer CI Games has responded to the loading time issue identified in the issue below. Here's their response in full:

"We are aware of the problem with long initial loading times, but thanks to this decision we were able to shorten any loading times during missions, respawns, and fast travel to a minimum:

fast travel 4-15s

load last checkpoint (depend on situation) 15-30s

Restart mission 25s

"Ultimately we feel like this inconvenience is rewarded with a comfortable experience once the game is loaded."

ORIGINAL STORY 3.00pm: Growing up as a gamer in the 80s, my first computer was a ZX Spectrum. Back in those days you had to load games from tapes so a 5 minute wait as the data screeched its way onto your home computer was to be expected.

It's safe to say technology has moved on a bit since those days, which is why I was somewhat surprised by the lengthy load times on Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, a game releasing some 35 years after the release of the ZX Spectrum.

Every time you load the game or travel to one of the games four regions on the PS4, you have to sit through an incredibly lengthy load time that pushes dangerously close to the 5 minute mark. I've only been able to test the PS4 version so far, there is a chance that it'll load faster on PC or Xbox One.

Still, as I found out in the video below, there are plenty of things you can do in 5 minutes to keep yourself amused. Before anybody asks, yes they're all safe for work. Get your mind out of the gutter, you.

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Also it's worth pointing out that a large number of actual ZX Spectrum games could load in less than 5 minutes - Jetpac for instance takes about 2 minutes 20 seconds to load. That's half of Sniper Ghost Warrior 3's load time!