I had a hankering to play all my old Vietnam games recently; i.e. Line of Sight, Men of Valor, Battlefield Vietnam, Vietcong, Rising Storm 2, Conflict Vietnam, and the more recent ArmA 3 S.O.G expansion; that was, after playing Military Conflict Vietnam (which is so like the multiplayer component of Men of Valor: however, I was initially disappointed when the game consistently crashed when I tried to load it.

After several attempts at changing various graphic options I was going to give up, then thought aha! ...... 'the discussions' lets, check 'em, there'll be something there? and there was.

Terje_P posted a link to a particular fix that was originally posted by unknown on Google Drive called Tunnelrotter.7z. HERE[drive.google.com]
The file is in Russian, so I first checked the efficacy of the file and it was passed with no issues, so I unpacked it using the password:

test

The unpacked file is called replay.exe and if you replace the one in the games folder (backing up the original) the game worked for me the first time I booted it up and I was able to play with no crashs.

The following review is a first impressions:

I did play this for a few hours when it was released, but I cannot remember anything of the game play apart from dying a lot. I will eventually update this review once I've completed a significant portion of the game complete the game (If I ever manage too).

The game has been panned by most of those reviewing it, but personally I found it interesting and different to the usual Vietnam based games. It's not a run & gun game like some Vietnam games and relies (like Line of Sight of MOV) mainly on Stealth for most of the game. I remember Vietcong or possibly Vietcong 2 included at least one tunnel based level, no other Vietnam game to my knowledge has.

As yet I'm only part way through the first three auto saves, where I've been through two tunnel systems and two above ground area's. Combat is relatively easy as you find in succession a knife, pistol and an AK47 with plenty of ammunition as well as health packs, which I found really useful because I've yet to figure out how to defuse the grenade traps. It says use F; but every time I've been almost killed; thankfully, with plenty of health pack I've managed to just about survive. Using the lean left & right help to keep you less exposed to gunfire from the V.C.

I do not think the game justifies so many negative comments. Okay, the graphic is basic, but what do you expect for a 16 year old game. There were better looking Vietnam games made prior to this e.g Battlefield Vietnam, Vietcong 1 & 2 & Men of Valor (MOV), which the latter, at the time of it's release in 2004 had cutting edge graphics and that was five years before this game was released; however, MOV was a AAA game and Tunnel Rats never was.

That said, I do think the price is a little steep for a game this old. I'd certainly recommend buying it if you love Vietnam based games or if it went on sale, which I was amazed to find out it never has been so far, since it's release in 2009; (according to Steam DB). Another interesting fact is that the game was updated as recently as November 2024, contrary to some reviews who've said it was never updated.