downloaded the game, installed, updated both directx and nvida graphics card.
still, when I launch the gmae and error shows up "direct3d9 device initialization error" and game crashes.
my heart is broken.

Try downloading and installing DirectX 9.0c, you can get if from Mirosoft Download Center.

Go to the settings configuration thingy and make sure you have it set to the right resolution.

did that, also reinstalled, still not helping.

Someone in the Steam forum fixed the issue by double checking his/her configuration, somehow the patch set his/her resolution to something weird. Might be worth looking into. The thread can be found here:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1948824

Tried to run it windowed ?

You could probably post a few more details too like what nvidia graphics card do you have, wha's your monitor setup (single, dual, etc), native res, game res, etc.

what i did was re-install the nvida driver software without the 3d vision and that fixed it as far as launching the game goes.
however, graphics are choppy and unsmooth, it gets a bit better when i lower screen resolution but not so much. my pc shouldn't have any problems with the game.

any ideas?
and also thanks to everyone who is responsive and willing to help

Did you tweak the other settings besides resolution? I would suggest turning off SSAO, V-Sync, Cinematic DoF, and Ubersampling.

And providing the specs of your computer (driver version, or if you have patched the game to 1.2) would help others to identify your problem.

have patched the game, video drive is geforce 8600 GT and driver version is 275.33


anything else that can be useful?

right now its running ok but only in the 1280x1024 resolution which kind of sucks.
also, running graphics in the lowest quality but that doesn't seem to be the matter

I see. One thing to note is that 8600GT is less powerful than 8800GT which is specified as the minimum requirement of the game. I think that is why your framerate is suffering.

I don't know how your 8600GT performs in comparison to the 8800 that is listed as the minimum requirements but you are probably lacking quite a bit in terms of gfx.

Anyway, lower whatever you can in terms of settings. You are running it @ 1280x1024, i think that's already not so bad for that card.

Here's a vid of someone running it on a 8600GT with ultra low settings with a resolution much lower than you are running it @ now.

Edit: ninja'd :)

ok, ill check it out.
thank you.

i found the solution thru trial and error. all you have to do is right click your games icon go to Properties. compatibility. and check the run as admin the run in compatibility for windows 8(if your using 10) and the disable fullscreen optimisations then apply and game should run in full screen
hope this help you all