When I start the game I get the forest opening screen. It moves for about a second and then pauses for about a second. Same with other cutscenes.

I tried the files in the game directory and they play fine in VLC so I don't think it is a codec issue like has been suggested.

Anyone else having this issue. The resolution patch that is being worked on doesn'tseem to mention this issue.

I thought VLC used it's own codecs? Do they play fine in Media Player?

Installing the newest K-Lite Codec Pack helped in my case.

The videos run fine in media player too.

Either way I download and installed the codec pack and the videos are still stuttering.

The game seems to play fine but the video stutter is unbearable. It's like a second playing and a second paused.

A bit of a late reaction to this but the new (steam) patch seems to fix cutscene stutter for some people.

For me it killed about 3/4 of the stutter but it's still there. I'm putting the game on the long finger and hope for another patch.

Have you tried XP\98 compatibility mode? Works fine on XP (after the codecs), at least for me.

I tried Compatibility mode. It seems to force the game into windowed mode and then the stutterings even worse. Thanks for your help though.

Strange. For me windowed mode somehow decreases game's performance... :)

I will try windowed mode later today and see if it helps.