Worthplaying reports:
''A group of stalkers has for the first time reached the very heart of the Zone – Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and brings about a cataclysm on the brink of a catastrophe. An immense blowout of anomalous energy changes the Zone. There are no more reliable and relatively safe roads. The entire levels vanish in the outbursts of anomalies. Stalkers and even expeditions die or end up sealed on the lost territories. New areas, which remained unknown since the time of the Zone emergence, appear on the Zone map. The Zone continues to shake with blowouts. The Zone is unstable. The anomalous activity is at its maximum.
Changes of the Zone map known to stalkers shake the fragile balance of forces in the Zone. Among the groupings, there flare up hostilities for the new territories, artifact fields and spheres of influence. There are no more old enemies or friends – now everyone is for himself. The Factions War has started between the groupings.''
Review - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky should be seen as an expansion rather than a full prequel, but it is one that fans will enjoy nonetheless.
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games have greatly influenced the Eastern European games that came later. In this, the second of a two-part miniseries exploring these influences, we investigate the gameplay mechanics that make "Stalkerlikes" what they are.
DSOGaming writes: "RemasterStudio has released the first beta version of a graphics overhaul mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky. STALKER Clear Sky Remaster ports the game to the latest version of the X-Ray Engine, and introduces a lot of modern-day graphical features."