Review by Richard Swinburne and Joe Martin:
"It's been 18 months since we last STALKED through the shadows of Chernobyl and now we're back to do it again with Clear Sky in the prequel to the first game in this survival FPS franchise.
We loved the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. for its gritty edge, cool weapons, creepy enemies and inventory system that harked back to classics adventure games like Resident Evil or Fallout. It wasn't perfect though and despite the multiple endings and paths through the game, the story itself was still pretty linear. Worse, it was buggy even after multiple patches and a prolific mod making communitiy there was only limited replay appeal for many gamers.
In other words, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was very much a love-it-or-hate-it type of game and that issue was compounded somewhat by the fact that it launched early in the year with little in the way of competition - if you did hate it then there wasn't exactly much else to play.
This year though things are a little different. Clear Sky is launching against some fierce competition and there are a lot of other games on the horizon which could steal the thunder of this Russian shooter - especially now that it has lost the backing of publisher THQ. With so much going against it, can Stalker: Clear Sky manage to come through as an unlikely hit in the gaming charts, or will the game prove to have stalked too far and end up lost in the wilderness? We find out."
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is about to launch and we've noticed player counts for the original trilogy spiking in anticipation.
"Mechanically, Clear Sky is a surprising leap ahead of Shadow of Chornobyl. Shooting, which was already solid, is tightened further. Mercifully, armour can be upgraded and repaired and there are now much more gear set combinations. This is further complemented by an increased emphasis on artefacts as a necessary adjunct to your gear set. The key aspect that elevates this prequel above its forebear is the extra focus on inventory customisation." - Ken Talbot| NintendoLife
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.
What.
I had high hopes for this game. Couldn't wait to get my hands on it next Monday if it actually releases on that new changed to date (US). The original was extremely buggy/glitchy at release and I eventually enjoyed it after four to five patches later and a GPU upgrade (7800GT to 8800GTs). Not many good reviews so far. Bugs/glitches, performance and system crash issues seems too much all at once. I guess I have to look forward to Crysis Warhead next Thursday.
"I guess I have to look forward to Crysis Warhead next Thursday"
Thats a bigger mistake than getting Clear Sky.
3/10? that's a joke. I don't take in opinions of reviewers ever since I saw IGN mark down STALKER for being "too hard", console dumbasses like Pain for example.
They're idiots to give this game that score, it deserves a 8/10. Too bad they can't see what the game is really shooting for.