The former Soviet Union is a place where mankind's legacy of pollution has reached a mythological status. Areas of contamination and environmental distortion litter the former states of the Communist superpower.
The idea that the Soviet Union's greatest legacy would be one of cursed earth penetrated both the Soviet consciousness of the time, and that of the new societies that followed. It is this legacy that made one of this year's most interesting games possible.
Stalker, the game that CVG so enjoy, and that its developers, the Ukrainian GSC Gameworld, are so proud of, comes from a heavy, nebulous theme that hangs across swathes of the old republic: The Zone of Alienation.
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
"For a game that came out on PC almost two decades ago, it looks great on Nintendo's console. Resolution is stable when docked and handheld, with motion smoothing that makes rapid camera movement fluid. Options are plentiful, with copious sliders for controller sensitivity. There’s only a gamma slider for visuals, though, and it would have been helpful to enlarge the tiny text, a strain to read on a large screen." - Ken Talbot | NintendoLife
