REVIEW : S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky

REVIEW S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky Prologue by Nintendo Ninja



I am Back once again with my follow up review to "Shadow of Chernobyl"!! And this is the review perogitive bob's been waiting for!!! But If you dont know about the S.T.A.L.K.E.R Series I would recommend playing the first game before this one, so get playing! First of all you S.T.A.L.K.E.R fans are in for a treat because this game answers all your hopes and prayers! The great thing is that you don't have to download 5 patches for the game to work, all glitches have been fixed. Since the game was released in Russia earlier last month they have fixed all scripting and lag issues and the UK edition is now all ready patched up to 1.05 And having bought the special edition this time around i have a little more insight into the GSC's developers ideas. So lets get down to it in my exclusive review of S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky.

Story
In S.T.A.L.K.E.R you play as a character called Scar who has somehow survived the biggest radiation emission the zone has ever seen. You wake up in the base of Scientific faction "Clear Sky" who research into the zone and are trying to stop the amount of irregular emissions that are taking place. Your mission is to stop these emissions because with each emission Scars nervous system is damaged and so you help clear sky through the entire game. The only hint I will give you is the that Strelok has something to do with this. So basically you help Clear Sky research the zone. Although you can join a different faction in the game you have to carry out the missions Clear Sky set you. So basically its alot like the last S.T.A.L.K.E.R find out who you are and try to survive!

Graphics & Sound
Now I know you want to hear all about S.T.A.L.K.E.R new DirectX10 features. And its basically what it looked like in the trailer ... AMAZING!!!!!! The lighting effects are superb and the rain effects are magnificent but a disappointment was that the textures haven't been improved as much as I'd of liked its much of the same stuff although as they said in the Tech Demo outdoor objects do react to rain. But it looks great on any system and I run the textures on medium because I have a DirectX9 card but I have seen it being played on a 10 card with the settings on Ultra High which was breathtaking. But for some strange reason there is something missing and this is the atmosphere as some of you may remember in parts S.T.A.L.K.E.R was a really scary game especially in the underground missions with the invisible bloodsucker and poltergeists. But this time the Deep Silver team have removed the great music and harrowing touches that make this series great. Stuff like dolls in the middle of empty towns and as I mentioned in my other review heavy breathing. But the GSC guys have made the game beautiful!

Gameplay
I firstly wanted to thank the design team for fixing everything wrong with the game and making it the great experience that is is now although there is 1 problem that needs fixing and this is quite major! Right here from number one are the great improvements to the game!

1. The Guide System: Hoorah! That what I said when I discovered the new feature in game. The guide system is the best improvement to the game by far. Players no longer have to run for half an hour for the sake of finding a med kit or to the latest objective. All you need to do is pay a man to take you where you want to go and wait 1 second and your there you are. But I cant help noticing that this feature should have been compulsory in the last game.I mean how many of you couldn't stand constantly holding down X until you reached your destination then stopping half way because you ran out of stamina!!!! This should have been in the last game but I am truly grateful this ability was added to the game!

2. The Upgrade System: Some S.T.A.L.K.E.R fans will remember the anger at having to download a mod that allows the 2 traders in the game to fix your weapons and armour. Its seems that the developers saw this on the File Front website and incorporated this into the new game. This is great considering in every camp or base in the game there is someone who will repair your weapons which is great considering you spent alot of money to buy them. Now I want to talk about the upgrade system which is one of the greatest features in the game this allows you to customise your weapons and armour to your liking some mods increase accuracy and others recoil and other factors to do with your weapons. This means there is finally something worth spending your money on because this mod does make a real difference i mean the second weapon you get in the game when fully upgraded is fantastic!!!!!But anyway lets continue...

3.Factions: Like many other RPG's S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky includes a faction system. This system allows you to join a faction of your choice and fight alongside them until they grow into control of the zone. When you invade an enemy's territory your force becomes stronger your factions members increase and your factions resources also. If you played GTA: San Andreas this will seem familiar to you in where by taking a territory you kill all the members in the area then hold off a counter attack then the territory is yours to command. Being in a faction gives you a better rating in that faction. But you don't have to be in the faction to have a good rating be a merc and do jobs for everyone and everyone like you or be in a faction and gain bonuses like shop discounts the choice is yours!

Little Nag
In my last S.T.A.L.K.E.R review I complained about having loads of money but nothing to spend it one but for some reason GSC has decreased the money you receive from missions and increased the price of items this means you will have to literary do hundreds of missions to get all the upgrades you want. If you play WOW (God help you) you will not find this as easy as pie but for the casual game (moi) it is a pain in the arse but it is a good thing as it persuades you to do side missions in the game which i guess was the point of trying to get people to see what they have done with the game this time around. Its a ploy but it sometimes works just the other day I found the place they show in all of the concept art which by the way is 100 times smaller and you cant even stand in it without dyeing. But ignore me its is a great game and this was the only criticism I could come up with and that's just because I'm lazy and impatient.

Conclusion
All you S.T.A.L.K.E.R fans should buy this if you haven't already but all other fans of FPS's this is a great way to introduce yourself to the RPG World and Vica Versa. So my rating is 8.9 or 89/100 w/e ! Buy this game now you wont be disappointed I assure you!

by Nintendo Ninja a.k.a Dominic

EDIT
I have recently found out that the game is only fully patched if you buy the special edition so there's another reason to buy it!