S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky
What’s your stereotypical view of a Russian? Unfriendly and armed? Grim? Drinks vodka? A lot? Well, in Clear Sky you can expect to wade through stereotypes knee deep as you navigate the hostile and Russian-filled Forbidden Zone.
The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. started off as a concept, just an idea, in the early noughties. When presented, it sounded an instant classic, combining RPG and shooter elements together with an engaging and challenging combat system and a genuinely violent environment, however it fell foul of the development process and unfortunately, was delayed, and delayed, and delayed some more. Finally, out came Shadow of Chernobyl, still bearing the remnants of those ideas, and although a pretty good game, was not executed nearly as well as it could and should have been.
Clear Sky, however, is the game S.O.C. was meant to be. The graphics have been improved (the DX10 version is stunning); the gameplay modified and changed and a new faction system added to create what every fan of the original was waiting for, a fulfilment of the prophecy that was S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
The first thing that you notice when you start to play C.S. is the grim atmosphere of camaraderie in the Zone. You start off in the Clear Sky base camp, after surviving a blast of radiation, and before long you are given your first mission, to assist a surrounded Clear Sky ally. As soon as you enter the area known as “The Marshes” the dark and foreboding atmosphere is noticeable. The sky is grey and gloomy, and your route to your objective fraught with dangerous anomalies and beasts mutated by radiation. I won’t continue to spoil the plot anymore, and instead concentrate on the combat mechanics, which you get to experiment with briefly in this mission. The first thing immediately obvious is the similarity to S.O.C.’s combat system. Enemies present very real threats if not taken out quickly and effectively, and you will find cover is your most trusted friend. Gunplay is realistic, as long range targets are very hard to hit with most guns, and enemies adapt quickly and very, very intelligently to the situation they are placed in. On the subject of A.I., it must be said that both your squad-mates and the enemy you fight have extremely advanced A.I., making combat even more engaging and challenging.
As is the case with most freeform shooters, there are a number of options to do with how you approach a mission. For example, you can choose to take control of a small cluster of buildings all guns blazing, charging in there like you’re the Heavy from TF2 on steroids, or you can wait until night falls, covering your actions, and take your enemies out one by one with your knife silently. Night-time in C.S., by the way, has been done properly this time round. Rather than being simply twilight it is now pitch black, and your gun is barely visible in front of you, which contributes to the hostile feel of the Zone overall.
Graphically, Clear Sky, unless you have DX10, hasn’t made a great leap forward since SOC, and the engine starts to look a bit old in places, although it still looks very good (but if you do have DX10, then you are in for a treat, because it really is stunning). The draw distance is not overly long, although long enough to look convincing. One thing that really disappoints in Clear Sky is the notoriety of graphical glitches and bugs in this game. They are peppered all over, although if you’ve played the original you’ll be used to it. Objects will often stretch bizarrely, like some malevolent God is playing with corpse shaped putty, and flies about the place like you’re in a hurricane. Other times, dead enemies will be stuck inside a wall, and flop about, twitching like a ghost addicted to heroin. It really brings a downer to an otherwise pretty good-looking game, and breaks the immersion big time, although admittedly it is often pretty funny to watch a stupid-looking pig having a spasm with its head lodged in a brick wall (Only in the game, it’s not like my hobby or anything).
The story in Clear Sky however, is absolutely abysmal, and is so dull it might as well wear grey corduroys and help out at the local flower-arranging committee on Sundays. Along with this is the awful dialogue, which is akin to an 80s Japanese action movie translated into English. This if course makes it hard to empathise with the characters, as they all sound like dribbling morons, but they are at least half-believable, even if they are very, very punchable.
The save system is your standard “save anywhere, anytime” system, which works well for this game, as it would be hard to define checkpoints in such a non-linear game.
There is a multiplayer option for online play, but that might as well not exist, because believe me, you won’t play it. It is reasonably enjoyable, but S:CS is definitely a single-player experience.
So there you have it. Still chock full of glitches and bugs, graphically average and still the same old crap characters, plot, and dialogue, but with a fantastic overall atmosphere, an environment that seems like it’s genuinely trying to kill you, and a challenging and engaging combat system which utilises fantastic A.I.
Awarded: 80%
Visit http://www.bh-hosting.dkhosting.co.uk/index.htm
Soon to be TheBigreview.net, Independent Hardware and Software reviews! PM me if you'd like a chance to write your own review.
What’s your stereotypical view of a Russian? Unfriendly and armed? Grim? Drinks vodka? A lot? Well, in Clear Sky you can expect to wade through stereotypes knee deep as you navigate the hostile and Russian-filled Forbidden Zone.
The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. started off as a concept, just an idea, in the early noughties. When presented, it sounded an instant classic, combining RPG and shooter elements together with an engaging and challenging combat system and a genuinely violent environment, however it fell foul of the development process and unfortunately, was delayed, and delayed, and delayed some more. Finally, out came Shadow of Chernobyl, still bearing the remnants of those ideas, and although a pretty good game, was not executed nearly as well as it could and should have been.
Clear Sky, however, is the game S.O.C. was meant to be. The graphics have been improved (the DX10 version is stunning); the gameplay modified and changed and a new faction system added to create what every fan of the original was waiting for, a fulfilment of the prophecy that was S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
The first thing that you notice when you start to play C.S. is the grim atmosphere of camaraderie in the Zone. You start off in the Clear Sky base camp, after surviving a blast of radiation, and before long you are given your first mission, to assist a surrounded Clear Sky ally. As soon as you enter the area known as “The Marshes” the dark and foreboding atmosphere is noticeable. The sky is grey and gloomy, and your route to your objective fraught with dangerous anomalies and beasts mutated by radiation. I won’t continue to spoil the plot anymore, and instead concentrate on the combat mechanics, which you get to experiment with briefly in this mission. The first thing immediately obvious is the similarity to S.O.C.’s combat system. Enemies present very real threats if not taken out quickly and effectively, and you will find cover is your most trusted friend. Gunplay is realistic, as long range targets are very hard to hit with most guns, and enemies adapt quickly and very, very intelligently to the situation they are placed in. On the subject of A.I., it must be said that both your squad-mates and the enemy you fight have extremely advanced A.I., making combat even more engaging and challenging.
As is the case with most freeform shooters, there are a number of options to do with how you approach a mission. For example, you can choose to take control of a small cluster of buildings all guns blazing, charging in there like you’re the Heavy from TF2 on steroids, or you can wait until night falls, covering your actions, and take your enemies out one by one with your knife silently. Night-time in C.S., by the way, has been done properly this time round. Rather than being simply twilight it is now pitch black, and your gun is barely visible in front of you, which contributes to the hostile feel of the Zone overall.
Graphically, Clear Sky, unless you have DX10, hasn’t made a great leap forward since SOC, and the engine starts to look a bit old in places, although it still looks very good (but if you do have DX10, then you are in for a treat, because it really is stunning). The draw distance is not overly long, although long enough to look convincing. One thing that really disappoints in Clear Sky is the notoriety of graphical glitches and bugs in this game. They are peppered all over, although if you’ve played the original you’ll be used to it. Objects will often stretch bizarrely, like some malevolent God is playing with corpse shaped putty, and flies about the place like you’re in a hurricane. Other times, dead enemies will be stuck inside a wall, and flop about, twitching like a ghost addicted to heroin. It really brings a downer to an otherwise pretty good-looking game, and breaks the immersion big time, although admittedly it is often pretty funny to watch a stupid-looking pig having a spasm with its head lodged in a brick wall (Only in the game, it’s not like my hobby or anything).
The story in Clear Sky however, is absolutely abysmal, and is so dull it might as well wear grey corduroys and help out at the local flower-arranging committee on Sundays. Along with this is the awful dialogue, which is akin to an 80s Japanese action movie translated into English. This if course makes it hard to empathise with the characters, as they all sound like dribbling morons, but they are at least half-believable, even if they are very, very punchable.
The save system is your standard “save anywhere, anytime” system, which works well for this game, as it would be hard to define checkpoints in such a non-linear game.
There is a multiplayer option for online play, but that might as well not exist, because believe me, you won’t play it. It is reasonably enjoyable, but S:CS is definitely a single-player experience.
So there you have it. Still chock full of glitches and bugs, graphically average and still the same old crap characters, plot, and dialogue, but with a fantastic overall atmosphere, an environment that seems like it’s genuinely trying to kill you, and a challenging and engaging combat system which utilises fantastic A.I.
Awarded: 80%
Visit http://www.bh-hosting.dkhosting.co.uk/index.htm
Soon to be TheBigreview.net, Independent Hardware and Software reviews! PM me if you'd like a chance to write your own review.