Stalker Clear Sky is the follow up to the original game that was released by THQ in March 2007, that was also rereleased this year by Focus Multimedia on budget and it has to be one of the most eagerly awaited follow ups on the PC for a long time. Basically the game is a tactical first person game of engagement set within the irradiated expanses of an exclusion zone set around the ruins of Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Within this zone there are untold horrors, twisted remnants of humanity best forgotten. Mutants, anomalies and mercenaries that make it a terrifying and dangerous place as they prey upon the unwary who wander around the zone. In this zone band of armed men called Stalkers roam the zone in search of Valuable artifacts to sell and trade. Strangely the most valuable items are ones that have been formed by the radiation itself. Clear Sky is actually a prequel to the first game, yet strangely in this game the zone that was hazardous enough in the original is even more so here. This has been caused by the uneasy peace that is usually held by the various groups of Stalkers being shattered. It is further treacherous because an unknown stalker has actually breached the core of the zone unleashing random massive blasts of energy which rip across the landscape. In the game the player is Scar, a stalker who was leading a group of scientists when one of these emissions occurred killing everyone but him. Saved by a group of stalkers known as Clear Sky it is found that Scar is the only person ever to survive one of these attacks although it will kill him eventually. Slowly he sets about finding out why these emissions are occurring and if they can be halted. As with the first game this is open-world type game, quite unique for a FPS, although of course there are tasks to be performed, some of which especially at the beginning can seem quite monotonous, however, they do serve to show you around the new environment of the Clear Sky camp. Later some of these tasks include full assaults against other faction’s strongholds or delivery missions, the full assaults providing some of the most spectacular scenes within the game.
One of the new elements featured in this prequel is a character customisation option. Nothing new to anyone who has ever played a RPG but quite unique in a FPS. It allows you to improve your weapons and body armour how you wish although this can only be done after you have found some of the artifacts within the game.
Graphically this game is full of wonderful details in the scenery, the characters and the creatures that you come across in the zone. The character models themselves are minute in detail wit h loads of pockets etc for them to store their equipment and faces that although hidden show more emotion and are better animated than a lot of games that have gone before. The thought that the developers have put into the scenery too also has to be commended. Everywhere you go and everywhere you look there is something interesting to see or something that makes the world you inhabit more realistic and alive. Whether this is the rust that is taking over various areas or the small flowers that are defying the odds and still growing, albeit randomly and scattily on the hillsides.
The sound within the game is a mixed bag however, with the weapon sounds being incredible and yet the vocal acting for the most part is quite poor. The effects you hear during the night etc help pull you into the game only to be spoilt by the music that starts when the fighting starts. My recommendation is to take the option and disable the ingame music.
Overall if you loved the first game, unless you hate the new RPG element there is absolutely no reason why you won’t love this one. It is just as big, just as dark and just as scary. Just listening to the sounds you hear at night are enough to break some people’s nerve. There does seem to be a bug within the game unless I am really slow because at one point I was given a mission and then it was cancelled before I even got started but maybe there will be a patch at some point to sort that out. The biggest praise I can give the game is that, as regular readers of my review will know, I suffer from motion sickness which means I cannot play FPS for very long, however I was willing to suffer it to play this one.
Recommended.
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Windows 
