S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: CLEAR SKY

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : GSC Game World

Publisher : GSC World Publishing , Deep Silver (Koch Media)

Engine : X-ray Engine 1.5

Genre : Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter

Release Date : September 15 , 2008

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows XP / Windows Vista

CPU : Intel Pentium 4 Processor / AMD Athlon 2500+

Memory (RAM) : 1 GB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 9.0c Compatible Video Card with Memory 256 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce 6800 Series
ATI : Radeon X1300 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 10 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

Clear Sky offers a few improvements and a number of issues, but the real star of the series--the large, barren wasteland created by a fictional explosion of the infamous nuclear facility in Chernobyl, Ukraine--is still the most impressive aspect of this prequel. You're introduced to a new main character and several new mechanics, the most important of which is factional gameplay, which allows you to ally with an AI-controlled group and assault its enemies. If you've already visited The Zone and got lost in its nightmarish world and deliberate pacing, you'll find the landscape is still bleak and uninviting. You play as the silent loner Scar, a survivor of a strong emission originating from the nuclear plant at the center of the zone. His rescuers are the Clear Sky faction, a group of scientists investigating the reasons behind the emissions. And of course, their goal becomes yours as well. During your measured journey through The Zone, you'll visit other factions' headquarters as well, where you'll be asked to assault enemy bases, join their brotherhood, and perform tasks in exchange for information. With so many bases scattered about, you'll soon discover that compared to its predecessor, The Zone is practically teeming with human life--though you shouldn't take this to mean that it's suddenly a carnival of cheery faces. This meatier population is borne out of necessity: Clear Sky's major new addition is that of factional warfare, in which the various packs of mercenaries fight each other for turf control. As a result, you can meet the faction leader and join the team, assuming you've proven yourself worthy. This in turn means better merchant prices and other perks, as well as easier passage to certain areas. Joining your teammates in these battles, like almost any combat situation in Clear Sky, is a nail-biting excursion into the unknown. Impressive enemy AI is one of the biggest reasons for this. Enemy stalkers make excellent use of cover, crouch and move away when they reload, flank you whenever possible, and generally react in plausible ways. They're tough cookies, so even at standard difficulty, you can't play as you would a standard first-person shooter. The only successful approach is to act and react as you would in real life: with caution and perseverance. Because of the slow flow of cash, you'll often feel spectacularly underpowered, but while these fights are often tense and difficult, clearing out a base with nothing but a pea-shooting pistol and an underpowered hunting rifle feels like a major accomplishment.

Grenades are a nice addition to the series in theory, but foes have an uncanny knack for throwing them directly at your feet from huge distances. The implementation seems a bit off here; grenades explode very quickly once they land, yet S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has never been about quick movement , so more often than not, multiple grenades usually means game over. The AI's uncanny ability to land shots, particularly at nighttime, also borders on the absurd. Furthermore, this battle takes place a few feet from an exit point to another region; should you accidentally trigger it, your location will be reset to a few feet away, potentially on top of a grenade. Usually, Clear Sky is a tough challenge that makes you feel powerful when you succeed at your task. Sequences like these do the unforgivable: They yank you from the powerfully immersive world at the heart of the experience. Speaking of artifacts, those valuable, stat-enhancing objects are still floating within anomalies like before, but you aren't just going to see them and run in to grab them. Now you need to equip a detector, which will flash and beep when one is near, and point you in its direction. You won't see anomalies until you get very close, which means wandering directly into the radiation, grabbing the glowing bugger, and making a hasty retreat, usually while downing some vodka and using a health pack or two. Clear Sky's ambient sound design is amazing. From the far-off howls of a dog to the roar and whoosh of anomalies, roaming about The Zone has never sounded so scary, and so lonely. No matter how many times you hear a mutant growl, the sudden outcry of one on your trail is always startling and chilling, and will have you glancing about, looking anxiously through the tall weeds. There's also a new multiplayer mode, but a week after release, we couldn't find anyone playing it--though Clear Sky's straightforward but slightly clunky online play isn't its main draw. You come for the atmosphere, and few games deliver dread and desolation better than this. Glitches drag it down, but Clear Sky provides plenty of haunting ambience and challenging gameplay.

GAME REVIEW :-

7/10

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky Trailer :-