Stalker Clear Sky [EN] [DVD] [ISO]

**JalPari** · 30th September 2008, 12:33 AM

Info:

Size: 37x100MB
Language: EN / English
Type: Image / .iso

Review:

The Zone isn't a friendly place, and if you played last year's shooter/horror/role-playing hybrid S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, this comes as no shock. 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. This isn't a full-fledged follow-up, but rather a stand-alone expansion set before the events of the original. 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. Unfortunately, new features come with a price: new bugs, erratic difficulty, and other annoyances further disrupt the immersion. While Clear Sky is a good game, it's disappointing that developer GSC Game World failed to address the problems with Shadow of Chernobyl that were left to the modding community to clean up.

It's too bad that Clear Sky tries so hard to make you not like it, thanks to any number of bugs and performance issues you may experience. The first main mission--assist a friendly stalker at a swamp outpost--is bugged: If you take a different route to your destination than the game intends, you won't trigger the script. In other cases, your faction leader may direct you to defend an outpost, but the attack will never come, or the promised reinforcements will never arrive, even if you wait for 10 or more real-time minutes (an eternity in video games). We experienced multiple crashes using a Steam-purchased, patched copy of the game, and a save-game corruption erased an hour's worth of progress. A retail disc would not run on one machine, because the copy protection program insisted there was no disc in the drive. Other annoyances also get in the way, from the inability to use the quickload key once you've died to hotkey settings that won't always save your changes. And over a year later, the engine remains unoptimized, delivering lower frame rates than you would expect on systems more than capable of running technologically superior games without a hitch.

However, Clear Sky doesn't look bad, and GSC Game World has managed to squeeze a lot out of an engine that was already lagging behind the competition when Shadow of Chernobyl was released. Lighting and shadows are outstanding, particularly if you have a system capable of using the newly enhanced light settings (good luck with that). Even without that system-wrenching addition, though, contrasts of light and dark are impressively ominous, due in part to the game's visually authentic day/night cycle. Dawn imparts a realistic orange glow, while midnight brings bleak darkness, punctured by the roaring fires in stalker camps. Bolts of lightning cut through the evening sky and dreary rain moistens the morning. Atmospheric effects like these are effective, taking your eyes off low-res textures, blocky geometry, and occasionally glitchy animations.

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 are a few missteps in other areas, however. While much of the voice acting is fine, some characters sound like caricatures, like the squawking Freedom barman that offers to sell you marijuana (it's so grating, it may be enough to drive you to join the opposing Duty faction just to not hear him speak again). The base broadcasts you're pelted with when you visit faction headquarters are similarly out of place, and they detract from the atmosphere.

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. Too bad it's as buggy as its predecessor, and throws in some new quirks of its own that break the spell. Nevertheless, while Clear Sky may get even better with some patches and fan modifications (much like Shadow of Chernobyl did), it's still a worthwhile journey through a stark world that, at times, feels all too real.

Screenz:

Code:

http://rapidshare.com/files/149450592/THANKYOUSOMUCH.rar

**srkbolly** · 4th October 2008, 01:23 AM

bohat zabardast

**srkbolly** · 4th October 2008, 01:27 AM

zabardast

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