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

So if you liked the first game because it was big and dense and scary, then you'll like Clear Sky for the same reasons. And if you like the original but wish that it offered more GRAW-style action, then Clear Sky is even better.

For some S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky will reek of a badly designed game, while for others it will resemble a well designed reality, but for us it’s somewhere in between the two and none the better for it.

I think the developers would've had a winner on their hands if they invested more time into fine-tuning the AI and ironing out serious bugs, as opposed to merely beefing up the visuals and adding more random side-quests -most of which take you through the same areas we've witnessed the first time around. As a result, Clear Sky is, in fact, an underdeveloped shooter with wasted potential.

As easy to misunderstand as it is to break, it again turns the best and worse of PC gaming into something extraordinary. [Oct 2008, p.94]

Between the improved weapon modification and the more living Zone, a certain strand of Stalker fan will find much here to applaud, and those who've never actually played the earlier game at all will still be enchanted by the unique atmosphere of the place... but would be recommended going there first, perhaps with the Oblivion Lost mod attached.

Stalker was made so much more of by patches and mods because it was such an impressive skeleton of a game. Clear Sky, though, has so much decaying flesh attached to it that cutting through to the admittedly very healthy bone below may prove too tall an order.

Not strictly a failure, but it is potentially 2008's most disappointing PC game, and will certainly need a hefty post-release patch. [Oct 2008, p.100]

Stalker is back with a tempting story, handful of improvements and new places to explore. Players of Shadow of Chernobyl will feel right at home (many areas “recycled” from first game), newcomers can learn the story who lead to Zone cataclysm. Unfortunately, some faults remained from the previous installment like handling inventory and AI scripting. [Sept 2008]

Clear Sky has a lot of potential - as does the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise - and is a worthwhile game to add to your collection because of its fair price but until the insane amount of gremlins is addressed in a patch it will always be a failure in the eyes of the fans.

While Clear Sky's myriad of minor bugs and flaws may irk, they do not render the game unplayable, so while things could have ultimately been a lot more polished and well considered in execution, there's still a lot to like.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky has got a lot of potential but stumbles in its efforts to bring you a great game. It offers you a fantastic and dynamic world in which you can freely roam. It even looks good. Unfortunatly the game also offers a lot of bugs and is the difficulty level is sometimes unfeasibly high. Nevertheless, if you fight your way past the flaws you will find something beautiful.

Glitches drag it down, but Clear Sky provides plenty of haunting ambience and challenging gameplay.

A game with its fair share of problems. Bugs and technical issues are all too common and shouldn't be present in this capacity. The multiplayer, while fun at times, is difficult to get into and seems a little tacked on for a game in the FPS genre, where multiplayer is generally a primary focus. On the other hand, it is nearly unrivaled in creating a truly immersive and creepy setting.

It's when the day/night cycle kicks in while you're amid a minefield of anomalies in the Red Forest and you realise that that the next hour of playtime will be by an impotent beam of torchlight; the monsters are still waiting for you and now they can see you coming.

This prequel to the original Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl adds great graphics, great sense of exploration and lots of content. It's definitely a better game than it's predecessor, trouble is though that it lacks polish. There are tons of bugs to be found here and mission objectives are often unclear and repetitive. It's a great game though and could be improved with future patches.

If you enjoyed the first and are willing to work around some bugs and issues, the game is very fun and a worthwhile experience. A must buy for first person fans who like a touch of role playing in their games but this is no "Fallout 3."

It’s a shame the issues that plagued Shadow of Chernobyl are still largely present in Clear Sky because the premise is great and the design is far more interesting and ambitious than your average shooter. But ultimately, the bugs, technical issues, and brutal difficulty are tough to stomach. If you’re looking for a challenge, then this is your game, but the average player will tire of its shortcomings long before things even get started.

Stalker: Clear Sky remains a remarkable misstep by the Ukrainian developers, and one that does not reflect well on their original game, or their independence from original publishers, THQ. We can only hope that their next effort will be more controlled.

Balancing loyalties and uncovering a large-scale mystery (even though it’s poorly handled) go a long way towards creating a great sense of scope and immersion. Unfortunately, numerous technical issues, narrative missteps and unbalanced gameplay elements keep the game from being something truly special.

Unfortunately Clear Sky's myriad technical issues obscure a reasonably good game. Hopefully a series of patches will allow it to become fully realised, but as it currently stands, the game is far too filled with bugs to recommend.