S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky Comments by Kieron Gillen

First!

(now to read the review and write something constructive....)

70%?

Meh...

take your 'first' and fuck off somewhere else, no one gives a damn about a 'first' posters opinions

Hmmm, STALKER really did rock (once they'd got the patches sorted) and with this being just 17.99 on Play, is it really that much of a punt?

Fuck it, order placed.

"take your 'first' and fuck off somewhere else, no one gives a damn about a 'first' posters opinions"

...Unless they don't mention the fact they are first (honestly, we don't give a flying fuck) and say something useful and/or interesting.


Anyway, I really like the sound of the Stalker games, but I don't do PC gaming. Any word on whether this is coming to consoles?

Well, since I thought gaining money was way too easy in the first game, I guess this wouldn't be a huge problem for me. I actually like games that are difficult. And I don't mind reloading every once in a while either. I'm getting this!

"Anyway, I really like the sound of the Stalker games, but I don't do PC gaming. Any word on whether this is coming to consoles?"

Maybe a later game, I wouldn't expect these to be ported though. If you're getting a new pc in the next couple of years (or recently got one) you can always play this using a 360 pad if you so wish (with a modicum of effort), definitely worth a go.

Hm, as expected - I am almost looking forward to finding out whether I like this or not as much as I look forward to the game itself, if that makes any sense.

Definitely buying this in any case, seeing how Stalker is my favourite game of the last few years by a mile.

@UncleLou: Amen, brother. This is so bought. No doubt the community will start to mod it as soon as it comes out anyway - if they could put back the blowouts, vehicles and discarded mutants in the first one, they'll iron out the bumps. Hell, I still play the first one even now.

@TriggerHappyTel/Katsumoto: I emailed Oleg at GSC after being completely blown away by the first game, to ask if there would be an expansion pack - this was long before Clear Sky was announced - and he said there would first be an expansion then a console version, though admittedly that's quite some time ago now.

They've become certified Xbox360 developers in the meantime, so chances are good for a port.

Wonder if that guy at thefloatingpoint.org is going to overhaul the shaders on Clear Sky like he did on STALKER? Fantastic job, that was.....

I'm a die-hard fan of the original Stalker so buying this was a no-brainer.

I guess it's a shame that CS hasn't scored as well as SoC, but I'm sure I'll source enough pleasure from the game to warrant my purchase.

"Anyway, I really like the sound of the Stalker games, but I don't do PC gaming. Any word on whether this is coming to consoles?"

Very unlikely I would have thought. If it's any consolation, the original at least isn't nearly as much of a system hog as you might fear if you do have a modest PC knocking about - I ran it on a 3500 and a 1950XT with dynamic lighting at acceptable speeds.

Sounds like some absolutely barmy design decisions have gone on...but I'm still getting it. So I can be rendered a big girlyman by the Bloodsuckers, poltergeists and Snorks :/
I wonder if it features Ghost and Fang in any capacity in the plot or fighting.

Thanks for the info, EC. To clarify for everyone, it's not only that my PC is shit and can't run any games post Operation Flashpoint, but it's also that I just don't like the whole process that comes with playing PC games. I'm impatient - very much more console-style.

Fair one. If EC's right then there might be hope - the original at least is a corker.

Im going to get if of Steam, but i was hoping for more praise review-wise.

"That said, when other horror aspects like the underground missions have been minimised and the comedic aspect of the people you meet have been pumped up, you wonder if they were just confused."

That's almost the most worrying part of the review - how could they minimise the underground missions? Surely they were one of the aspects of the original almost everyone agreed upon were brilliant?

That Oblivion Lost mod sounds excellent.

1. A request to Auto- and Permaban anyone who posts "first!" without exceptions
2. Arg. I was hoping they'd get this right the second time around. Guess we'll have to wait for people to mod it again.

Sounds like a wait 6 months for them to patch it kind of game, bit like the first one.

I've nearly finished finished my second playthrough of Stalker (main storyline only, this time) ready for the realease of Clear Sky on Friday, but I am concerned that this won't live up to the original.

Stalker is a flawed game redeemed by having bags of atmosphere, but I've been concerned for a while that some of this may be lost ever since I saw preview videos where drum & bass tunes kick in during battle (?!?!?).
If underground levels have been vastly reduced then it may have lost something for me - that slow descent into X10 where you are waiting for something to leap out at you, left me a nervous wreck by the time I reached the bottom (but in a good way ;~)

Oh well, if Clear Sky breaks my heart then I at least have the Oblivion Lost mod to look forward to for my 3rd playthrough of the original.

I really hope it does not go to console as I fear it will not be well received.

7/10 seems kinda high score for a game with such big design fuck-ups.

Seems GiantHaystax (first poster) is a slow reader =)

Stalker is about the only game for which I really would like to have a current PC instead of a 4 year old notebook. Concept just sounds awesome. So prolly this is the same.

Saying 'First!' on a site that allows you to Ignore Poster...Kind of makes you wonder why they bother to make an account in the first place:-)

review and score seem spot-on, if maybe the score a little too much.

Score seems higher than the review suggested it might be.

I think I'll wait and see on this one. UncleLou, you'll have to let us know what you make of it, you teutonic pc gaming god, you.

Hunam am cry :(

Hmm, do i get it on release or wait for the inevitable save game breaking patches to be released?

Oh dear, this doesn't sound very good. 7/10 was generous.

where it simply and unavoidably strips your character of all your equipment, artifacts and money.

Who the hell thought that'd be a good idea? Seems like they took the criticism of it being too easy to make money in Stalker and went way, way overboard.

Sounds like a re-run of the original Stalker, novel idea flawed by too many bugs, as some have commented I suspect this will be another case of waiting 3-4 months for the developers to get some patches out. Its sad really that GSC seem to think that they can release a sequal that's as flawed and bug ridden as the original was and the gamer will just suck it up.

Just wait for patches and mods. I just ordered SoT, it's 11.5€ in play.com. I guess I should go straight to the Oblivion Lost mod before even trying vanilla?

The flaws and bugs in the original didn't stop it from being one of the greatest games I've ever played but some of those design decisions so sound a bit flaky. Hopefully we will see a decent patch or some mods to fix some of the really annoying things within a few weeks. Being stripped of all equipment without warning sounds the worst, I think I can live with the rest.

I'm amazed that the GSC guys can do such apparent design flaws both in SoC and CS, but I'm equally amazed by the oblivion lost mod(community) ironing out bugs and adding gameplay elements I'd believe you'd need to have in depth knowledge to the source code (although I don't know anything about coding or making games)

I'll buy the game now or in a few months and continue finishing the original with the OL mod, the CS flaws will most definitley be fixed by the modders or GSC them selves.

edit: CS not SC

In the end I'm a bit worried about the lack of talent and/or decision making at GSC. Still I intend to support them with my money. As my inner fanboi would say: Prolly bestest 7/10 evar!!!!111 ;)

Even though this is too much déjà vu for its own good I'm still getting this one. I guess the devs didn't deliver on their promises after all. Is it alright to reward them for their complacency? Or are we to blame the publishers?

First!

Oh wait...

hm somehow this doesn't read as a 7/10 review, but still, ignoring the numbers, it looks like a bit lighter, morie shootier than the first one. I loved the original so i have high hopes for this, and will try this as soon as it gets released in poland.

I got the original for £6 a couple weeks ago, so I might try that Oblivion Lost mod on it.

why doesn't everybody that 'hates' "first" posters just use that little bit of blue text under the outburst?

That way you can say something more creative and appear to be first and eventually all you will see is good and interesting posts!

Win - win all round if you ask me :)

I really wanted to like the original STALKER, but i could never really get into it, im guessing that this will be no different, but at least they managed to overhaul the graphics AND get it released in a resonable timeframe so that they don't look dated.

I'm still waiting for GiantHaystaxs' 'constructive' comment. He did promise you know. Bet it's good.

The people that cry about first posters are worse than the people that post first.
Rampant jealously in its most pure form.

is there some kind of kudos to be gleemed from posting "First" then? I always took it to be more annoying especially when you get the people that post "First" and then Edit it to say ".. Now i'll just go read the article"

It all seems a bit, well.. pointless :S

Maybe i'm just getting too old to keep up with the crazy kids these days.. ho hum :)

Was the first game ever patched 'fully'? I borrowed it from a friend and while it was outstandingly atmospheric, the bugs, tedious bits and sheer impenetrability made me give up after the first 5 hours.
He keeps telling me its the best game of the last few years, but I hated the beginning. Now it's dirt cheap, if it's been patched properly it might be worth trying again...

Apply the official patches and some mods and most of the problems are fixed. The beginning of the game isn't exactly welcoming, stick with it for a few hours though.

"I borrowed it from a friend and while it was outstandingly atmospheric, the bugs, tedious bits and sheer impenetrability made me give up after the first 5 hours"

OMG! That sounds like me and one of my ex's!

"Was the first game ever patched 'fully'?"

No. Though a lot of people seem to htink this was down to the way THQ handled patch releases rather than GSC. I blame both.

I never thought it was that broken in the first place - certainly not after the first patches. It had a few niggles at best for me, which is a lot more than I can say about most AAA-high-budget releases which might be more polished on the surface, but aren't half the game Stalker is.

When it comes to writing "first", personally I couldn't care less.

What does seem weird to me, is when other people get really angry about it. I mean, not just posting "stop being pointless", but actually breaking out the big guns and telling people to f*ck off and so.

Seriously, anyone who gets even remotely bothered about someone else writing "first" has a screw loose. Its not even an offense worth ignoring the poster over, let alone actually venting your spleen.

Drink some milk, count to ten, breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Job done.

Dont know about other Zavvis but I saw Stalker for £6 at the one at Metrocentre in Gateshead.

"Drink some milk, count to ten, breath in through your nose and out through your mouth"

lets hope they are not so angry to get that in the wrong order :)

"I never thought it was that broken in the first place - certainly not after the first patches."

Aye, never had serious crash issues or anything with 1.004, of course there are still some odd things left in the first Stalker (repeating quests, a bit too much respawns after short time, too easy to get rich, etc.) but those don't stand in the way of the whole experience which was just incredible. People giving up after half an hour because they could only shoot with a lousy pistol don't know what they've missed (the underground horrors, brain scorcher, dogs flying at your throat, hell, even that arena was fun).

First!