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

Other products by Deep Silver

Product Features

• Atmosphere of the Exclusion Zone
• Research of new depths of the Zone - Red Forest, Limansk, Pripyat Undergrounds, etc
• A-Life-driven War of the Factions
• Possibility to play and lead any faction to victory
• Advanced A-Life system

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B001C4VU5C
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Release Date: September 15, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,315 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #85 in

  Video Games > PC Games > Action > Shooter

Product Description

Product Description
Go back one year from the events of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. In Clear Sky, a group of stalkers has reached the heart of the Zone - Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. An immense blowout of anomalous energy changes the Zone. There are no more reliable and relatively safe roads. Entire levels vanish in the outbursts of anomalies. Stalkers and even expeditions die or end up sealed on the lost territories. New areas, which remained unknown since the time of the Zone emergence, appear on the Zone map. Changes of the Zone map known to stalkers shake the fragile balance of forces in the Zone. Among the groupings, there flare up hostilities for the new territories, artifact fields and spheres of influence. Everyone is now out for himself. You are a mercenary who appeared at the edge of the opposition between stalker factions, Strelok and the Zone itself. You play the key role in the events that led to creation of the Zone up to the point from which the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game begins. Which faction will take the upper hand?

Varied behavior of NPC stalkers in the A-Life world Advanced spectacular storyline scenes Improved AI of computer-controlled characters Skirting around dynamic obstacles by NPCs Use of grenades by NPCs Fast Travel Improved concept of detectors, artifacts and anomalies New system of upgrades for weapons and armor Weapons and armor repair Reworked HUD and PDA New version of the game engine - X-Ray 1.5 DirectX 10 renderer Improved DirectX 9 renderer - parallax bump, soft particles, depth of field, motion blur, eye adaptation effect Cutting-edge and detailed game graphics (normal map) Inverse kinematics New animation engine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WAIT FOR THE RADIATION TO DISSIPATE, September 15, 2008

By	NeuroSplicer (Freeside, in geosynchronous orbit) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

Having been a big fan of the original STALKER, I was very eager to get my hands on this prequel. After a few days with it I have to ask: could this game actually have been made in Chernobyl? Because it is infested by pretty serious radioactive bugs! But first things first.

Like its predecessor, STALKER:CS has amazing graphics and, yes, they are demanding. Barely making minimum requirements means barely enjoying the game visually. Having said that, I have to admire the work that went into the graphical design, from playful rays of light and shadows of moving branches to dilapidated buildings and endless skies, the game will grab you from the opening scene.

The gameplay does not veer off the original but there are more customization options, both regarding the weapons and your character. What one will notice early on is that STALKER:CS is a harder game. Not only are artifacts much scarcer (making it harder to save up for that precious suit - which will allow you to reach more precious artifacts...) but there are also instances when your character could be stripped of everything! Immersion is one thing, aggravation quite another.

Speaking of which, be prepared to experience not a few crashes and freezes. The game was either rushed and still in beta(!) or this is another form of Russian anti-piracy method: release the game unstable and then keep it dependent on downloadable patches. In any case, wait for the major patches to be released because saved games will usually not work with later patches.

On a final note, Amazon.com customers should count our blessings: everywhere else in the world (including Amazon.co.uk) STALKER:CS harbors StarFORCE - but not here!

Thank God for anti-rad and class-action suits!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Deep Silver is a joke. bring back THQ, September 30, 2008

By	Travis E. Martin "twix" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

like a lot of the other reviews, i am a huge fan of the first Stalker. ive played through it more times than i care to admit and loved every second. a few glitches and on rare occasion a crash, but completely worth it.

Clear sky, however, is an absolute programming disaster. i have had to restart the game 6 times now because of game ending crashes. they come without warning, without explanation and worst of all, they happen again even if you reload, reboot, reinstall, or reupdate. it crashes either in the same place or shuts down the program a certain amount of time after you reload, like some sort of time bomb. one time it crashed whenever a certain unimportant NPC died, regardless of what area i was in. this is COMPLETELY unacceptable. how can a company release a game that you cant even finish? especially after 3 release date delays???
while it's running, its a great game and, in my opinion, just as fun as the original stalker game, if not more. but that's if you can keep it running. i built my own system and can run it at the highest settings and it looks incredible. the dynamic lighting is better than anything i've ever seen in a game.... for the five minutes that it stays up.
buy this game if you don't mind waiting until they release enough patches to work out the horrendous first round of programming that went into the game. like i said: if it stays up, it's a fantastic buy. if it does what it has done to me, you will want to tear your hair out and/or murder the people who gave this game the ok for release.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but patch it first!, September 16, 2008

By	A. Osborne "Ozzie" (Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Let me preface by saying that I am a huge fan of the first STALKER and played the redux mod numerous times so a few glitches and crashes don't annoy me all that much. I got the game immediately upon release and installed and played it for several hours before the game repeatedly crashed at the same point. I went and installed the most recent patch I could find and things became more stable. Unfortunately, my saved games were not compatible so I had to start over from the beginning.... Oh well, the game is fun as hell and I really love the new maps and little changes to the original ones. If you were a fan of the first STALKER this is a must own just be sure to patch it before you play.