Stalker Clear Sky Review
April 26th, 1986. A scheduled test of Reactor 4 caused a nuclear meltdown at the Lenin Memorial Power Station. The fallout from this devastating accident caused 160,000 people to be evacuated from the area, never to see their homes again.
25 years later in 2011, Stalker: Clear Sky puts you in the exclusion zone, alongside disturbing mutations, dangerous anomalies and a deadly war between rival factions. Set a year before the original Stalker, Clear Sky’s atmosphere and overwhelming sense of place remains as bleak and immersive as ever. But has the streamlined approach and the Faction War system over-populated the ‘Zone’ and taken away what made Shadow of Chernobyl such a unique experience?
Initially the game does a great job introducing you to the world for first time players and returning veterans alike. Starting off in Clear Sky’s (your friendly initial faction) encampment, you’re quickly given first hand experience to the deadly ‘Burn-outs’ now emanating from the old nuclear reactor. Having survived from two of these deadly anomalies, Clear Sky puts you to work by securing the marsh area surrounding their base.
It’s here that Stalker’s atmosphere draws you in and the claustrophobic setting of tall reeds, radioactive anomalies and a realistic day/night cycle make for a chilling and spooky experience.
In this first area you quickly become familiar with how dynamic the world has become. Your fellow faction members will soon radio for help and these sub-missions appear and disappear regardless of whether you intervene or not. It’s possible to ignore all but the story-critical missions and stumble upon the bodies of faction-mates and enemies long after battles have taken place.
More often than not these additions give a heightened sense of realism to an already compelling world, but they occasionally overwhelm and annoy when they get too frequent.
In terms of story, Clear Sky isn’t quite as good as its predecessor. The return of familiar characters and locations help to spice up the narrative and give it more depth if you’ve played Shadow of Chernobyl, but it never quite hits the height of the original game.
The new Faction War system, which embroils you deeper into the exclusion zone and its petty power-struggles, means you spend more time in Stalker’s world than you would just bombing through the story. And it’s here that Clear Sky’s heart is found - its bleakness and chilling horror when you’re pursued by terrible mutants in the dead of night can be countered in a few minutes by being sat with your comrades by the campfire listening to Russian folk songs.
It’s what makes Stalker unique among all other PC releases and nothing you would see on a console. It’s a diamond in the rough and it’s these idiosyncrasies that you’ll either love or hate with a passion.
It’s also separate from the vast majority of FPS games by being part-RPG and part-survival horror. Ammo is by no means scarce but you’re encouraged to keep just one or two weapons and properly care for them. Forget to maintain them or upgrade and it’s likely that your Carbine will jam just as a pack of mutant dogs jump in front of your flashlight.
Taking on more than one or two enemies also leads to trouble and if you put a step wrong then you’ll be lucky to make it out alive. Stray into a radioactive zone without any means of combating the deadly effects and you’ll be dog meat before you’ve realized what’s wrong. The difficulty level is also a harsh mistress even at the lowest setting, and it’s a reminder of how tough games used to be back when Operation Flashpoint was first around.
These aren’t complaints, but if you’re looking for a Call of Duty or Halo experience then walk away now, Clear Sky will gladly eat gamers up for breakfast and can leave you frustrated at certain points due to its unforgiving attitude.
It’s a game that requires work and tolerance of some pretty critical game-breaking bugs too. Your faction mates will gladly push you out of cover to protect themselves and there’ll be the occasionally area completely devoid of npc’s as the level didn’t load properly. The A.I. also has problems and most of your enemies will know exactly where you are from miles away and are unerringly accurate when it comes to popping yo ass.
Taking all these into consideration, Stalker Clear Sky - despite its flaws and game-breaking bugs is still a compelling play and moments like fighting off an army patrol at twilight whilst a thunderstorm blazes off in the distance is unlike anything else you’ll play this year on a PC.
