S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky re-review

Conclusions

Clear Sky never should have been released in the state that we originally encountered it in. That much we know for sure.

Game development is a long and difficult process, we know. It takes a lot of people a lot of effort and talent to even get a game remotely close to release, with a lot of insanely good games dying before they even get that far.

What’s more, it’s absolutely obvious that Clear Sky was a labour of love for the developers who worked on it. They tried long and hard to create a game that goes very much against the grain and bucks the staid trends of the FPS-dominated computer game industry.

At a time when most other shooters, even the realisitic ones, are getting increasingly arcadey and samey, apparently sharing the same green-brown colour palette and array of unimaginative levels and features, Clear Sky has delivered something new. It should be commended for that, if nothing else.


Clear Sky isn’t always successful in what it tries to do, but it does come close a lot of the time. GSC Game World has managed to once again create a game in a world which is totally alien, but eerily familiar. That world more than any aspect of the unbelievably twisted and wordy plot is compelling to the point of almost being sexually alluring. There’s a constant drive understand the game, even though plumbing the depths of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s lore is depressingly difficult.

The successes you can achieve in Clear Sky are just as intoxicating too. The game is built on a very real set of rules no matter how bizarre the environment is and though the challenges often seem insurmountable that’s rarely the case. Clear Sky is difficult, but it’s not impossible. When you do manage to conquer an enemy stronghold or navigate the swamps it feels like you’ve actually managed to do something real.

Oh, and that goes double for combat too. The bullet physics and unrelenting visceral punch of gunplay in Clear Sky makes your accomplishments all the more fun and interesting. It’s occasionally letdown by the odd point-blank shotgun blast that leaves no impact on your enemy, but the highs easily outweigh the lows.


At the same time though even in its post-patch state Clear Sky still has flaws. Building a game to be difficult and realistic is one thing, but it sometimes feels like the game is going out of its way to be annoying. The interface is clunky and poorly designed, full of inconsistencies and hassles. Having to look away from your crosshair constantly to see if you’re bleeding or being irradiated is a real pain.

Missions that constantly stack up are another thing that really make Clear Sky annoying in the long run and every time you enter an area you can expect to be swamped with calls for help from your friends in the vicinity. Then you have to cope with them continuing to plead with you, updating you on their plight using the same five or six lines of dialogue over and over.

More than anything the writing is at issue too, with the narrative being broken and clumsy. It will drop on you in needlessly wordy lumps, much of it making little sense unless you’ve put in the effort to read the manual thoroughly and check Wikipedia.

Like the novel the series is loosely based on, Clear Sky is an imperfect classic. There are things Clear Sky does really well and which make it worth playing, but you’ll need to make a seriously dedicated effort to get any real enjoyment out of the game even after you’ve patched it.

Score Guide