Those who have followed the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series know that Clear Sky has been a bit of a ride to this point, the game has taken up challenges in becoming more graphically complex in delivery and also in attempting to put together the pieces prior to the original game, often is it that companies rush onto sequels or alternate realities but GSC has kept to their original developments and it seems like it should pan out well.
Players will step into the year 2011 and be faced with the events prior to the third campaign of Strelok to the Zone center, allowing players to have an alternative look at the original title through this early take on the situation and even play out their own fate by letting players become a mercenary in the field to find which avenue really offers the best reward for them in this zone war of factions.
For those new to the game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. allows people to fight and live out their game through each day, time cycles constantly and overall there is a strong RPGFPS element that is rarely found in gaming these days unless you go back to older titles (Fallout series, System Shock, etc) the visual system compliments this and the AI system also helps support this with NPC's working on independent thought cycles that have been given an updated since the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. hit the streets, any battle can change in the moment so going back later hoping to maybe side with another group might not work out since the outcome is not pre-determined. The company does admit for returning players, there is a direction later in the game that can be found where the game starts to force a singular path to stay in line with the original title though. It makes sense for a prequel trying to force a specific timeline though, I just hope that this time the game is capable of picking up a larger audience.
Here's a quick gameplay clip from Clear Sky for those interested.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky hits the Streets on September 5th 2008.
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