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

Let's get this out of the way - this game is the most buggy of the 3 stalker games, and yes, the story is not as good as the story in the first game. But if you want to see something in gaming that hasn't been attempted - much less accomplished - before, then you need to get Clear Sky. You may have heard about the A-Life system that much of the STALKER world is purportedly built on. This game is the apotheosis of that system; not only is all the wildlife subject to its whims, but also most of the human populations, too. Even if you do nothing as a player, you can watch as the AI struggles with itself to see which factions and creatures will control the Zone, leading to unexpected periods of calm punctuated by intense ferocity. You exist as a single person in the midst of this chaos, and you have to make your way through it. You might be allied with Freedom, but that won't stop Duty from deciding that they are going to invade your base and murder your faction - and if you don't help out your friends, you might find yourself a hunted man with nowhere to hide! Similarly, there are times when you can accompany your own faction's fighters into enemy territory and help them gain ground - remember, you're not a leader so you don't get to tell them when to do this - but if you pay attention, you can follow along and lend your gun to the struggle. The experience is incredible - the zone comes alive. Sometimes it's safe to hunt for artifacts in a given area - other times you need to watch the animals for signs that it might not be a good time. This, combined with new weapons, sleep, truly interesting level design, and blowouts make this game the most inventive of the 3, which makes it the most enjoyable - if you can get past the bugs that sometimes pop up and make your own story in this, the most "sandboxy" of the STALKER titles.

While it's not as good as the other 2 STALKER games, mainly due to it's barely working faction-war system and really weak second half of the game, it still has its strong points, like well made and refined maps, improved gunplay and interface.

I just finished STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl and started playing Clear Sky, intending to just experience a little more of that atmospheric, hostile world. Not what I expected. Greeting me were sunny skies. This Zone is habitable and at times even hospitable--I rarely died, whereas in the first game I was constantly reloading even on novice. Due to the ease, plus the much more straightforward missions, I made swift progress. Everything was familiar and I could speed through. Indeed, rather than being a true prequel, this game is really a standalone expansion—fully two thirds of the game is set in places I was just playing in Shadow of Chernobyl. Another reason Clear Sky was quick: no backtracking. I passed lots of seemingly important people …. but never needed them again. I got through the entire game without even joining a faction. I also somehow was able to finish without armor or artifacts. But far from being critical gameplay elements, the game was easily beatable with just a gun and medkits. I moved so quickly that the ending caught me by surprise. I feel like I just played an alternate, easier, more straightforward Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl side story. If this were released today, it would be a DLC. Though I enjoyed it, I can see why people expecting a full game would feel like this was a weak entry.

This is definitely the worst of the bunch as it retreads the first game with a lot of reused assets and some barely working features (advanced DirectX options being notoriously unoptimized), but features have been added such as a Faction system, more armaments, etc. This is still a good game as it expands upon the story, gives you more areas and chances to explore the Zone, but it's okay to skip it and head off to the third game.