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.
I've played through episode 2 and loved every codger, every silhouette, every old dog, every eagle in the woods, every bango-playing hillbilly, every burning tree, every bear on the fax machine, every crab wearing office equipment, and especially every moment. It's like another reality. I've never played another game like this, and I can't wait for episode 3. Get this.
One of the most atmospheric and memorable games I've played. Be sure to play with the Zone Reclamation Project mod, which enhances graphics and gameplay. SoC has the best atmosphere of any game since Bioshock. It's a dark world with mutant wildlife. Every step can mean death. The experience is as user hostile as a nuclear wasteland should be, so prepare to die. But die as you appreciate shadows and lighting, *excellent* texture shaders, and heart-pounding ambushes. And it's a compelling world: every building and ruin is unique and believable. I feel like this is a real place. Much like my favorite games, Half Life and Bioshock, the story finds you. Prepare for some great twists. Perhaps my only criticism here is that some of the other characters should have been more memorable, but this reinforces how much you're on your own. My only criticisms involve the difficulty, inventory, and backtracking. This game is DAMN hard. Seemingly everything kills you in one hit and I had some sections where I was reloading from death every few seconds. Re inventory, you can't carry much, and many quests involve retrieving items, so you're constantly playing inventory management minigames. Re backtracking: one downside of a big hard world is you have lots of ground to cover and ambushes from bandits and wildlife along the way, can make it a chore just to make it back to base. Solution to all: use the mod. I can't wait to try this with the Oculus Rift.
This game is a generic mix of sci fi elements from better games, especially Halo. Nothing about it is unique or inspiring, and if I were Orson Scott Card (whose books I love) I would be ashamed to have my name on it. The story is poorly told: the voice acting is off, the situations aren't believable (Ambassador goes to meet a giant new alien race and just brings along two rookies. Of course! Evil aliens want to kill all the humans on the space station? Clearly the best way is to *board* the station instead of BLOWING IT UP), the characters are wooden (my fiancée has little to say, always gets lost, and is conveniently in need of saving at all times even after beating up a marine), generic mean aliens attacking [ineptly!], and bizarre dialogue (one soldier's response to the alien invasion is "that's weird.") And many aspects are awkward, like the sub-par graphics (looks like 2002's Unreal 2 even though it was released in 2005!), and unconvincing level design (large empty expanses of terrain to drive across while you contemplate why you bought this game...). Even the collision detection is ham handed; you frequently get caught on the terrain (with hilarious consequences, like levitating down a mountainside). Gamespot was spot on in its review: "Advent Rising is a disappointing effort on all fronts, and probably isn't worth your time."
I died 879 times. But I won! Prepare for the spaceship meat grinder of your life! Reverse gravity to jump on a spaceship where everything kills you: walls, ghosts, spikes. But not the psychedelic elephant. With infinite lives, and only a split second before you restart after each death, you'll have the time of your life (lives?) trying to save the crew. VVVVVV is old school action at its best: tantalizing, hard, colorful, simple, quirky, and FUN. The chiptune puts it over the top.
