Stalker clear sky review from PC Gamer UK, it's not very good
CR0M
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Just read a whole bunch of the original reviews again and have concluded that the reviewers clearly didn't play the game.
'Money is too difficult to get hold of'
Bollocks. From stealing Duty bullets from their supply case at one of their outposts, to selling to a trader of the Stalker faction I joined, made over 20,000 RU. It took around half an hour. Reviewers must have the patience of turds.
'Faction wars are just a pointless bunch of detached skirmishes'
Wrong. You just don't understand how it works. Playing off two factions against each other like Clint Eastwood and taking full control of Garbage with my fellow Stalkers has been one of the best gaming experiences of my life. F**k the main storyline, taking over the zone is much more fun. Depleting the enemy faction's ammo and kit and selling it to my faction's traders caused a noticable decrease in enemy strength through having to use inferior weapons, and taking over access points to other areas of the map stopped enemy reinforcements getting through from other areas. Waiting at a taken outpost or camp to let members of your faction populate it is essential to advancing, and you must hold the access point to the area with your faction's base in, to get reinforcements through. Taking control of access points also means your faction can advance into adjacent territory with you, and you can fast travel safely through them with a guide.
Garbage is now full of nothing but well equipped green Stalker dots. Stalkers love me. Duty hates me. Freedom like me. Tonight me, my komrades and our Freedom allies take Agroprom from Duty.
'It's much too difficult, especially at night'
No... it isn't. It is challenging, and well balanced if you don't play it like DOOM. Equip the right weapons, ammo and armour and you get a real sense of achievement when you tactically take down a camp of enemy faction members.
Nighttime is no more difficult than daylight, you have a flashlight and IR to see where you are going, enemies have big lights on their heads to aim at, and there are less anomolies / mutants to run into. People will moan about anything.
'there is no atmosphere anymore'
Rubbish. True there are fewer underground bunkers to scare the crap outta you, and for the first half of the game the sun is shining, but this is a prequel set before the zone was totally overrun by mutants, and a few scary moments with a flashlight do not an atmosphere make. If you actually play the game, you will find tons more atmosphere than the first one, and a real sense of life populating the zone. Sun rays, effective day/night cycle, superb ambient sound, wet surface effects if you have vista all add to it in ways SoC never could.
There is only one thing I do miss from the first one, my own shadow, but that is a minor gripe.
What a bunch of retards professional reviewers are.
'Money is too difficult to get hold of'
Bollocks. From stealing Duty bullets from their supply case at one of their outposts, to selling to a trader of the Stalker faction I joined, made over 20,000 RU. It took around half an hour. Reviewers must have the patience of turds.
'Faction wars are just a pointless bunch of detached skirmishes'
Wrong. You just don't understand how it works. Playing off two factions against each other like Clint Eastwood and taking full control of Garbage with my fellow Stalkers has been one of the best gaming experiences of my life. F**k the main storyline, taking over the zone is much more fun. Depleting the enemy faction's ammo and kit and selling it to my faction's traders caused a noticable decrease in enemy strength through having to use inferior weapons, and taking over access points to other areas of the map stopped enemy reinforcements getting through from other areas. Waiting at a taken outpost or camp to let members of your faction populate it is essential to advancing, and you must hold the access point to the area with your faction's base in, to get reinforcements through. Taking control of access points also means your faction can advance into adjacent territory with you, and you can fast travel safely through them with a guide.
Garbage is now full of nothing but well equipped green Stalker dots. Stalkers love me. Duty hates me. Freedom like me. Tonight me, my komrades and our Freedom allies take Agroprom from Duty.
'It's much too difficult, especially at night'
No... it isn't. It is challenging, and well balanced if you don't play it like DOOM. Equip the right weapons, ammo and armour and you get a real sense of achievement when you tactically take down a camp of enemy faction members.
Nighttime is no more difficult than daylight, you have a flashlight and IR to see where you are going, enemies have big lights on their heads to aim at, and there are less anomolies / mutants to run into. People will moan about anything.
'there is no atmosphere anymore'
Rubbish. True there are fewer underground bunkers to scare the crap outta you, and for the first half of the game the sun is shining, but this is a prequel set before the zone was totally overrun by mutants, and a few scary moments with a flashlight do not an atmosphere make. If you actually play the game, you will find tons more atmosphere than the first one, and a real sense of life populating the zone. Sun rays, effective day/night cycle, superb ambient sound, wet surface effects if you have vista all add to it in ways SoC never could.
There is only one thing I do miss from the first one, my own shadow, but that is a minor gripe.
What a bunch of retards professional reviewers are.
Tagaziel
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Anyone wants to proofread the first part of the storyline guide, here it is:
2. History of the Zone
2.1. Before the first incident in 1986
The history of the area surrounding Vladimir Lenin's Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has already been covered in the initial report released by the committee in 2008. However, as vital documents were unavailable or even not known of in 2008, with their procurement in 2012, new light was shed on the mysterious history of this part of the Kiev Oblast.
According to documents, testimonies of stalkers and people living in the Zone, the area that became known as the Zone was, in reality, the proving ground of Soviet Union's black project focusing on mind control. As outlandish as this may seem, it has been corroborated by the aforementioned accounts and documents.
Detailed information is unavailable on the nature of the project, as the archives of the Russian Federation remained sealed and the relevant documents classified. Despite numerous requests for access to the documents submitted to the Russian government, the answer was always a negative one, citing ?national security? as the reason for preventing access.
2.1.1. Limansk
However, with testimonies of surviving contract stalkers, Clear Sky faction members and the Forrester, a legendary stalker guide, we have been able to verify that experiments with mind control have been conducted in the area well before 1989, in the town of Limansk, lying in the vicinity of Pripyat. For a long time, the city was a myth, many didn't believe it's existence and dismissed those that did as conspiracy theorists, however, the truth is the exact opposite.
Limansk was rediscovered in the wake of the blow-outs of 2011. It was a long-abandoned ghost town and an alternate route to the NPP, one not obstructed by the Chernobyl-2 radar installation or, as stalkers prefer to call it, the Brain Scorcher. The discovery has led to one of the most brutal battles of the stalker clan wars, as Duty, Freedom, Monolith, mercenaries, Clear Sky and bandits clashed on the streets in an attempt to control the only access route to the NPP.
Documents concerning Limansk and it's exact purpose have been classified by Russian authorities, as mentioned before. However, exploration of the town itself by military stalkers in 2013 and the testimony of the Forrester indicate that the town was built around a large research institute called Radiowave, and it's purpose was to provide housing for the scientists and their families. It was a secret, closed city, avoided by the folk living in the countryside, due to the apparent hostility of it's inhabitants and the presence of a massive antenna causing various negative health effects, from headaches to apathy. The antenna is the defining feature of the city, built on the hill in it's centre.
It's presence and the Forester's testimony indicate that Radiowave institute was the first attempt at researching mind control techniques, and a successful one. According to the stalker guide, the inhabitants of Limansk were wary of outsiders and rather hostile in everyday contact, constantly mumbling to themselves and praising the communist regime, even when shortages of food and other necessities happened.
Such behaviour can (and should) be attributed to the presence and influence of the antenna, which apparently emitted signals capable of affecting human thought processes and behaviour. This technology can be considered the precursor of the later Chernobyl-2 and X-16 installations.
As such, Limansk, according to our knowledge, was the first testing site of the Soviet mind control technology and a social experiment in creating the model soviet city, both of which have been horrifyingly succesful.
It should be noted, that Limansk was not evacuated after the Chernobyl incident. The fate of it's inhabitants remains unknown.
2.1. Before the first incident in 1986
The history of the area surrounding Vladimir Lenin's Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has already been covered in the initial report released by the committee in 2008. However, as vital documents were unavailable or even not known of in 2008, with their procurement in 2012, new light was shed on the mysterious history of this part of the Kiev Oblast.
According to documents, testimonies of stalkers and people living in the Zone, the area that became known as the Zone was, in reality, the proving ground of Soviet Union's black project focusing on mind control. As outlandish as this may seem, it has been corroborated by the aforementioned accounts and documents.
Detailed information is unavailable on the nature of the project, as the archives of the Russian Federation remained sealed and the relevant documents classified. Despite numerous requests for access to the documents submitted to the Russian government, the answer was always a negative one, citing ?national security? as the reason for preventing access.
2.1.1. Limansk
However, with testimonies of surviving contract stalkers, Clear Sky faction members and the Forrester, a legendary stalker guide, we have been able to verify that experiments with mind control have been conducted in the area well before 1989, in the town of Limansk, lying in the vicinity of Pripyat. For a long time, the city was a myth, many didn't believe it's existence and dismissed those that did as conspiracy theorists, however, the truth is the exact opposite.
Limansk was rediscovered in the wake of the blow-outs of 2011. It was a long-abandoned ghost town and an alternate route to the NPP, one not obstructed by the Chernobyl-2 radar installation or, as stalkers prefer to call it, the Brain Scorcher. The discovery has led to one of the most brutal battles of the stalker clan wars, as Duty, Freedom, Monolith, mercenaries, Clear Sky and bandits clashed on the streets in an attempt to control the only access route to the NPP.
Documents concerning Limansk and it's exact purpose have been classified by Russian authorities, as mentioned before. However, exploration of the town itself by military stalkers in 2013 and the testimony of the Forrester indicate that the town was built around a large research institute called Radiowave, and it's purpose was to provide housing for the scientists and their families. It was a secret, closed city, avoided by the folk living in the countryside, due to the apparent hostility of it's inhabitants and the presence of a massive antenna causing various negative health effects, from headaches to apathy. The antenna is the defining feature of the city, built on the hill in it's centre.
It's presence and the Forester's testimony indicate that Radiowave institute was the first attempt at researching mind control techniques, and a successful one. According to the stalker guide, the inhabitants of Limansk were wary of outsiders and rather hostile in everyday contact, constantly mumbling to themselves and praising the communist regime, even when shortages of food and other necessities happened.
Such behaviour can (and should) be attributed to the presence and influence of the antenna, which apparently emitted signals capable of affecting human thought processes and behaviour. This technology can be considered the precursor of the later Chernobyl-2 and X-16 installations.
As such, Limansk, according to our knowledge, was the first testing site of the Soviet mind control technology and a social experiment in creating the model soviet city, both of which have been horrifyingly succesful.
It should be noted, that Limansk was not evacuated after the Chernobyl incident. The fate of it's inhabitants remains unknown.
highlander
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just wondering, how do you get those artifacts? I can't figure out how to do it 
CR0M
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Equip your detector. Use bolts to pick a path through the anomolies to get as close as you can to the artifact, which depending on the type of detector you have, will emit an audio signal when you are pointing in the right direction or show up on the LED readout. When you are close enough, the artifact will appear and you can grab it.
I recommend getting some heavy duty armour with anomoly protection, or you are going to take some serious damage.
I recommend getting some heavy duty armour with anomoly protection, or you are going to take some serious damage.
highlander
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**** :| I have no cash, and a normal suit still...yeah I suck @ this game pretty badly
DEATHMASTER
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Do some missions for ppl.
Just how do u use any of these artifacts without being irradiated to shit? Or do I just get another one that absorbs radiation too, meaning i'll need a raptastic suit with a billion slots for the damn things
Just how do u use any of these artifacts without being irradiated to shit? Or do I just get another one that absorbs radiation too, meaning i'll need a raptastic suit with a billion slots for the damn things
CR0M
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Which ones you use are down to common sense, obviously don't use stupid ones that are going to make your gums bleed and hair fall out - sell them.
Highlander - play a little before you go looking for artifacts, concentrate on ammo running and doing jobs for people first like DM says. I've only collected 4 artifacts in the whole game so far, used only one, and sold that when I bought a Military suit that can't even hold an artifact container. The other 3 I've sold. They might be rare, but they are certainly not the secret to immortality. Vodka and anti-rad do the job just as well
Highlander - play a little before you go looking for artifacts, concentrate on ammo running and doing jobs for people first like DM says. I've only collected 4 artifacts in the whole game so far, used only one, and sold that when I bought a Military suit that can't even hold an artifact container. The other 3 I've sold. They might be rare, but they are certainly not the secret to immortality. Vodka and anti-rad do the job just as well
DEATHMASTER
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Radiation patches sure are a bitch. *sprintsprintsprint HURRRRRRK *takes out vodka
Kula Meenur
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Oh yeah mate, ****in' hate 'em.
I'll try the technique of floggin off the Duty ammo next chance i get...i need the dosh
I'll try the technique of floggin off the Duty ammo next chance i get...i need the dosh
CR0M
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Ain't life a bitch. Since moving into Yantar, all my latest saves (around 20 which I circulate and overwrite every half hour or so) have gradually become corrupted. The few earlier ones that aren't, the game crashes to desktop within 2 minutes of loading, so I can't continue past Red Forest. Gonna have to patch to 1.5.4 and start from scratch, which isn't so bad as I'm going to do it all differently this time around.
Hope the crash bugs are all fixed in 1.5.4, would be a pisser to get to Red Forest and not be able to advance any further again...
Hope the crash bugs are all fixed in 1.5.4, would be a pisser to get to Red Forest and not be able to advance any further again...
DEATHMASTER
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you damn better
Combine Hybrid
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I don't think I'm gonna continue playing this game until another update comes out.
D
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I still haven't played this game. I'm waiting for more patches first.
CR0M
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Good idea. I remember the first game, couldn't get past Pripyat because of the crashes and gave up on it... shame cos I really liked it up until then. Eventually went back to it with a patch and finished it but it was already tainted :x
Think I might just mess around in the swamp until the next patch.
Think I might just mess around in the swamp until the next patch.
DEATHMASTER
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Why so concerned with patches? The only minor issue I've got so far are the fact that you can't quick load after you die (wasn't it the same with SoC? In which case **** it)
Tagaziel
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About the crashes - read the crash logs people, and fix the files that crash, or add the missing files.
STALKER is a picky game - it couldn't care less about inventory text strings, but have one missing file and it gets a heart attack and dies.
STALKER is a picky game - it couldn't care less about inventory text strings, but have one missing file and it gets a heart attack and dies.
Combine Hybrid
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It's an unfinished game, that's for sure.
thenerdguy
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Hmmmm, you only get 5 key activatings because of the tages DRM. Tages is in the cd/dvd and steam downloads for the states.
So after you install the game do not change any hardware or upgrade the OS.
So after you install the game do not change any hardware or upgrade the OS.
Kula Meenur
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Is it just me, but in the new patch does all the ammo in the crates have it's variety and number significantly reduced?
Asuka
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Elaborate on that please. Like how would i get the file thats missing??
Tagaziel
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Unpack the Clear Sky and Shadow of Chernobyl files to a separate folder, then mix and match. Alternatively, convert sounds from other games to .ogg format (in case of sound files) or use files from mods.
It's like a little Frankenstein of your own.
It's like a little Frankenstein of your own.
D
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Wait what? Why was this never revealed before?!
Tagaziel
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thenerdguy
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Good thing I live in Eastern Europe, the supposed hive of intellectual piracy.
You guys got starforce, we got tages. Also do not add any new hardware or tages will freak out! I added another secondary HDD and tages made me reactivate. So I now have 3 activations left.
thenerdguy
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Crysis warhead only has 5 key activations too.
VirusType2
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OK, this is just ridiculous. I'm not even interested in this game and this pisses me off; a lot. Who would buy something like this? I think you guys are making a big mistake by buying anything with this kind of scheme, you are only supporting it.
**** this game.
D
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Yeah I know but I'm happy about that either
I just noticed it's only the states, phew.
Kula Meenur
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No! ;( i support the homeland's economy
thenerdguy
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For the steam install you activate the key right before you start to play. Its the last thing you do. Leaving the boxes blank will not let you click next.
thenerdguy
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On the forums people have changed video cards/cpus and tages went crazy.
DEATHMASTER
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So would uninstalling it before making changes not waste a key (reuse the same one upon reinstall?)
thenerdguy
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You use the same key, you can only use it five times. Uninstalling the game then changing hardware, then reinstalling would still use another key. You only get 5 activations no matter what. Hell uninstalling the game then reinstalling the game without changing hardware still burns another activation.
DEATHMASTER
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So basically complain to steam when we burn them all out? And if that fails there's another option.
VirusType2
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If you buy the game in the store it should say that the game only can be installed 5 times, and if you change your OS or hardware at all, you lose one of those times. But it won't mention it. Best you can hope for is extremely vague fine print.
Who is really the ****ing crooks? The pirates? Or the people that sell you a game that doesn't work after a while? At least the pirates aren't actually taking anything from them, merely duplicating it. The real crook here is the people who published this game and take your money in exchange for a lemon.
Believe it.
Who is really the ****ing crooks? The pirates? Or the people that sell you a game that doesn't work after a while? At least the pirates aren't actually taking anything from them, merely duplicating it. The real crook here is the people who published this game and take your money in exchange for a lemon.
Believe it.
