We know the news of a brief delay for the much-anticipated prequel to GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.must be disheartening for fans of the title -- however, those same fans will probably be pleased to know of the heartbreak that Clear Sky's delay will ultimately prevent. It seems that publisher Deep Purple Silver recalled copies of the title that had been distributed to North American retailers due to a printing error that left the cases sans CD keys. Apparently, those things are kinda important.
Deep Silver explained that the delay would only push the game's North American Sept. 5 release back "a few days" (the European release date is unaffected by the printing snafu), though a few retailers are listing Sept. 15 as the new launch date. We know you're jonesing for some further adventures in Chernobyl, but don't do anything brash. We wouldn't suggest playing laser tag in a poorly maintained nuclear waste repository, for instance.
We've finally harnessed the power of our combined snacking knowledge to create a regular, completely non-game related segment on it. Oh, sure we're still talking about video games like Force Unleashed, Too Human and S.T.A.L.K.E.R., but snacks (S.N.A.X.?) really steal the show.
Thanks to Evan Minto, Jordan Wasilka and Max Varenik of the JPAG for the trifecta of photochopping greatness.
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With the sun setting on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. prequel Clear Sky's development, GSC Game World has let us know that it's finally safe to venture outside -- provided you're packing enough firepower to keep the ravenous and irrevocably irradiated hordes at bay. The anticipated FPS is finally dawn done and should be taking us for a first-person stroll through Chernobyl's utterly charming neighborhood on September 5th (yes, that counts as a minor delay).
If you're the sort who can tell your GPU from your PPU (doesn't that fit into the SKU?), you should be pleased to note that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky will feature support for both DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 chipsets. You'll be wanting those hideously deformed mutants to look their best when they tear your throat out.
There are just a couple more months remaining before we'll have to once again climb into our radiation suits and deal with the horrible mutants outside, so developer GSC Game World and newly named publisher Deep Silver have sent along some handy details regarding what we can expect from their forthcoming radioactive PC shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky.
According to the duo, the game, which promises a kind of "what-if" spin on the events depicted in last year's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, will place players in the role of a mercenary s.t.a.l.k.e.r. named Scar, caught up in a war over "territory, artifacts, and power." Pretty "dynamic" graphics are also promised, with Clear Sky supporting -- but not requiring -- DirectX 10. Other highlighted features include new and "overhauled" levels from the previous game, fast travel, "movie quality" cut scenes, and "greatly improved" AI. Additionally, a new animation engine and "hugely expanded" multiplayer for up to 32 players online or over a LAN will also be included, for those special moments when slaughtering hordes of radioactive mutants just isn't enough.
With S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky shipping worldwide on August 29, Deep Silver has announced that it will handle publishing duties in North America for developer GSC Game World's upcoming prequel to 2007's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. We think it's particularly interesting that Deep Silver, a UK-based studio that only established a US footprint last month in Los Angeles, has been trusted to steer the game's North American debut instead of THQ, which handled the original game's release last year.
As the latest in GSC's considerable plans for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe, the game promises a "what-if" look at the events leading up to last year's FPS/RPG hybrid, and according to Deep Silver was "created as a warning to mankind against mindless play with technologies" -- especially, we assume, any tech that can give rise to hordes of radioactive beasties.
PC gamers will be frolicking through the radioactive wastelands of Chernobyl once more with the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky, now set for August 29th. The post-apocalyptic prequel promises "an alternative look" into the events of 2007's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, pitting players against radioactive decay and mutated creatures with one too many of something. Probably teeth. Also, it's apparently "set in 2011 and brings forth the events to have preceded the third campaign of Strelok to the Zone center." Exciting!
Developer GSC Game World aims to ship the shooter simultaneously worldwide "according to the agreed plan." If said plan falls through, there's always the consolation of the game's day and date release on Steam.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky – GCS Game World's prequel to their long-in-development and well-received "survival FPS" S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – will be available for digital distribution exclusively on Steam, where the original game is available for a reasonable $20. If you're not into getting your games virtually, it will still be available in stores on the very same day "later this year." Now the question is whether or not "later this year" falls within the estimated Q1 release; considering the original's six year development cycle and their otherongoingprojects, we're not placing any bets.
In the world of video game digital distribution, it's easy to think that all roads lead to Steam, but that's not necessarily the case as THQ has reminded us of an alternative in GamersGate, noting that it has inked a deal with the service to offer a selection of its PC titles for online purchase and download. The games will be available worldwide, save for those poor souls in Australia and New Zealand, who have been turned away like orphans to a soup kitchen.
According to GamersGate, the company will initially offer Company of Heroes and Supreme Commander, as well as their recent expansions. While neither title has popped up on the GamersGate website yet, a quick check did reveal S.T.A.L.K.E.R. available for the bargain basement price of $19.99. Other THQ offerings planned to be added eventually include Full Spectrum Warrior and Juiced 2, as well as next month's Frontlines: Fuels of War. It's encouraging to see competition in the digital space, and assuming this and similar deals feature exclusivity clauses, it will be curious to see if we are on the verge of a hard fought digital distribution battle royal. 40 Quatloos on the newcomer!
In much the same way that Elder Scrolls games are like Everquest without stupid people, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. sort of reminded us of Anarchy Online without the crushing, ever-present stench of failure. It seems that the similarities to an MMO have not been lost on the creators of the game, who chatted about the possibilities in a recent Q&A with fans.
When asked if S.T.A.L.K.E.R.Online was in the works, GSC Game World shot down the idea of an online co-op version of the game, but said "If you mean an MMOG, then we are seriously considering it," which should definitely be encouraging news for fans. If GSC goes from "seriously considering" to "seriously announcing" it, we'll be sure to let you know.
After spending some six years developing the PC first-person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R., we figured it would be some time after the game's long-delayed release last March before we heard from Ukraine's GSC Game World again. We were, of course, wrong as not two months after the game's debut the studio came forward with a burst of enthusiasm for its radioactive baby, announcing plans for "several subsequent new products" in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise. Just what projects the company has in the works remains anyone's guess, though a new posting on GSC's official website confirms that the studio is now a certified Xbox 360 developer, which has us wondering if GSC plans to irradiate Microsoft's console with a port of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. anytime soon.
According to GSC, the effort to get Microsoft's seal of approval took the studio 2 years, and that "from now on, our old ambition to create multiplatform projects has become a reality." So, does this mean that yet another PC developer has been lured away, wooed by the sultry siren's song of console game development? Probably, though GSC chief exec Sergiy Grygorovych adds that the company plans to continue to pay "maximum attention to the PC platform." You hear that PC zealots? Put the pitchforks down please, we're all friends here.
According to GSC Game World's website, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl developer plans to announce "several subsequent new products in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe already" during July's Min-E3. Several projects? Already?
S.T.A.L.K.E.R., originally scheduled for a 2003 release, was pushed back four years until March 2007. Keeping the multiple titles in the same universe might help speed up things, but we hope they don't get into too many development issues trying to juggle so much. S.T.A.L.K.E.R., despite having a title quite cumbersome to write, is a very entertaining and atmospheric (scary) open-ended shooter, and we'd love to see another game in the series -- we just want it this decade.
A new patch released for the long-delayedS.T.A.L.K.E.R. addresses a whopping 68 bugs ranging from minor typos to serious multiplayer blunders. But just like the wonder drugs advertised on TV, the side effects are pretty nasty. After installing the patch your instructions are to delete all files from the save game folder. Every. Single. One. Game saves created before the patch was installed will not work afterwards.
And so begins the great debate: do you install now, or try to finish the game and hope it doesn't crash?
Just months after the glitz and glamor of its inaugural debut on Wired's annual Vaporware awards, the long-delayed S.T.A.L.K.E.R. cozied up on retail shelves next to other evidently non-vaporous games. Yes, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a real boy now and it's more than a little exciting to see that the ambitious title made the journey from idea to interactive game more or less intact. Sure, the years in limbo didn't do much to help the once impressive engine, but reviews praise the title's innovative aspects -- namely the open-ended, and S.C.A.R.Y., gameplay.
Yahoo! (90/100) offers a poop metaphor that actually makes us want to play the game ... albeit alone ... and with a fresh pair of drawers nearby: "given all its troubles we're fortunate to have a game at all, let alone one this good. Its setting is superb, its gameplay tense and convincing, and it boasts what are definitely the best fill-your-pants moments in a PC game for quite some time. It's hard to see how it could have turned out better."
GameSpot (85/100) loves the open-endedness, and gives us the mash-up genre descriptor we've been waiting for: "At its heart, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a first-person survival game that blends action with role-playing. This isn't a linear game, like Half-Life or Call of Duty, where you basically are restricted to a straight path and are taken for a tightly controlled and scripted ride. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s huge environments and open-ended gameplay make it more like a role-playing game, as you can go where you want and do what you want if you're willing to live with the consequences."
Eurogamer (80/100) offers easily the most compelling review, despite its lower score: "For some people the odd rough brokenness of Stalker will frustrate and annoy. It isn't finely polished, and it's not Hollywood; this is more like an antidote to the Americanised way of doing things. It's a warped behemoth from the Ukraine, and one of the scariest games on the PC."
Sold! We've been hungry for a first-person shooter that requires mandatory underwear changes as part of its design; System Shock 2 was so long ago, and Bioshock is delayed. We want this sort of experience.
Delayed once to avoid the holiday rush. Delayed a second time to add some spit and polish. Since 2003 this poor little game has been repeatedly shoved on the back burner and ignored. But now, according to publisher THQ, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl has wrapped up development is is sitting around just waiting to be shipped. This month. Seriously!
Set in an alternate-reality post-apocalyptic Chernobyl, the gritty first person shooter promises weather effects, intelligent AI, destructible objects and a robust multiplayer mode. The stuttering S.T.A.L.K.E.R. release smells a lot like the Preydelays or the now-laughable Duke Nukem Forever, but if it turns out as interesting as it sounds, maybe it can actually make a dent in the crowded FPS market.
When a needlessly cryptic countdown appears on a website built to promote a specific title, we naturally assume that it's counting down to a release date. But without an official confirmation, we're a bit hesitant to call the clock currently running on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl website a release countdown. We've been scorned before, baby. We know your dirty little tricks.
Originally announced in 2001, GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R has been the recipient of many a vaporware award throughout its illustrious career of back burning. Having consulted the Joystiq abacus, we have determined that the countdown ends on March 22nd, 2007. What will happen exactly is up in the air. It could be a release date, or possibly even a demo of the game. It could even be an announcement of an announcement! S.T.A.L.K.E.R to be retooled into a Daikatana expansion pack confirmed!
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Posts with tag Stalker
A new patch released for the long-delayed S.T.A.L.K.E.R. addresses a whopping 68 bugs ranging from minor typos to serious multiplayer blunders. But just like the wonder drugs advertised on TV, the side effects are pretty nasty. After installing the patch your instructions are to delete all files from the save game folder. Every. Single. One. Game saves created before the patch was installed will not work afterwards.
Just months after the glitz and glamor of its inaugural debut on Wired's annual Vaporware awards, the long-delayed S.T.A.L.K.E.R. cozied up on retail shelves next to other evidently non-vaporous games. Yes, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a real boy now and it's more than a little exciting to see that the ambitious title made the journey from idea to interactive game more or less intact. Sure, the years in limbo didn't do much to help the once impressive engine, but reviews praise the title's innovative aspects -- namely the open-ended, and S.C.A.R.Y., gameplay. 
When a needlessly cryptic countdown appears on a website built to promote a specific title, we naturally assume that it's counting down to a release date. But without an official confirmation, we're a bit hesitant to call the clock currently running on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl website a release countdown. We've been scorned before, baby. We know your dirty little tricks.
