Looking forward to new word on GSC Game World's follow up to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series? Well, word is that Deep Silver has given the thumbs up to promoting S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky come July. That's just a few weeks before the prequel to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl releases for PCs worldwide. Go to the full story for more info.

Remember back when Surfer Girl predicted that Far Cry 2 (PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360) would become the best shooter of 2008? Well, judging from what's streaming - nay, outright overflowing! - from Ubisoft's Ubidays event, there will probably be no first person shooter videogame title like it. EVER. Hands on demonstrations, interviews with dev leads, and trailers all outline pretty ambitious new features. Get those that captivated audiences, updated with a new video, at the full story.

GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R., whose revered A-Life system has become the feat to imitate, will soon be succeeded by a second video game title in the series. This second game though is a precursor to the original survival first-person shooter that we - against all odds - have come to love. And the Russian-based game company has paved out a target release date for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky with Deep Silver. Check out the full article for more details.

GSC Game World has announced that the worldwide rights for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky has been awarded to Koch Media. In addition, the developers have also released a few screenshots which show of the different environments of this first person shooter.

Head on over to the full article for more details.

 Aside from being available in retail stores, it was recently revealed that GSC Game World and THQ's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky will be released as an exclusive digital download on Valve Corporation's Steam.

If you're interested in finding out more about this, scoot on over to the full article by clicking on the "read more" link below.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl developer GSC Game World has decided to play twenty questions and answer just some of the fan feedback they've been receiving on the sequel of their well-loved FPS series. The Community Q&A session tackled the development of its upcoming S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky as well as other interesting issues.

Read more about what the developers had to say in the full article after the jump!

GSC Game World, the studio behind S.TA.L.K.E.R., has formally announced that it is now a certified developer for the Xbox 360. It hasn't announced any games in the works as of yet but it was mentioned that the studio plans to come out with multiplatform games.

Here's hoping they'll port S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Hopefully we'll see an Xbox 360 version of its prequel, Clear Sky.

For those of you who've played the PC exclusive S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, you might be pleased to know that the crew at GSC Game World is considering a console version release for the game after its initial success.

Knowing the FPS nature, as well as the dark, post apocalyptic theme, the game would definitely look pretty sleek if it were transferred onto a next-gen console. GSC project manager Anton Bolshakov stated that they wanted to expand their market with their plans to move to the console. He had this to say on the matter:

PC game development is very traditional for ex-USSR and over 90 percent of gamers here play on PCs. However, we are pretty aware of the tendencies in the markets internationally and have been considering console development for a while.

 
While they have no definite plans just yet, they have been considering this option for some time already. Whether or not this will push through for the recent game or its sequel is still unknown, it's also unsure what platform exactly we'll be seeing their debut on.

Until they have any more news on the matter though, we'll just have to hang tight and see what GSC has under its sleeves regarding the matter.

It appears that Ubisoft has taken the Far Cry franchise as its own and threw away certain aspects of the original, leaving a small share of past mechanics for previously announced Far Cry 2. As reported, players won't be stepping into the shoes of Jack Carver anymore, nor will there be any Trigens to deal with in any part of the story.

 

The savannas of Africa have been confirmed as replacements to the predecessor's Madagascar setting, offering more space, line of sight, driving room and sniping opportunities than cover in dense vegetation. Ubisoft, however, assured PC gamers that Far Cry 2 will stay exotically comparable to the original, but less on the story and more on gameplay mechanics.

The player will partake in a plot to eliminate an arms dealer who has been selling to both sides of a conflict in a weakened state in Africa. Instead of mutated abominations to gun down, the player has soldiers and animals to keep a keen eye out for; apparently, they've become the game's primary adversaries.

And instead of the tongue-in-cheek humor we've all come to love, Ubisoft is preparing a "simple drama management system" that will populate two large and fully open worlds with key characters. That same system will then assure that the bits of dialogue and the plot converge toward "major climactic events" in the game, propelling the player forward through the plot.

With regard to exoticism, Far Cry 2 will instead feature an improved artificial intelligence that is more behavioristic, allowing NPCs in the game, including enemies, to dynamically decide upon and undergo tasks in a day-to-day basis. "Our AI is needs-driven, and the main needs are Rest, Duty and Social," said game producer Louis-Pierre Pharand.

The sequel will feature SmartTerrain Points, or features in the terrain that NPCs in the game will interact with, in order to satisfy those needs. But while the game would tout wildlife congregating at food and water sources, Ubisoft's description of soldiers retreating to base camps during the night to rest clued avid gamers in to a similar AI once dominated by GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - the needs-related A-Life system.

More on the game will probably be revealed at the October issue of PC Gamer, if not leaked in detail already by various PC fans all over the world.

One thing you really have to admire about GSC Game World is its ability to make an FPS creepy by virtue of level design. In S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, the developers managed to bring out the feeling of utter helplessness and desolation simply by placing the perfect atmospheric placements, like dessicated bodies and dreary surroundings.

In S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, we're certain to get even more of that feeling, as they've brought out their opening salvo for the FPS-loving masses: a trailer showing off multiplayer action inside the ruins of an old hospital. From discarded wheelchairs to exploding helicopters, this trailer certainly shows us that even the most depressingly creepy places can be full of life... and death, as a couple of headshots also managed to show.

In any case, we're eagerly awaiting additional word on this title. Hopefully GSC will come up with more info on this intriguing prequel to satisfy the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in each of us.