Dead Mountaineer's is an atmospheric-looking mystery title based on the novel by Russian sci-fi writers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. The Strugatskys also wrote Roadside Picnic - a tale of post apocalyptic scavengers that was a major influence on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.

The game is described as a "character-driven, non-linear game with multiple endings" and looks - to us at least - like it might be a 3D point-and-click style adventure.

New Release Date Announced for Dead Mountaineer's Hotel [Lighthouse Interactive]

Сталкер в реале [via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. CLEAR SKY to be RELEASED DIGITALLY AS STEAM EXCLUSIVE

Prequel to Hit Survival FPS will Launch Simultaneously on Steam and in Retail Outlets Worldwide

January 24, 2007 - GCS Game World and Valve announce that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky will be available for digital download worldwide exclusively on Steam® (www.steamgames.com), a leading online platform for the distribution and management of PC games. The official prequel to the Survival FPS game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is currently slated for simultaneous release on Steam and at retail outlets later this year.

"Steam has introduced S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to many thousands of new fans all over the world," said GSC Game World's CEO Sergiy Grygorovych. "We chose to deliver the digital version of the game exclusively on Steam because of its proven success not only as the leading global digital distribution platform for games, but because it allows us to directly reach its integrated and active community of gamers."

"It's great to see a forward-thinking game maker like GCS Game World launching simultaneously in digital and traditional retail channels," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "By launching S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:Clear Sky on Steam on the same day that it's available in stores worldwide, GCS Game World ensures that gamers can get their hands on this highly-anticipated game in the way that's most convenient for them."

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky brings the players one year prior to the events of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game in 2011. A group of stalkers has, for the first time, reached the very heart of the Zone-Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant-and brings about a cataclysm on the brink of a catastrophe. Through a rich narrative and gripping combat action, players uncover new challenges and insights in the Exclusion Zone. A new version of the game engine, X-Ray 1.5, powers superior graphical details and realistic and non-scripted combat AI.

More information and a collection of new images may be found here: http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=9390&l=EN&cc=US

About GSC Game World
Founded in 1995 in Kiev, GSC Game World is the leading computer game development company in Ukraine. The very first commercial game project of GSC Game World was the critically acclaimed and hugely popular historical real-time strategy game Cossacks: European Wars, released in 2000.
The launched projects developed by GSC Game World, among others, include Cossacks: The Art of War, Cossacks; Back to War, American Conquest, American Conquest: Fight Back, Alexander (Oliver Stone's movie tie-in), Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars. The two recently released titles by GSC Game World are Heroes of Annihilated Empires (self-published worldwide) and the top-selling S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Currently in development is the official prequel S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky for PC.
Official web-site: www.gsc-game.com

About Steam
Steam is a leading platform for the delivery and management of games and digital content, and has pioneered its broadband services to over 13 million customers with core and casual games from today's leading publishers and developers.

Oleg Yavorsky, PR Director for GSC Game World was on hand to give me a guided tour of the newly revamped world surrounding the alternate-universe ravaged by the second Chernobyl power plant meltdown. Immediately upon starting the demo the changes to the graphics engine were readily apparent. The whole game has a look much more crisp and saturated than its predecessor, giving the world a more realistic feel and making it easier to lose yourself in the story. All of the game's lighting is dynamic...there is no light source that cannot be snuffed short of the sun itself, and even that's a little hazy.

Yavorsky explained that story is a big focus this time around. They wanted to give the game a more cinematic feel, and to that end they've not only spent a great deal of time giving NPCs and plotlines a specific voice, but also tweaked the character models and added custom animations that give each character unique interactions in the game. Having explained all of this, the demo kicked into high gear.

The Stalker and his team are holed up in an abandon Russian government hospital, trying to break through enemy lines, but a nasty sniper has entrenched himself in the worn rafters of the building and it is up to our protagonist to take him out and clear a path for his teammates to advance. As the team provides covering fire, the main character ducks down a side passage that leads to the courtyard of the building, and another burst of gunfire from his comrades gets him across the courtyard to sneak up behind his unsuspecting foes.

The same realistic gunplay from Shadow returns this time around, and aiming is still very important. This isn't a game where you can run in guns blazing, and Oleg is very careful how and when he takes his shots. Ducking behind some wood nailed across a gap in the building's stone walls, he explains that the AI in the game is very intelligent, trained to take full advantage of cover and avoid open spaces. As he speaks the importance of cover becomes quite readily apparent as the wood he is ducking from is shot away, calling for a quick dash behind some more substantial cover before systematically taking the bad guys down.

Once the top level is cleared and the sniper is no longer a threat, his buddies move in, taking out a wall that previously blocked their way with some good old-fashioned explosives. Later in the demo I watch as the hero takes down waves of enemies as his team gets into position and drops a grenade into a machine gunner's nest, once again clearing the path. Sort of like a game of leapfrog really, only with more bullets and a giant helicopter boss at the end that goes down amidst streams of duck and cover gunfire.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky promises to be everything Shadow of Chernobyl was and much much more. A heightened focus on story as well as tweaked graphics and UI should bring back old fans as well as usher in some new ones to the slowly growing series.

It appears slimy, as little to nothing appears changed with each asset save some filename changes. A very damning "lights_impflash.dds" appears in GSC's list of assets, referencing one of Doom 3's more memorable creatures.

Shacknews has mirrored the shots of the files in question and even has comment from id's Todd Hollenshead who calls the issue "concerning." We'll update as this story develops. Michael McWhertor

Half-Life 2, Doom 3 Assets in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.? [Shacknews]

Please note that M.A.C.H. for the PSP shipped on February 20 and that Vivendi's F.E.A.R. is due to hit the PLAYSTATION 3 later this month. Michael McWhertor

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. G.O.L.D. [Gamespot]

Graphics are teh amazing, too bad I can't get the damn beta to run on my PC. It keeps crashing on me and slowing down. Very strange, especially on a PC running an AMD X2 4600+ dual core, two gigs of memory and a NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2 graphics card.

I blame Vista... or maybe it's just that it's a beta. Brian Crecente