Deep Silver has unveiled its roster of titles set to be on display during next week’s E3 Media & Business Summit and it’s quite the eclectic mix. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, the prequel to last year’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, is obviously the star of the lineup, not to mention one of my own personal most-anticipated E3 titles.
Clear Sky‘s gritty, mature themes are definitely for the hardcore PC gamer crowd, but Deep Silver’s other titles are going more for the casual, family-friendly market. The remaining lineup includes the adventure game Secret Files: Tunguska and puzzler Gravity — both in development for Wii and DS — and the DS veterinary simulation Pet Vet: Down Under. Can’t say I’m brimming with joy over Pet Vet, but Gravity sounds cool and I’m always happy to see more PC adventure games getting ported down to the DS.
Hit the jump for an overview of the Deep Silver E3 lineup.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is a survival FPS game for PC based on a ‘what-if’ scenario of the second Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. The game is created as a warning to mankind against mindless play with technologies. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is the official prequel to the renowned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game by the Ukraine-based GSC Game World studio. The game is set in 2011and brings forth the events to have preceded the third campaign of Strelok to the Zone center. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky introduces an alternative look onto the events of the original game and offers the player to try himself out as a mercenary s.t.a.l.k.e.r. in search of his own path in the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The game is expected to be available worldwide on August 29, 2008.
In the classic adventure game Secret Files: Tunguska, players unravel one of the greatest mysteries of our time. In 1908 in the Tunguska region of Siberia, a massive explosion of unknown origin triggered a flaming inferno, leaving death and destruction in its wake, but almost 100 years later this mysterious catastrophe is barely remembered. Even Nina Kalenkow knows nothing of it-until her scientist father suddenly vanishes without a trace. Accompany Nina and her boyfriend Max on a fascinating voyage of adventure around the world. Follow the kidnappers’ trail through ancient secret passageways in Irish castle ruins, through the flickering heat of Cuba, and aboard the legendary Trans-Siberian Railroad.
Gravity is a fiendishly fun puzzle game that will appeal to the young, the old, and everyone in between. Players must master the correct placement of objects in order to solve each puzzle and advance to the next level. There is more than one way of completing a given puzzle, often with surprising results. With over 100 levels packed full of mind boggling and challenging puzzles, plus 10 sandbox levels and an editor for creating custom levels, the game contains hours of fun and endless replayability. High quality, hand-painted backgrounds and an atmospheric soundtrack enhance the experience.
Both Secret Files: Tunguska and Gravity will also be available for the Wii(tm) system.
Nurture and care for some of Australia’s most adorable animals in Pet Vet: Down Under. Using the Nintendo DS stylus, players can examine, feed, assist, and play with six amazing animals, including koalas, kangaroos, and platypus. Players will be amazed by the variety of reactions as they administer treatments, and correctly diagnosing the animals’ ailments will earn money which the player can then use to expand and upgrade the animal hospital. The game contains extensive information about Australia and its wildlife, which players can read in order to treat the animals and successfully grow their veterinarian business.
I have the Agatha Christie Wii game but haven’t touched it yet … so I don’t know how the genre translates. But I’m with you on the DS adventures – can’t wait for this!
As for STALKER, it was overambitious and a bit buggy, but still one of the better games in recent memory for all that it tried to do. You can read my ‘different’ style review of it here (http://www.rpgwatch.com//show/article?articleid=39&ref=0&id=279)
I haven’t played any of the ported Wii adventure games either. I’ve enjoyed the Agatha Christie PC adventure games, but the one for the Wii looks pretty lousy so I’ve been a bit afraid of trying it. Zack and Wiki is a brilliant Wii puzzle/adventure game though, I highly recommend getting that if you haven’t already.
Loved STALKER too, check out this recent Clear Sky environment trailer if you missed it: http://www.vgblogger.com/?p=3340.