Crysis is one of those weird games to review. The reason I say this is because with games that are so heavily hyped before release, it’s hard not to formulate an opinion on the game even before you’ve played it. Developers Crytek have promised gamers the holy grail of gaming; their first true taste of next generation gaming on the PC. They released hundreds of in game screen shots and game play videos that have caused even the most outspoken critic to bat at least one eye lid in amazement. The game has shown so much potential in the months leading to its release that it’s very hard not to get excited over it, but luckily, we have managed to lock our expectations away and go through the game with a neutral eye.
Crysis has you playing as Nomad, a member of Raptor squad, an elite US delta force squad tasked with the investigation of a distress signal by a team of archaeologists on an island in the Philippine Sea. The island has been taken over by the North Koreans, who have started to evacuate all civilians and it’s up to you and your squad to infiltrate the island and rescue the team. Unfortunately things aren’t as they seem and things quickly get out of control and this seemingly simple rescue mission turns into a battle to save humanity.
As games go, Crysis is visually the most stunning game ever made. Bold words I know, but said with confidence. The developers have produced a game that is the closest we have ever gotten to experiencing video realism in games. The lighting effects are truly amazing, textures are sharp and the environments you run around in are beautifully detailed and just add to the immersion. The game is littered with jaw dropping scenes that truly take your breath away. I guess the question on everyone’s mind right now is does Crysis play as good as it looks. The answer in a word is “sometimes.”
The first half of Crysis can only be described as amazing... sure it feels a bit like Far cry but the new nanosuit the player wears really does change the way you play a first person shooter. The suit allows you to change between four modes, namely armour, speed, strength and stealth. Changing between these modes on the fly allows the player to adapt to any situation and each of these modes comes into its own at some point in the game and prove to be very useful though the experience.
Armour mode is very useful in fire fights where gun play is the only way out, Speed allows you to run short distances at great speed and comes in handy when retreating or trying to rush an enemy. Strength allows you to pick up pretty much anything in the game or jump to great heights or even hurl enemies tens of feet into the air. Finally stealth mode cloaks the player, predator style, and allows you to sneak up on enemies undetected. The suit, paired with an open ended game world results in a truly mouth watering experience.
The second half of the game on the other hand is a more linear and tense gaming experience. The alien ship /Zero gravity level may be the most disorientating and novel gaming experience to date, but to be fair it’s far too linear. Also at this point the game rushes to its finale in record time and it results in the experience feeling short lived.
Even though Crysis was designed as a trilogy, I can’t believe it pulled off a Halo 2 at the end! I thought at this point in the gaming evolution we were past the whole: “Let’s just stop here for fun of it” mentality but it seems that the guys at Crytek didn’t get the message. You battle your way through a horde of Koreans, past monsters from the great unknown and then some, just for a “Finish the Fight” moment... tsk tsk indeed.
Crysis does offer a rather interesting team based multiplayer experience called Power struggle, which pits two teams against each other in a massive battle for survival. The aim is to capture command points that generate resources for your team that allow you to buy better weapons and vehicles to overcome your opponents base. Its works well and is truly a joy to play as long as you have enough players on the map.
If anything, Crysis is a great game that aimed too high. It offers the most amazing visuals ever seen and for the most part, the most open ended game play experience ever, but suffers from very poor performance on anything other than the highest end PC and a rather abrupt finale. Its multiplayer is competent and offers a new twist to team death match but won’t knock the likes of Battlefield off the top spot. Overall, if you have a system that can handle Crysis, it is a must buy. On the other hand, even though the game does scale down well, it’s a less amazing experience on lower speced machines.