Saturday, March 26, 2011

Crysis 2 Single Player Review



The year is 2023 and New York has fallen plague to a strange alien virus. The once busy city has been reduced to a desolate ghost town. Its only inhabitants are either infected or working as privately owned CELL agents. As if that weren’t enough, threat of alien attack looms constantly over this broken city and only you can stop it.

Being the sequel to the 2007 critically acclaimed FPS Crysis, Crysis 2 has big shoes to fill. Crysis 2 is the first game ever to showcase the CryEngine 3 game engine, and its developers have claimed it has the “best graphics you’ve ever seen”. It has also been said that Crysis 2 exhibits some of the most sophisticated AI in video game history. These are, without question, huge claims to make. I guess we’ll see if C2 lives up to them.


Gameplay

8.5



When I first sat down to play Crysis 2, I have to be honest, I thought it was going to be a mix between Halo and Call of Duty. These thoughts, however, were quickly extinguished as I actually started playing. C2 is its own game.

The suit, as the multiplayer demo said, “is a game changer.” It gives you the ability to switch between armor and stealth modes as well as perform extreme feats of strength and speed. All of these abilities wear on your suit’s energy. Energy replenishes quickly when not in use and encourages “hit and run” tactics.

C2 also features a combat visor which allows for quick assessments of battle situations. In most large firefights the visor will point out tactical opportunities in the area such as sniping points, tunnels for flanking, and even weapon stockpiles.

Combine all of that with on-the-go customizable suit and weapon upgrades and you have a very versatile game. Crysis 2 allows for very customizable play that embraces individual playstyles. Not everyone plays the same way, and Crysis knows that.

Despite all of this, the game really feels unfinished. In just one playthough I noticed many glitches that kept popping up. The AI probably is partially to blame for this and definitely does not live up to the hype that the developers put on it. Good AI is seemless and makes you feel like you are fightning a living, breathing thing. The AI in C2 likes to run in tiny circles.

Video / Audio
10


To steal a developer’s words, Crysis 2 has “the best graphics you’ve ever seen.” It may sound dramatic but trust me, the visuals are astounding and will take your breath away. These visuals are placed in front of a backdrop of incredibly epic music with superb sound effects and mixing. Simply put, Crysis 2 is a beautiful experience.


Story
7.5


The story of C2 is quite interesting, contains good twists and is supplemented with quick flashbacks from the suit’s past. Something C2 does that most games don’t is show you the victims of New York’s struggle. The game takes you through the tunnels where the infected have taken refuge. Their rambling and stumbling gives the player a true sense of sympathy for these sad, lost people.

Unfortunately, the character depth in C2 is almost nonexistent. Bad guys are angry, good guys are worried, that’s about all there is to it. The silent protagonist act really doesn’t help this and results in you knowing very little about any character.

Content
9.0


Crysis 2’s single player campaign is relatively lengthy for an FPS and yet never feels tedious. It also features a competitive multiplayer. Overall, C2 ensures that there are many hours of gameplay for you to experience.


Huevos Factor
9.0


Crysis 2 is a great game with industry changing graphics. The constant glitches hurt the games immersion but really do not affect the overall gameplay very much. This game is fun from begining to end and I would highly recommend it.

Breakdown:
Gameplay

8.5

Video / Audio

10

Story

7.5

Content

9.0

Huevos Factor

9.0


Total

8.7

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