Crysis 2

[Stringjam]

Hmmm....have to say I'm pretty disappointed.

I'm a big fan of the original, and I was REALLY hoping after such a long wait that 2 was going to deliver.

The first thing I noticed was the extremely narrow field-of-view. No big problem, right? I'll just edit the launch options. The only problem is that you get this "fisheye" kind of vibe when you try to get it to the kind of vision you had in the first one, and when you sprint, it reverts back to the narrow FOV.

Next thing I noticed was the annoyingly high amount of motion blur.....moving your weapon back and forth looks akin to being high on LSD or something. Well, since they decided to gut the options menu (why?), you can't get rid of it (no command-line options here, either....you're stuck with the blur).

On with more gutting.......prone and lean are GONE - lean being replaced by a sort of "auto lean" when you scope behind an object. This is really a shame, since these were integrated so well/smoothly in the first game - I would say better than any other FPS I've played to date. They obviously spent a lot of effort developing these player mechanics for the first game, only to drop them in 2....once again - why? I assume it (like so much other gutting) is a result of trying to make the game more playable with controllers - since Crytek decided to move away from PC exclusive development and port to the console makers this time around.

Then there's the jump lag. Terrible jump lag. I'm not really sure what they were thinking with this - just one more thing to ruin the already crippled player mechanics.

There was a lot of hype about how much more destructible the environment would be, and as far as I can tell, the only new attribute I noticed was the ability to shoot corners off of pillars. That's it. In the original, you could blow apart entire shacks with grenades/RPGs. Plant an explosive under a Hummer and you could blow it 20 feet in the air and watch the amazing physics engine take it from there. None of that exists in this one. Heck, you could shoot down an entire forest of palm trees if you wanted in Crysis.....this is a big disappointment.

While I'm talking about vehicles - don't expect to be driving/flying much of anything.

Suit functions are also gutted, with "speed" and "power" now gone. Added abilities such as the air stomp and power kick are pretty much useless. The kind of advanced maneuvers you could pull off in the first one are impossible (such as switching to power to jump on top of an object, cloaking mid-jump, and landing in prone position to start picking off enemies while avoiding detection.... )

I really dug the sandbox nature of the first game....the ability to evaluate an objective and approach it from almost any direction. You could sneak into a village and take KPA out in close quarters, or you could crawl across a hill and pick them off with a sniper rifle - or even avoid the objective entirely if you wanted. 2 is far more linear, especially considering how open and adventurous they could have been given the premise. This aspect isn't helped any by the constant radio contact with people telling you to "hurry up and go here" every 5 seconds.

Apart from all the gameplay issues, it's graphically inferior to the first one as well, with textures ranging from alright to downright hideous even on the highest settings. Don't expect any of the big draw-distances and views from the first game.

The art direction is very good, so I'll give them that. I think the interiors of the structures is actually better than the first game, and it's a very interesting environment. The in-game animation also appears to be more smooth. Reflective surfaces look great (glass actually looks like glass). AI is pretty decent.

I was really interested in the multi-player, since that's where I tend to spend countless hours, anyway.. Without going into a long review, I'll just suffice it to say it isn't a dot on a line compared to Crysis Wars. No tanks, no VTOLs, choppers, boats, etc....and it wouldn't matter because the maps are all too constricted to use them anyway. It's just a generic bleh all-around.

Crysis also came with the CryEngine2 Sandbox editor - which is like a giant Christmas present to anyone who likes to mod and build custom levels. The new doesn't come with the new editor.....can't say I'm all that interested in the new engine anyway from what I've seen.

[NateFollmer]

I haven't touched a video game in awhile. Developers are either getting lazy or publishers are putting crazy time constraints on them. Nothing has come out in the last year or more that I even felt like playing. I'll probably try Gears of War 3 when it comes out, then give up on my consoles

Good review though, should put that in a magazine. Better than anything Game Informer ever said about a game. They try too hard to be funny and it kills their reviews.

[Stringjam]

I haven't touched a video game in awhile. Developers are either getting lazy or publishers are putting crazy time constraints on them. Nothing has come out in the last year or more that I even felt like playing. I'll probably try Gears of War 3 when it comes out, then give up on my consoles

Good review though, should put that in a magazine. Better than anything Game Informer ever said about a game. They try too hard to be funny and it kills their reviews.

Yeah....I read it again and I think I sounded kind of harsh - it was a fun game and I enjoyed playing it, and I think it stands better if you don't have the first one to compare it to. I'll give them credit for getting a game with this level of graphic quality to run so well (and the weapon and hands modeling are downright gorgeous). It has a way of tricking your eye into thinking it looks far better than it does (until you get too close.)

I think the disappointment comes more from expecting them to build on the vibe they established in the first game - and instead they discarded it almost completely - to the point that the two games have almost nothing in common with each other.

I think there's a hole right now in the FPS genre - - a hybrid FPS/RPG, with large open-map, mission-based gameplay. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. attempted to pull it off (and it's still one of my favorite FPSs in life), but it took them so long to develop that their engine was pretty antiquated by the time it came out, and the first-person mechanics feel very stiff and a bit disconnected.

The STALKER developers have said for quite some time now that STALKER 2 would probably come out this year on a new engine (possibly CryEngine3), and I would be ultra-stoked if that were the case. The thing they nailed more than any other FPS I've played is the atmosphere.....fantastic art direction (especially with the Complete Mod). They also introduced things like full 24 hour day/night cycles (not script triggered), bullet trajectory, a weapons modification path (in Call of Pripyat) that is very cool...among other things.

It's one of the few games where you get this sense of dread / loneliness / and beauty all at the same time.

[NateFollmer]

UI looks a lot like Half Life 2. The environment reminds me of FallOut 3 New Vegas... I freakin' love the FallOut games, I can play them over and over and over... Heck, all of Bethesda's games are great, Elder Scrolls FTW!

[GrundleLove]

The new Elder Scrolls looks out of this world. GOTY award hands down. Cannot wait.

[JaxBasser]

Stalker! Amazing game.

I liked Crysis 2 but I was a bit let down. Crytek threw aside the PC gamers that made the what they are today to make a dumbed down console port. Crysis 2 could have been so much more. It is inferior in just about every technical aspect compared to the original and Warhead.

Dice is taking the right approach with Battlefield 3. They are making the game for PC and porting it to consoles, not vice versa like Crytek did.

BF3 is going to win GOTY hands down. It won't even be close.

http://www.ea.com/battlefield3/videos/bf3-my-life-trailer

[Stringjam]

Stalker! Amazing game.

BF3 is going to win GOTY hands down. It won't even be close.

http://www.ea.com/battlefield3/videos/bf3-my-life-trailer

I'm looking forward to BF3, even though I'm not really a big fan of squad-based FPS. It looks very interesting to say the least.

Another one I'm keeping an eye on is the release of Metro 2034. The first one (Metro 2033) is SUCH an underrated FPS - as was STALKER. Probably because these games come from Russian developers and aren't designed to entertain American teenagers (COD, Halo, etc....). I think a lot more adults must play these types of games in the European market.

What they lack in big budget and cutting edge tech they more than make up for with incredible art direction, immersive atmosphere, and story. Metro takes a very linear route (storyline driven) as it's actually based on a Russian novel of the same name. I can go for linear if it's done using a compelling story with interesting characters (ahem...Half-Life).....except this is more like Half-Life with oppressed, weathered characters fighting supernatural terror and slowly dying from a lack of resources.

It's a darker atmosphere than STALKER, but I get a lot of the same vibe. Totally worth the $20 or so it sells for now for any true fan of FPS.

Word is they're dropping a lot more resources into the next one to bring the animation/FPS mechanics up to date (and hopefully they add the ability to lean, as this game really needs it).

A few of my screenshots from 2033

[JaxBasser]

2033 is a good game. It has a few problems but the atmosphere the game surrounds you in is amazing. It's rough on hardware though, I have an i5-2500k @ 4.5GHz, 8 gigs of ram, and a HD6950 unlocked to a 6970 and I still can't max it out.

Brink releases tuesday. I've been waiting on that one for a while.

Oh and try this program if you haven't. It's a third party software that lets you edit graphics options in Crysis 2, it even let's you turn off blur and increase the FOV.

http://www.incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=33008

[Stringjam]

2033 is a good game. It has a few problems but the atmosphere the game surrounds you in is amazing. It's rough on hardware though, I have an i5-2500k @ 4.5GHz, 8 gigs of ram, and a HD6950 unlocked to a 6970 and I still can't max it out.

It is hard on the system.....I have an i7 930, ATI 5850 rig, but I have to run it in DX9 on "very high" settings to get a decent framerate. I think it's an engine issue more than anything, same with STALKER - I'm glad to hear they're building (or licensing) a new one.

I really want to upgrade to a 6970 but it won't fit in my box....guess that's a good excuse to buy more stuff.