Full Review for Crysis 2 by Season

Introduction

Leaving behind the sunny tropics, Crysis 2 puts you in New York, as the city suffers from a violent epidemic and an alien invasion.

You play as a marine named Alcatraz, rescued from a surprise attack by Prophet, who appears to be the last surviving nanosuit soldier. Prophet gives you his suit, which results in some instances of mistaken identity, and tasks you with tracking down a scientist named Gould.

As you progress, you'll learn more about the epidemic, the squid-like aliens known as the "Seth", and the suit itself. While there are references to the first game, you never get a full picture of what's happened in between the two installments.

There's little to attach you to the lead characters, and throughout the campaign it feels like you're simply trading one voice barking orders at you for another. However, the impact of the game's cataclysmic premise hits home as you witness the desperation of infected civilians.

Graphics

When the first Crysis came around, it was known more as a technical showcase, stunning players with it's graphics, and testing them to build PCs that could run that game at it's best. Crytek's latest challenge is twofold, as Crysis 2 aims to bring a similar visual punch to multiple platforms, while making the gameplay more memorable than the imagery.

Crysis 2 is one of those games that you have to stop and stare at every now and then. Water, smoke, and flames all look fantastic. There's an emphasis on lighting as glare shines through windows, and you'll witness huge structures collapsing regularly. Characters look more natural than the leather-faced protagonists of the first game, although some do look better than others.

While the game certainly looks best on PC, the console versions aren't far behind.

Sound

Crysis 2's dramatic storyline is cemented by a very strong soundtrack which can be enjoyed at your leisure, as you unlock songs after each campaign mission. This feature, while minor, is not present in many other games, and should not be taken for granted.

Gameplay

New York City may not offer quite as much freedom as the wide landscapes of the original Crysis , but the urban environment provides plenty of vertical depth to the maps, with multiple options to approach different situations.

Vehicles play a lesser role, and while there are a few short driving runs, hopping behind the wheel won't get you very far in most cases.



Crysis 2 has it's own take on killstreaks, with map-specific bonuses, that let you do things like jam enemy nanosuits or call in orbital strikes. You can create your own load-outs, including weapon choices and suit-abilities, many of which are unique to multiplayer, letting you reload faster, carry more ammo, and so on.

The nanosuit has been streamlined for Crysis 2 , making many of it's abilities feel more natural. "Speed" kicks in automatically when you sprint, and similarly "Power" activates when you hold the jump or melee buttons. Meanwhile, armor and stealth abilities are right at your fingertips.

Crysis 2 provides a much more physical sense of interaction, with moves reminiscent of Mirror's Edge. There's a slick ledge-grab to climb buildings, and you can slide under obstacles or into enemies. You can throw objects at opponents, grab and choke an enemy, or kick a car to crush someone taking cover on the other side. It's fun to experiment, and, if you can master the timing, an unlockable airstomp even lets you crash down on enemies from above.

Stealth plays a big role in the game as well, and the energy your cloaking ability uses is relative the amount of strain you put on it. The faster you move, the faster you'll consume energy, and firing while cloaked can deplete your energy and expose you completely, making it essential to quickly cloak and decloak if you want to snipe undetected. You can also sneak up on enemies and execute stealth kills while cloaked, just be sure no one's watching.

The last important bit in your arsenal is the tactical visor which lets you survey an area to highlight weapons, ammo, and enemies, painting targets to keep an eye on them in the normal view. The visor also highlights strategic options in yellow, showing you where you can flank or climb, and whenever such options are available the nanosuit alerts you, so you don't neglect this valuable tactical tool.

Making use of these techniques is critical in Crysis 2, as the AI relentlessly tracks and surrounds you. Like in the first game, getting sloppy in a situation can result in soldiers firing flares to call in back up, and agile alien soldiers prefer to surprise you from above or behind. Some of your later opponents also have devices that can see you while cloaked, or drain your nanosuit's power. There are also rare, unfortunate moments where the AI can get a little buggy, resulting in enemies that get stuck in the environment or run around in circles.

Lastability

While many shooters seem to be getting shorter, the campaign in Crysis 2 lasts for a very satisfying twelve hours. It doesn't wear you down, despite it's length, as the pacing provides ample moments to breathe between firefights.

As you scavenge for new guns, you'll find variations with attachments like scopes and silencers, which are then permanently unlocked for that class, making it easy to customize your arsenal. There are some fun fantasy weapons, too, including the K-Volt submachine gun that fires bolts of electricity, the SWARM multi-rocket launcher, and the "Mic", that blasts out microwaves to cook the squids right in their suits.

The nanosuit itself is upgradeable, letting you access new abilities by collecting alien tissue samples. Some of these upgrades simply make your base powers more effective, while others grant you special capabilities, like letting you see bullet tracers or allowing you to track enemies on the move. Given the huge quantities of resources needed to unlock all the powers, though, you'll want to hunt down as many Seth as you can.

The open, vertical maps in multiplayer provide lots of options, making it hard to predict where other players will come from. This level of unpredictability makes the "Crash Site" mode particularly enjoyable, with teams scrambling to control pods dropped from alien gunships. Crysis 2 's multiplayer centers on variations of Capture the Flag and King of the Hill. "Extraction" has players grabbing stealth and armor upgrades that benefit the whole team, while "Assault" gives nanosuits to one team, and equips the other with better weapons.

Multiplayer progression doesn't stray far from the norm. You'll rank up, spend experience points on equipment, complete challenges, and "reboot" to roll your progression over for bragging rights, Call of Duty style.

Overall

Crysis 2 takes the ideas and technical prowess of the first game, and focuses them to a multi-faceted experience that encourages you to go to town with it's tactics and physicality. The nanosuit is what defines the Crysis 2 experience, and once you get familiar with it's features, it feels as natural as a second skin.

Final Score: 82%