Crysis 2 Review - A Stunning First Person Shooter

I will start this review with a really unorthodox way. Here I go.

I hate stealth games. I hate them with all my essence. They have nothing to do with reality nor they can even approach it. First of all the player has no peripheral vision which has played such an important role for our survival. Second of all the developers fail every time to replicate the sounds from the surrounding environment. Every time in the past I ve tried to play a stealth game I ended up smashing the keyboard or mouse because I had to play the same mission like 30 times. Some people may say "hey idiot do not accuse the game for your incompetence". Oh really, you think? Ok I accept, it may be true. I ve never said I am the best player ever lived. All I want from a game is some freaking realism that's all. I wanna hear and see everything I would hear and see in a similar situation. Is it that hard? I am asking too much? Apparently yes.

So for another time you may ask " So why you bleeding moron are making a review for this game since you hate stealth games? " I will answer to those polite fellows...because it has something different to offer than the usual fps / stealth games. Keep reading please you will discover why.

Launch Trailer ♦ Is Crysis 2 Different?♦ Story trailer♦ Crisys 2 Script♦ So What Makes Crysis 2 Irresistible ?♦ Nanosuit By Crynet♦ What is the Nanosuit♦ Made In Psycho-Gamerland♦ Where you here?

First things first, a few words about the scenario, plot, story, characters etc. This game has nothing new to offer when it comes to story originality. The basic idea has been replicated so many times by other video games and so many movies, that I wanna cry due to frustration and boredom.

Aliens attack the Earth. We stand no chance. We retreat. We regroup and we fight back. But still it is so hard. But all of a sudden, even that they raped us really hard, a great hero arises from nowhere and he gives new hope that we can win this war and prove them this is OUR planet and they have no place here. (Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz boring Zzzzzzzzzzzz) Should I continue?

This is the basic idea and the above paragraph does not reveal the whole story. There are a lot of things happening during the game. So Crysis 2 continues after the events of Crysis 1 and Crysis Warhead. A lot and mostly major cities all over the world have been overrun and destroyed by the aliens. One of those cities is New York (but why New York and not just any other city in the world?) . The destroyed, ruined city is a huge battlefield or playground for us the gamers. I have to tell you that the city is in a pretty bad shape. Some of the huge and tall buildings are ruined, some of the bridges have collapsed. And not only that but an unknown virus is killing all the humans (like the aliens weren't enough). So what actually is going on this game?

Our "hero" is a member of a marine unit who their mission is to locate and safely extract a doctor who might have vital information which will help humanity win this war. Of course nothing goes according to plan because the aliens are far more superior than humans and the whole unit dies except our hero. He is saved by another special "soldier" named Prophet. This special soldier is wearing a weird looking suit. Unfortunately he is sick due to this virus and he is dying without being able to complete his mission. So our hero who his name is Alcatraz (????!!!???) is the perfect victim.... I mean person to complete the mission for him. So he gives him the suit and then he leaves to find a peaceful place to die. Actually I am kidding because he takes a gun and he blows his brains out. There is a reason doing that. Firstly because he is already dying and secondly to cut off the suit from him.

So Alcatraz has 2 missions now. His own, finding and extracting the doctor, and completing Prophet's mission. Like the whole thing wasn't complicated enough, private military companies and mercenaries are trying to take over the whole city, of course not for the sake of humanity, but because a lot of money is involved. So those paramilitary groups are hunting down Prophet, who is recognized by the suit he is wearing. But since Prophet is now dead and Alcatraz is wearing his suit, our hero is a shoot to kill target. And to make things even more complicated for him he has to save some stupid civilians who stayed in the city. You see officially the city was evacuated but unofficially there were still a few thousands people staying in their homes for their own reasons. I am sure he is cursing the moment he decided to get out of bed.

The story sounds exciting , right? Wrong !!! We all have heard all this stuff thousands of times. And for me it is a just ok if not a boring scenario. But they needed a story to build he game on. This is not a '90s arcade style game where the only thing you needed was your big gun and some pathetic monsters or whatever and you could discover that you have a killer inside you. No things have changed a lot. But I would never play this game for its story. And neither should you. So why would someone play this game. FOR THE CINEMATIC ACTION ...BABY !!!!!!

That's right !!! Playing this game is like you are in a kick ass action movie (and I do not mean the actual Kick Ass movie). A lot of action, a lot of shooting, a lot of fast heart beating, a lot of adrenaline, a lot of special effects, a lot of explosions, a lot of destruction, a lot of killing, a lot of everything. I will talk about one more thing and I will got to the good and bad lists.

All that are fine...well not just fine ...all that are f...ing great. But why this game has made a lot of gamers cry from happiness , yeah I know it is a bit too much but this game is so good because of that element.

Launch Trailer ♦ Is Crysis 2 Different?♦ Story trailer♦ Crisys 2 Script♦ So What Makes Crysis 2 Irresistible ?♦ Nanosuit By Crynet♦ What is the Nanosuit♦ Made In Psycho-Gamerland♦ Where you here?

What is the Nanosuit you may ask? Is the reason why should someone play this game. Is the reason why me, the fps stealth hater %u2026 played this game.

The Nanosuit is an exoskeleton which gives its wearer some special powers. Actually everything a man wanted his whole existence. Is a special futuristic weird looking suit which I love so much.
The suit is like a living organism. It connects directly with its wearer and stores his memories, experiences and personality. Its technology is so advanced that in the real world wont exist something like that for at least 5 more centuries.
The special powers are : Superman Strength - Increased Speed - Thermal and Night Vision - Increased Armor - Stealth.

Launch Trailer ♦ Is Crysis 2 Different?♦ Story trailer♦ Crisys 2 Script♦ So What Makes Crysis 2 Irresistible ?♦ Nanosuit By Crynet♦ What is the Nanosuit♦ Made In Psycho-Gamerland♦ Where you here?

All the powers can be used for various reasons one by one or in combinations. Ok let me clear something out. If you liked the Rambo movies and you wanna be just like him, that's fine by me. But if you think you will use some Rambo crap to complete this game then you better do not buy it. The Nanosuit was developed to give its wearer increased tactical advantages. Don't you think even for a second that you are a bad ass who can take his big gun walk in the middle of the battlefield and kill everything that moves and come out alive. You are not invisible, not even close.

You can die just as easily like any other soldier. What gives you a huge advantage over the other average soldiers, and increased survivability, is the Nanosuit and its abilities. And most importantly the way to adapt and use those powers at the right time. Doing other than that you will die. Use your brain and not your fingers. I will go in more detail in the lists.

This is going to be a long list because the Crysis 2 has a lot of good stuff to show. And I will start with the greatest of them all.

Nanosuit

What else is there to say about this marvel of technology? Believe me ...plenty.
Lets talk about its abilities. All the abilities are useful. Its on a different situation. Use them at the right time and place and you will be the master of the battlefield. Use them excessively and you will be just another dead body. Why? Because the Nanosuit consumes energy with the use of every ability. And when the energy runs out the ability is deactivated automatically. Then you have to wait a few secs for the batteries to recharge until you can use any of the abilities again. So use them wisely. Like I ve said before use your brain first anything else later. The gray matter is there in the pot for a reason. Discover it.

The strength and speed abilities are always activated by default. You do not have to turn then on and off anytime you need them. You can not imagine how helpful is that during the battle. This a huge improvement since the Crysis 1. Just jump,sprint, grab, throw or kick with a push of a button. Nothing more.

The armor mode is really useful to stay alive when multiple enemies are firing at you and you have to move around. Or when you jump from a high altitude. Or other similar situations. I ve read somewhere that it makes you like a walking tank. What a huge freaking lie. Obviously the guy was playing the game while he was drunk with his friend the pink fairy. It doesnt make you a tank. It can prolong your life and delay you death by far where it would be impossible in another situation. Because with every hit energy is consumed and if you run out of energy the ability is off...and guess what ...you are dead. So use it with caution.

There will be times where a building or bridge has collapsed a huge cloud of dust will cover everything. Or it will be really dark that you wont be able to see a thing. In those situations you will be able to use another ability of the suit, the thermal vision. With this ability you will be able to detect the body temperature of you victims... I mean enemies. There is not much to say here other that the ability is useful when you cant see a thing for a reason.

Graphics

There is no possible way to describe with words how much perfect graphically this game is. I just can't. Crytec is claiming Crysis 2 is the game with the best graphics ever. I do not know if it is the best ( I have shared my opinion on that) but is one of the most awesome, wonderful, fantastic, unreal games ever created. If you have a console then you will be able to experience the magic. If you have a pc I hope is top notch because with anything else you will not be able to unveil the beauty. Unfortunately my pc belongs in the middle class, of the pc society. So I was still able to play the game, I was still able to say a lot of wows and stare at the beauty like a fool but wasn't able to experience THE graphic magic within the game. For another time I had to watch it from someone else' s computer. Please try to believe me when I say, you have seen nothing else like it.

Cinematic Cutscenes

During the game as the story unfolds, video cutscenes pop up here and there. I have to tell you they are so wonderfully created that it felt like I was watching a movie. They are necessary to help the players understand what is going on plus it adds variety. Beautiful job, really.

Original Ideas And Random Events

One of the things I enjoyed so much were the random events. And what I mean by that? Ok imagine you have just killed a bunch of aliens and there is quiet in the area. But only for a few seconds because as you take a few steps then an alien drop ship flies right above your head and maneuvers around the buildings. You ask yourself "what the f...ck? How many are there anyway? How many I have to kill to get to stupid objective?" The moment you finish those thoughts 3-4 attack helicopters fly right behind it and they shoot it down. Or imagine that. You are wondering in a destroyed subway it is pitch black, so quite that it scares you to death, because quiet is never a good thing, you are taking cover from rubble to rubble, and then all of a sudden you hear a really loud and terrifying sound that freezes your blood. Then you turn your head and you see an uncontrolled train set on fire get of the trucks and crash a few meters away from you. And you find yourself staring at the burning train with your mouth open and " what else is going to happen now?". This is the wrong question in this game.... :D
The whole game is full with those random events. And I have to say some of those are pretty original. I have never seen them to another game or movie. Well done scriptwriters.

Beautiful Story Presentation

The basic script idea is boring for me but the presentation is awesome. Meaning that have put together all the pieces of the story with such a way that it makes it really pleasant. This is one of the best recipes for action films. Get a poor scenario, put a lot of special effects and a lot of shooting and you have a box office hit. .ok I ll get serious. The whole game is about saving the doctor with the important information, fighting the aliens, fighting the paramilitary troops, and help an old man . The way they have put together all the pieces is very artistic. They have connected them with missions, cutscenes, random events, drama, violence, a bit of humor, a lot of action, and some unexpected and unpredictable events (but those are really really few).

Advanced AI

Another thing I really liked was the enemy AI. Actually I loved it. During a battle enemies would try to flank you or get behind you to kill you. They would use the terrain or other tactical options to their advantage to get to you. If they would discover a dead body of one of their own they would immediately get alerted, they would search around for some time before they would go back to their usual patrols. Moreover if they weren't alerted and then hear a gunfire but you would go on syealth mode, they would come running to check it. Really cool stuff. It added a lot of realism to the overall experience.

Vehicles

I was able to get on a vehicle 3 times and damn it was so fun. The one time I got on a Hammer and I maned a 50 cal. The other 2 times I maned a tank. Man it was one of the most destructive tanks I have ever seen. And I ve seen a lot of tanks. It had a powerful heavy machine gun and 2 or 4 (I do not remember that clearly) side rockets. This baby could take down anything, and I do mean anything. Enemy tanks, enemy airships, armored walking vehicles etc. driving the tank around was maybe my most favorite part of the game. I enjoyed it so much. It is really bad that I couldn't get it more often.

Game Duration

The game duration was perfect. Not too long so it won't be tiring and not too short so it would be disappointing and make you think it was a waste of money. Plus you will have to replay a few missions so this will increase the duration. No, it was just perfect.

Tactical Choices

Except the tactical advantages the suit can give to someone, you can use the whole battlefield according to your likings to achieve your goals and reach your objectives. You can climb stairs to get to a high position or you can use the sewers to get passed heavily armed enemies, or you can go around them by using the destroyed buildings and passing through them. You can create a diversion by blowing up or throwing something or you can swim to where you want to go. Using all that with advantages the suit gives you the possibilities are endless. There is no limit on what someone can do. Isn't that great or what?

Sound

The development team have done wonders with sound. Because no matter how cool the graphics are without the appropriate sound are no good at all. And they have done an exceptional job. The sound is so realistic when it comes to shooting, explosions, special effects, vehicles, crashes, voices. Everything was so full with magic. And with the 5.1 dolby that I have sometimes it was really scary....and the game made me jump quite a few times and make my heart beat like crazy... loool :D

One Man Army

I so hate it when in a fps I have to be the so unrealistic one man army. There is no such thing in real life and that makes so much to hate those games that do it. But with Crysis is different. With the Nanosuit and the so many tactical advantages that it gives you it is really possible to be an one man army. Someone highly trained can cause a lot of damage with this suit. Just go back and read all the special abilities it gives to its wearer and tell me that it is not possible to be an one man army.

Kick - Throw - Blow

It sounds weird, doesn't it? Or is it just me? It is one of the most fun features of the game. You can pick up and throw anything in the game and then throw it. From a small tiny box to a full sized man. Grab one of your enemies and then throw him out of the building, or slam him on a wall.

Or maybe you do not like grabbing? What about kicking? Would you like the idea to kick an enemy up in the air? Or kick him to a wall? A door doesn't open? No worries. Just break it down with your legs. A car is blocking your way or you just want to cause some chaos. Then kick it !!!!! Did you find a gas tank at the side of the road and a few enemies are coming towards you really fast? No problem. Kick the tank and then shoot it with your gun. It will blow those enemies up in pieces. Yeah that's right. You can blow up barrels or tanks with fuel or even crates with explosives. The best part is that you can use all that 3 in a combination.

Grab one of the enemies with your hands, holding him up in the air then throw him on another one. Then kick a barrel full of fuel to a bunch of charging enemies and blow them up. Kick a car and will it is sliding shoot it and it will explode. There you are , the area is clear and mission accomplished. Now grab a sandwich from the fridge and call a hot chick to brag about it. And make it believable or she will think you are full of bs.