Crysis 2

Four years after the release of Crysis, German developer Crytek is at it again with the technically awe-striking Crysis 2. This time, however, the team has left the actual jungle for the urban jungle of Manhattan. You play Alcatraz, an ordinary soldier who is quickly outfitted with the game changing Nanosuit and charged with tracking down a valuable ally while repelling an alien invasion. While the first Crysis played like a long tech demo, Crysis 2 is anything but, featuring an engaging campaign with an addictive multiplayer to boot.

Pros:

• Excellent campaign that never feels old. I can tell you with all honesty that there wasn't a single level I didn't enjoy.
• Fairly lengthy campaign clocking in at around 12 hours on the first playthrough. Right after I finished the game, I started a new game on a higher difficulty. The Play+ feature that lets you bring over your suit and weapon upgrades into new games helps add replay value.
• Mesmerizing visuals. From the magnificent lighting to the grand scale throughout the game to the utter destruction of Manhattan, Crysis 2 is easily one of the best if not the best looking game out there.
• The Nanosuit makes every aspect of the game feel fresh and new.
• Several open environments really expands the number of possibilities to approach an encounter.
• Fun multiplayer that features a persistent leveling system with perks and upgrades.
• Sharp controls make traversing NYC and switching through the Nanosuits various powers easy and intuitive.
• For the most part, the AI is enjoyable and challenging.
• Emotional soundtrack that excels throughout the experience.

Cons:

• A couple performance bugs, including framerate slowdown in incredibly hectic situations. I didn’t notice it at all really towards the end, but it occasionally happened in the beginning.
• Occasionally, the AI can be suicidal, and when I mean suicidal, I mean they sometimes glitch and continue walking into a wall until they literally die.
• Some unbalances in the multiplayer. My biggest gripe has to be the spawning. One game in particular involved me spawning at the same time as everyone else at the start of a match then immediately running out of the small room I spawned in and around the corner to see an enemy player spawning right in front of me. I felt kinda bad when I killed him. He didn’t have much of a chance.

While it does have its flaws, they are mere annoyances compared to the many strengths Crysis 2 showcases. At its core, the game is a magnificent sight to behold and just plain fun. It offers much more than its predecessor, and even more than other popular titles on the market.