Crysis 2

You've probably heard before, but the graphics are top-notch. I'd seen screenshots prior to release, but you have to see it to believe it. I knew it was going to look stunning, but at the beginning of the game, the first time I saw the fire and water effect, I literally thought I was playing a blu-ray film. Literally. I've been playing games for over five years now and these are the best graphics I have ever seen! EVER!

So, it's got the looks but look alone can't win a game. You need that little aspect called gameplay, you know, you get it in most games. It holds up very well here and Crytek have brought in some interesting new ideas. Sort of tactical. Your character is wearing the Nanosuit. A suit which allows him to do many things your enemies can't. Smack th left bumper (L1) to activate 'Maximum Armor', an ability which basically increases your health. Slam the right bumper (R1) to engage 'Cloak'. This effectively turns you invisible, allowing you to sneak past enemies without having to fire a single shot. There are also a few button mashing techniques like jumping, sprinting, sliding and melee-ing, but all of these drain your energy, meaning you can't use them again until it has all restored. For example, you could activate your Cloak , but as soon as you run out of energy, the cloak will disable and you'll have to find some cover if you don't want to get spotted (you don't.) The Nanosuit also allows you to press the back button (SELECT) to tweak your guns eg. Scopes, drums and the like, or you could hold down the back button (SELECT) to bring up your hand and upgrade some new abilities. The game never really asks you to use these, and you don't actually need them to survive. What the game does ask you to do (a lot) is use 'Tactical Mode' by pressing down on the D-pad. From here, you can browse various options on how to tackle your objective. Do you want to go all out attack, or flank them or how about find a vantage point with a sniper rifle and pick them off one-by-one? The choice is yours. So the gameplay is solid, if a little un-responsive at times, and there is a variety of ways to kill your target. Whether it be the guns or the suit.

So onto the story. Near the start of the game you will see a mysterious black man in what looks like your Nanosuit. For wonderous reasons, he shoots himself in the ol' noggin and you'll have to get to the end of the game to find out why. The flashback cut-scenes are amazing and the guy inside the Nanosuit's posture is badass, but there are too many boring tactical cut-scenes where your just looking at a grid with some buildings on it. The end of the game is epic and made me go over to the extras menu just to watch it again. As for the length of the game, it is much longer than your average FPS nowadays, taking me around ten hours to complete with stunning set-pieces aplenty. There are a few dull missions where you kill enemy after enemy, but seen as the gunplay is satisfying, you won't mind too much. To expand the horizon of variety even further, there are some enjoyable vehicle sequences, but these are few and far between. Plenty to go round then. 

Now you know plenty about the single-player, it's time to focus on the multi-player. The servers had no problems for me and when I first got into a match I enjoyed the experience. After experimenting with all the gun classes, I can say that it is faster paced tha Call Of Duty. I admire the artistic approach on the maps and they are a similiar size to those of Battlefield. Of course theres plenty to unlock including dog tags, gun attachments etc. So there is plenty of fun to be had here if your not fixed on the single-player.

A fantastic FPS with the best visuals since... Ever. Gives Call Of Duty a run for its money.

The Good:
- Looks so real!
- Enjoyable online.
- Set-pieces galore.

- Few dull missions

- What ugly?