Crysis 2

Crysis 2 has a lot of expectations to live up too. It’s the sequel to what many consider to be a landmark PC title, a game that set the benchmark for PC graphics upon it’s release. In addition to that, it’s is also the first game that developer Crytech has made simontaniesly for consoles as well as PC. Thankfully, Crysis 2 does not collapse under the pressure and delivers a fun, often thrilling experience with plenty of value for shooter fans.

Set three years after the events of the original Crysis, New York City has been devastated by an invasion from an alien race known as a Cyeph and people are becoming infected with alien bacteria at an alarming rate. You play as Alcatraz, a slient marine who is being sent into the hot zone on a seemingly standard rescue mission. Almost immediately, the submarine you’re in is destroyed, and your squad gets massacred, you along with it. Thankfully for Alcatraz, Prophet, a character fans will remember from the original Crysis, who wears a high tech nano suit, drags you to safety. Without spoiling how, Prophet gives you the suit and entrusts you with the safety of his friend and your late squads intended target, Dr. Gould.
 
The story tries very hard to explain everything that’s going on. There is a lot of technical jargen about how the suit works and the alien DNA infecting the population, which will likely go over your head. There’s also a corporation that wants your nano suit, other characters want to help you, all while the military needs help with evacuation plans. There’s a lot going on here and it can be somewhat confusing.  
 

One of Crysis 2’s biggest faults is it makes practically no effort to help newcomers to the series. It’s just assumed you know about the factions and character histories. This out more in Crysis 2 since most console gamers never played the original, PC exclusive title. This makes it nearly impossible to care about the characters you encounter. The story isn’t the most compelling, but it guides you from one amazing set piece to the next and does keep you just intrigued enough to want to know what’s going to happen next. Even without an truly engaging story, the campaign stays fun throughout it’s 8-10 length.

Judged solely by it’s shooting mechanics, Crysis 2 is solid. It’s load out is pretty standard with one or two exceptions and it’s shooting feel’s similar to most other shooters. What makes Crysis 2 stand out is the addition of the suit. It affords you a lot of flexibility in how you tackle each encounter and is very effective in making you feel like a one man army. That’s not to say your invincible by any means, but you definetly feel like you have an advantage over the droves of human and alien soliders you’re tasked with fighting.
    
The suit grants you three primary abilities: mobility, strength, and stealth. Mobility is simply activated by sprinting or holding the jump button. You can leap to the roofs of small buildings, quickly flank your enemies, and slide from cover to cover. Strength lets you pick up objects to throw at enemies, grab enemies themselves for a one hit kill, and provides the armor enhancement, which gives extra protection from gunfire and explosions, making you more invunlable while you run for cover. Finally, there’s stealth with puts you in a cloak that makes you near invisible to enemies. With this ability, you can sneak by patrols undetected avoiding combat altogether, silently eliminate every guard with a stealth kill, or duck out of sight from pursuing enemies. To balance the game, there is an energy meter on the bottom right side of the screen that drains as you use these various abilities. This forces you to use your powers carefully less you be caught in the open with no energy left. 

   
Crysis 2 is split between open environments and corridor sections. Each area is fun to explore, though the open areas have a lot more verticality to them and provide much more flexibility in how you approach a given situation. Each style of play is rewarding. You’ll feel the same amount of satisfaction plowing through as heavily guarded checkpoint as you will sneaking past groups of unaware guards. You’re never forced to play one way or the other, leaving you to decide the best approach.
  
The main issue with the gameplay of Crysis 2 is it’s A.I. It is extremely inconsistent. Enemies will occasionally stand still, oblivious the what’s happening around them or get stuck on something or someone, resulting in an odd animation loop. There are also times where you’ll be completely out of sight from any nearby guards only to decloak and have they all sound the alarm. It’s a big enough issue to detract from the experience.
 

The suit and map design carry over into the game’s multiplayer. Crysis 2 contains the now standard perks and unlocks system from other games, as well as killstreaks, though they are not customizable , and modes are standard with Team Deathmatch, King of the Kill, and Capture the Flag variants. The suit is what makes multiplayer truly feel unique. Suit powers are toned down from the campaign for balance purposes, but they are still fun to use. Maps are designed with the same verticality of the campaign, so you’ll never be sure exactly where an enemy will be coming from. It leads to a frantic, addicting online experience.

While it does not pack the same punch as the original, there’s no denying Crysis 2 is technically impressive. Environments are detailed, lighting is remarkable, and explosions and gunfire look and sound like they have real power behind them. The game is bright and beautiful, though not perfect. Texture pop in is occasionally noticeable, object phasing can occur, and the framerate never stays solid when there’s a lot of action of screen, which is all the time. It’s an unfortunate blemish. It should be noted these issues occurred on copy of the game installed on the Xbox360 harddrive.
 

Sound design is largely well done with an excellent musical score that compliments the action perfectly, becoming more subtle during quiet moments. However, there were a few occasions where the music would skip, seemingly at random. Voice acting   unfortunately is largely unremarkable, though the actors get the job done with only a few small exceptions.

Crysis 2 is a great action title that is a breath of fresh air is today’s crowded military shooter market. The suit never gets old to use and allows the game to be played however you decide with multiplayer that is fun and addicting. Even with it’s few noticeable issues, Crysis 2 is worth checking out for shooter fans or those looking for something new.