A great tech achievement, but not much else.
I've been meaning to give this game a try ever since it came out, but due to lack of sufficient processing power of my prehistoric PC, I never could play it, you know, properly. However, recently I got a machine that's at least a little up to snuff, and so forth comes this review.
First of all, as everyone undoubtedly knows by now, this game will truly put any PC to shame. If you're lucky enough to beef it out at high-res and all that jazz, you'll start doubting the level of detail on your room's textures. Even with my fairly recent system, I couldn't get it to run at fast speeds unless I used medium quality settings and a modest resolution. I know 30 may be the standard, but something just bugs my eyes at anything lower than 60.
But now that that's out of the way, let's concentrate on the game itself. Above all, Crysis is, at it's core, a fairly standard sandbox-style shooter. Sure, there's some neat touches here and there added to make it feel unique (the ''Nanosuit'' for instance) along with some interesting and somewhat realistic approaches to weapons (attachable mods).
The A.I. can be impressive at times, but mostly due to their pinpoint accuracy and not actual intelect. You'll find yourself duking it out with opponents at close range at times, only to mow them down without any trouble, because it seems like they missed out on CQC lessions.
The first part of the game has you fighting mostly Korean military along with an occasional helicopter or tank, but the later half of the game takes a more risky and yet more interesting sci-fi turn. Your enemies change to semi-organic alien species, and with that, your tactics don't however. It's disappointing to see that these beings possess even worse intelligence than the human opponents, letting you take advantage of numerous exploits allowing easy victories.
With all this in mind, Crysis can still be very fun. The basic combat is satisfying, and ''cloak'' mode on your suit can make any battle amusing. You can hop into vehicles, with some sections forcing you to do so, and while they may not be perfect, they succeed in providing variety, although with experimentation being encouraged most of the time, it could have been a nice touch to make some of these optional.
It's also not a terribly long game, either. You'll get through with the single player portion in 6-10 hours depending on how much you went off course, which you'll do a lot, simply because it's fun to mess around with your suit. I haven't played any multiplayer yet, but as I have heard, it's supposed to be a combination of Battlefield and Counter-Strike, which sounds quite appealing if you're into that sort of thing.
Crysis looks fantastic. It plays good. It doesn't last long, and has some gameplay quirks here and there. Overall, for those looking for an engaging single player campaign should rent first, but those with the taste for online domination should consider a purchase.
