Looking Back At Crysis Almost 12 Years Later

Back in 2007 I was a freshman in college and one game tormented me because I knew I couldn't play it because at the time the only computer I had was a 2006 Macbook Pro and there was no way in hell this game was coming to the 360 or PS3. When I did actually build a decent rig in late 2008 I discovered it was not only good in the looks department but the gameplay was actually really good and really clever.

Reason it really brought me to attention was not just me replaying it but me thinking what PC game played a major factor in you upgrading your hardware? Also, I guess remembering this great game and maybe potential sequels (the third one didn't do well if I remember right).

Yeah, that's crazy, although I first played Crysis in 2009. I was a senior in high school when the game came out. I bought it on release, but it wasn't until 2009 and a new computer that I could finally play it. I love the first Crysis; it's in my top five shooters of all time for sure. The 360 version was okay by comparison, but it doesn't quite stack up to the PC version. I say I got to play it because of a new PC, but honestly, there was no chance that I got to play it with max settings, let alone high or medium. To get a frame rate of around 45 fps, I had to set everything to low. I still loved it. I am not someone that upgrades PC's, so I've never done that, and I've never played Crysis at max settings with a good frame rate, but it's definitely beautiful. I doubt we'll see a Crysis 4, and I kind of doubt we'll see some sort of remake. Crytek doesn't seem focused on it anymore.

I was hoping for a remaster collection for this-gen, but that never happened. Crysis 2 and 3 don't compare to the first game, but they have their strengths. Crysis 2 at the time of its release though was one of the most disappointing games to me. The human A.I. is atrocious (one of, if not the worst coming out of a big-budget game), a handful of bugs visual and aural, and the voice work could have been better in spots. I initially didn't like the changes from the first game either, like the Ceph, or how the stealth/action works as well as killing off characters from one. It's oddly a game I still kind of go back to though despite all the problems. It has a fantastic soundtrack, and while it's not my favorite take on New York City, I still like it. I like three more than two; it does right where two did wrong in some cases. Yeah though, that game felt like it lacked any kind of hype or excitement around it so that is kind of disappointing. Oh, and Warhead was good, but I didn't like it as much as the main game.

I only remember a few games i upgraded hardware for, surprisingly i managed to play Crysis when it came out and whatever i had was good enough.
I built a new PC for Half Life 2, and the only other one i can remember is getting a new GFX card for The Witcher 2.

Good god it's been twelve years? I never played it, but some part of my brain still thinks of Crysis as the PC benchmark to beat.

@wollywoo: It actually is still a good benchmark game, amazingly. It's far from the crazy demanding game it used to be, but modern gaming PCs still struggle a little with it in parts.

I got a new setup a month ago, and my first thought was "I wonder how Crysis looks..."

But honestly, it was just a cool game. Lots of ways to approach stuff, and I'm one of the few that feels like the sequels were worthwhile, too.

I still think Crysis may be the best FPS in the last 15 or so years. Was kinda funny how it had this reputation of requiring a high end rig to run when I could play it without issue on my $200 laptop back in 2009. On lowest settings of course, but that's what the minimum requirements are for.

I loved the beginning parts of Crysis. Upgraded my GPU for it. The way the human AI panic and take a moment to react to your presence made a big impression on me. This bit from GFW podcast regarding its review and the reactions is also great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0JPn7KK6TA

I built my first pc to play the Witcher 2, and this set me on the path of pc building/upgrading. I think I bought my first graphics card to play Doom 3 but never actually bought or played the game lol.