Pulsisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Crytek
Gendre: FPS
Mode: Single & Multi - player
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Xbox360, PS3
Release Date: 24 March 2011
System Requirements: Operating System: Windows 7 / Vista (SP1) / XP (SP3)(Any version of Vista and Windows 7 will work, 32 or 64-bit) Processor: Windows XP: 2.66 GHz Intel Core2Duo OR 2.66 GHz AMD Athlon64 X2 OR better RAM: 3 GB, Video/Graphics: nVidia GTX280 1 GB or ATI HD 4870 1 GB OR better, Video card special: DirectX 9.0c compatible AND Shader model 3.0 / 4.0, Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card, Hard Drive: 9 GB free space, DVD-rom: 8x or faster.
Crysis 2 is the sequel of the breakthrough game of 2007 Crysis and its expansion Crysis Warhead. This 3rd installment of the Crysis series, will take us away from the jungles and throw us in the alien infested New York (needless to say that most evil things happen in NY).
Plot
The game starts with a video that puts you right away into the driver’s seat. It’s the year 2023. An alien race has already attacked earth and a deadly virus which causes external cellular damage has been spread over Manhattan. A Marine Force Recon unit is deployed into New York City by the submarine USS Nautilous, to extract former Crynet employee Doctor Nathan Gould, who may have vital information on combating the alien race. However, the mission fails; the Ceph destroy the sub, and the Force Recon Marine, named Alcatraz, is the only survivor. Delta Force Major Laurence "Prophet" Barnes saves Alcatraz, who is mortally wounded, and then commits suicide due to his infection by the Manhattan virus. Alcatraz then switches places with Darnes by taking his suit. Assuming that Alcatraz is Prophet, Gould gets in contact with him and asks him to meet up with him to escort him out of the city. However, CELL forces led by Commander Dominic Lockhart target Alcatraz, in part of Prophet having previously been infected with the Manhattan virus, and also in part due to ethical disagreements regarding the side effects of wearing the Nanosuits (simply enough he wants the suit).
The game starts with a video that puts you right away into the driver’s seat. It’s the year 2023. An alien race has already attacked earth and a deadly virus which causes external cellular damage has been spread over Manhattan. A Marine Force Recon unit is deployed into New York City by the submarine USS Nautilous, to extract former Crynet employee Doctor Nathan Gould, who may have vital information on combating the alien race. However, the mission fails; the Ceph destroy the sub, and the Force Recon Marine, named Alcatraz, is the only survivor. Delta Force Major Laurence "Prophet" Barnes saves Alcatraz, who is mortally wounded, and then commits suicide due to his infection by the Manhattan virus. Alcatraz then switches places with Darnes by taking his suit. Assuming that Alcatraz is Prophet, Gould gets in contact with him and asks him to meet up with him to escort him out of the city. However, CELL forces led by Commander Dominic Lockhart target Alcatraz, in part of Prophet having previously been infected with the Manhattan virus, and also in part due to ethical disagreements regarding the side effects of wearing the Nanosuits (simply enough he wants the suit).
The fact is that once more everybody wants to kill your character. The aliens attack you because your task is to prevent their invasion and Cryteks paramilitary forces attack you because they want to take control of the Nanosuit. It is an interesting plot, but all know how the whole story is going to end.
Gameplay
Crysis 2 is a first-person shooter. You will be called to take control of Alcatraz and save the world. Similar to its predecessor, Crysis 2 provides the freedom to customize your weapons and Nanosuit abilities, according to your gameplay style. Crysis 2 offers enormous and varied environments all over the destroyed New York City. You make your way through office buildings, across crumbling bridges, and through city squares, places infected with either robotic aliens. Except aliens, you also deal with soldiers who defend their bases against your character. But once more you possess the Nanosuit, a unique uniform that protects you against gunfire, makes you faster and stronger and generally better.
The new Nanosuit supports new and upgraded features. The suit you now have is upgraded; more modes can be simultaneously activated. This is decidedly different than the first game, in which the suit was generally limited to a single mode at a time and multiple modes cannot be used simultaneously for more than a second. The first suit's Strength and Speed Modes have been combined into the new Power Mode, the suit binoculars function has been upgraded with an advanced Tactical mode, the Cloaking Device has been modified to allow increased sensory input and silent melee stealth kills and has been renamed to Stealth Mode, while the Armor Mode has been left more or less as it was, with the exception of slightly restricted agility and an non-depleting energy levels. The Armor Mode will give you the sensation of being a two-legged tank and enemies will have to spend more than one clip to take you down. So, this mode allows players to take their time aiming without getting to cover.
In-game, enemies AI is quite realistic. Sure you can set them up for ambushes but a careless shot most of the time is enough to reveal your position and get you surrounded in seconds. That’s why you have to use a tactical approach rather than brute force to attack an enemy base. When you fight human enemies the ability to kill them one by one from above with a sniper rifle or use stealth kills is impressive and predatory; but facing aliens is harder because they use guns with higher fire power and more hitpoints.
Sadly, the game suffers from AI glitches which cause moments of bizarre behavior. Enemies walk in circles or remain completely oblivious to the gunshots and explosions inches away from them. Sometimes you are able, turning on cloak mode and crouching, to avoid lots of enemies as far as you don’t get too close to them. Moreover, Crysis 2 checkpoint system is annoying to unforgiving with no chance of quick –saving.
Multiplayer
Crysis 2 multiplayer mode is a fascinating and chaotic experience. Set in the future, each player is given the Nanosuit which enhances their abilities out in the battlefield. You can perform insanely fast sprint speeds, crazy sky high jumps or even go invisible.
Crysis 2 is all about speed, adaptability and precision. There is no camping in a corner until an enemy runs beside you, because camping is the easier way to be killed (every player’s suit is glowing blue or orange, so it’s easy to be spotted). Crysis 2 also relies on the usual health system found in most of all current shooters. You are never going to die by a single shot in the foot like Call of Duty, but half of a clip can take you down.
As for the games types Crysis 2 multiplayer includes; they are six available with a ton of different variations. Team Death match named as Team Instant Action, Capture the Relay which is essentially Capture the Flag, Extraction which has one team defending an object, while another attempts to capture bring it back to helicopter for extraction. Although, the most played game mode is Crash Site which is similar to Call of Duty’s headquarters.
And finally the Assault mode. One team equipped with assault rifles and other guns but without Nanosuit abilities, are called to defend up to five Intel terminals from being uploaded. While the other team with Nanosuit abilities but equipped only with a pistol must go near an uploading terminal and upload the data in order to win the round.
On the other hand, Crysis 2 multiplayer mode has many online connection problems that can be very annoying. But, Crytek promised that a patch is going to come out to fix any online problem so the gamers can enjoy every part of the game.
Unlike its predecessor Crysis 2 is easier for the PC to handle. It still gives a magnificent spectacle, but more than a few graphical elements seem to have gone. The greatest change is that the game is no longer set in a jungle but in a destroyed city. This surely makes plants and trees less of a concern. Crysis 2 has similar foliage to Crysis but it does not behave the same way. Only a few shrubs move when you brush against them but most let you pass through as if they were not there.
Crysis also offered enormous draw distances which took their toll on performance. By contrast, Crysis 2 has a limited scope. Cities with tall buildings make for very good graphical cutoffs while distant elements seem to be backdrops, thus, this change helps it to maintain as much as possible low frame rate. Light, on the other hand, is not directed as in Crysis or Far Cry, it cascades, through trees or glass, over buildings reflecting around levels in a way you have not met in a game before. Considering that both Crysis and Far Cry took place on an island, surrounded by water, it would be a bad element to ignore water reflection and underwater refraction. The cityscapes of Crysis 2 remove the need for a heavy emphasis on incredibly detailed water.
Furthermore, you still have the ability to destroy in-game objects, like benches, cars and more without reason, just for the fun of it. Although it is still a demanding game, your system will be able to “run” more efficiently than the first Crysis. Also, the upcoming DirectX11 patch will probably modify the game to a whole new level!
SOUND
The sound effects in the game are a mixed bag. While player movement and object interaction is realistic and convincing, the gunshots and weapons are not.
Footsteps, crashes, radio chatter and dialogue are all top quality and one can notice the effort that the developers put into it and it does a lot to immerse the player. Yet all of that goes out the window when the player fires a gun.
The SCAR and the SCARAB weapons almost seem muted and the shotgun also lacks that distinctive "bang" that satisfies players as they fire the weapon. Even the sniper rifle lacks the echoing bang that comes with one-shot kills.
The in-game background music on the other hand is acceptable. The score amplifies the atmosphere of confusion and desperation very well as there are moments in the game where one could just stand and stare and the New York skyline with the music playing, though it is not recommended as the player will most probably end up shot to pieces.
Summarizing, the game is a must for your collection. Although, it doesn't offer a thrilling plot, yet it is the best of all other FPS of that time. Graphics, somewhat more light that its predessesors, are kept at a level so that more PCs could actually support them, still they give a remarkable experience you wouldn't like to forget! You will definitely enjoy this title.
 |
Pros: Graphics, nanosuit, stealth mode, background sceneries, final mission
Cons: Somewhat poor AI, weapon sounds and variety.
Plot: 8
Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 9
Sound: 7
Constitution: 7
General: 8,5
No comments:
Post a Comment