Crysis 2 Review

Clever AI and grandiose open levels allow you to play at your own pace. The outstanding experience is marred by AI bugs and poorer scripted levels.

Posted by Ben Thomas on April 4, 2011 - 6:01am EST

There are quite a few game modes and modifiers that ensure all player preferences are covered. Standard modes include capture the flag (relay), king of the hill (Crashsite) and deathmatch. Crashsite seems to be the most popular mode outside deathmatch. In Crashsite you take position around short lived alien pods to gain points. These pods, shot down from an alien ship in the sky, are a good location for cheap grenade kills. Deathmatch is probably more satisfying than a lot of other shooters due to the Nanosuit. With fewer players the gameplay naturally becomes more stealth orientated. The game seems well balanced but modifiers can create different twists on the rule set.

And then I go and spoil it all by doing something stupid like explode you

Modifiers alter the gameplay with changes to the standard rules online. Pro mod disables the HUD, turns off kill cam and removes the collection of dog tags to create slower rounds and more reliance on energy management. There is even the Classic mod that removes the suit completely bringing the gameplay down to earth. Unlocks from the campaign are also available like tracking footsteps, tracers or air stomp. Strangely the game sometimes forgot items I unlocked forcing me to unlock them again. The range of unlocks and the three key suit modes work together to create dynamic engagements.

Energy management becomes crucial and makes the gameplay feel fresh and intelligent. Mastery of the suit and clean movement through levels will make you feel even more powerful than during the campaign. Units can de-cloak in front of you and you die very quickly in battle if you use the wrong suit power. There is rarely a dull moment in the 8v8 matches although the spawns can be a little absurd.

The server browser works very well and allows you to easily filter the map, game mode or mod you wish to play. Crysis 2 uses dedicated servers but with a mid game lobby system that lets you customize your gear and vote for maps. The technique is the best of both worlds and I rarely had any issues connecting once the game finally remembered my CD Key. The multiplayer is well polished complement to the campaign.

Who needs tropical islands when you have views like this?

Crysis 2 is a superb game excluding the myriad of problems with AI, bad respawning and a few poorly scripted levels. The problems are disappointing because with the new Nanosuit, smart Ceph AI and open levels the game is regularly magnificent. Replaying some of the levels in stealth against the Aliens almost makes the entire experience worth it. The battles change because your tactics modify in reaction to genuinely clever AI. The multiplayer is a step up from Crysis Wars unless you aren’t fond of gameplay similar to the latest Call of Duty titles. Crysis 2 proves that Crytek can continue to produce tremendous adaptable, open gameplay that allows you play at your own pace.

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Our ratings for Crysis 2 on PC out of 100 (Ratings FAQ)

Presentation

The cityscape looks fantastic with New York in various states of fracture and there is plenty of atmosphere to grasp onto. Very blurry with overused HDR requiring user tweaks. Good musical score and impressive alien creatures

Gameplay

Occasionally sublime thanks to open non-scripted levels, sporadically terrible due to AI bugs. Nanosuit 2.0 improves fluidity of movement in combat.

Single Player

Relatively lengthy with a story placing great importance on the Nanosuit. More memorable than the original and includes a very solid ending. Over 10 hours of gameplay on Veteran difficulty.

Multiplayer

Good use of the suit and a focus on player vs player combat make it better than Crysis Wars. Allows for a range of play styles and includes a good selection of modes and maps.

Performance

(Show PC Specs)

CPU: AMD Phenom II 955 @ 3.2GHz
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 1GB
RAM: 4GB DDR3
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Runs fairly well and the visual presets don�t alter the graphics fidelity greatly. Load times much shorter than those in CryEngine 2.

Overall

Without the numerous AI bugs and respawning issues Crysis 2 would have been a serious match for the original. Instead it is just glorious and worth every cent.