Crysis 2 Review

There seems to be a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Crytek this time with their new game, Crysis 2. A deliberate move away from the Jungle to city with Crytek dubbing it “the urban Jungle” but can they do enough to ensure that this sequel can please all of the fans expectations or will it be just a shadow of its former self?

Watch our video review 


Story
Crysis 2 takes place three years after the events of the first game, in a destroyed New York City, which has since been evacuated due to alien infestation. You take control of Alcatraz, a force recon marine that was attacked by the alien force called the Ceph, a tentacle, squid like race that was behind the incident in the original Crysis. In his dying state, Alcatraz is saved by Prophet who entrusts the suit to him since he himself has been infected by the alien virus. Alcatraz is then sent off to find Nathan Gould in hope of being able to turn back the invasion.

The Ceph in all of their ugly glory!

Gameplay
The main focus of the game is the campaign as this time around, a marine called Alcatraz is the owner of the Nano suit after it was given to him by the previous owner Prophet. Crynet systems have been hunting down Prophet to retrieve the suit in turn hunting Alcatraz because they believe he is Prophet.

The Nano suit is a core function of the gameplay as you switch from stealthily taking out your enemies using the Cloak or going in all guns blazing while protecting yourself using the suit armour. These are the two main functions of the suit and are unlocked as you progress through the game. This is mainly through the Nano suit overriding the player’s actions at certain points of the game.
The suit also features a visor which allows you to locate enemy positions, ammo, weapons and possible tactical opportunities in order to help you plan your attack.

It’s a lot of cool options but don’t think the AI would just sit there for you, they themselves are extremely smart and will be strafing while firing, running for cover or coordinated plans that get you surrounded. The AI is always on the tips of its toes and really shouldn’t be approached carelessly.

Owning the enemy is your job.

I find it good that you are not required to use the visor if you don’t want to therefore allowing the player to decide how he/she would tackle the level instead.

Using the abilities of the suit drains its energy which is represented by a bar in the bottom right. Once this bar goes to zero, whatever function you were using such as the cloak will disappear although there are ways to increase this, how you use the suit and when will play a big part especially when going up against multiple enemies. I guess this a good way to make the game more balanced because things would be a little too easy if you could stay in stealth 24/7 plus it adds challenge to the game in a way to show you that ,yes you are powerful but even you can get a beat down.

Another thing is the ability to upgrade the suit by collecting the aliens DNA Catalyst. The DNA Catalyst is left behind after you defeat a Ceph and depending on the type of Ceph itself, you could receive from 100 to 500 DNA Catalyst. This goes towards boosting your stealth options by silencing your footsteps or reducing the amount of energy drain during Cloak and Armour mode. Each option is available through the fingers on your hand and can be toggled on and off to suit the situation.

Online Multiplayer
Online play is like the main campaign, except a lot more fire and a whole lot crazier. At the beginning of your multiplayer journey, you can only pick between playing in a an instant action (free for all) or Team Instant Action (Team death match) but as you level up you will be able to take part in the more challenging games such as Crash Site and Extraction.

High paced, fast Multiplayer.

During the actual gameplay you get to choose between the four standard classes, Assault, Scout, Sniper and Gunner however if it’s your 1st time, you’ll only be able to choose the Assault class with the others being available once you unlock them. This is done by continuously playing the multiplayer and levelling yourself up as this will give you access to stronger abilities and better weapons.

If you don’t feel like playing random people you can always opt out for Private Match and play with only your friends. You can also create your own Clan Tag, check out the leaderboards and find ways to unlock cool stuff through the Skills Assessment.

Graphics
Crytek have never been a slouch when it came to visuals and it shows here in Crysis 2. The surroundings are absolutely beautiful and done to such detail, it’s almost ridiculous. It’s a safe statement to say that Crysis 2 shows the best visuals on the current gen systems. From the look of a destroyed New York City to the cutscenes

Yeah the graphics are just awesome!

The designs of the aliens give them a real futuristic look with the whole bio mechanical armour and jelly like tentacles; it really shows off their outer space look and intensity as a foreign race wanting the invade the Earth.

Final Verdict
Crysis 2 does more than enough to improve on its predecessor. Through incredible visuals, fast paced action and a whole load of customization options, it deserves to be called a sequel to what was seen as a great game. Yes there are few glitches and the story is not a masterpiece due to the weird plot holes however the online is fun and addictive and should prove to be a good replay ability point for the series.

Story = 8.5/10
Gameplay = 10/10
Graphics = 9.7/10

Final We Know Gamer score = 9.4/10