Crysis 2

🎮 Steam ⏳ 12 hours ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)

Streamlined Sci-Fi Action #

The second Crysis builds on the strengths of its predecessor with stunning visuals, thanks to the CryEngine 3, and delivers a more streamlined, cinematic single-player experience. Set in a devastated New York City, the game combines sci-fi storytelling with flexible combat thanks to the Nanosuit, allowing players to choose between stealth, armor, or power modes on the fly, so no big news on this regard, except a couple of new suit modes.

Linear But Polished #

While the level design is more linear than the original, it still offers tactical freedom, which was understandable since they decided to focus on urban environments, rather than open jungle areas. The AI can be inconsistent, and the story is somewhat generic, but the game shines with its impressive graphics and solid gunplay. Multiplayer was competent, though not groundbreaking, and I really tried to like it at the time, but quickly gave up since there were far more interesting multiplayer shooters at the time.

Standards Set Internally #

One big difference from the first game was that this entry didn’t really set any standards at the time, instead, it set new standards for itself. This meant that all subsequent entries to this series followed it’s footsteps, so urban environments, same assets, same animations, just adding more content, which was enjoyable at the time, though not for long. This is a visually impressive and action-packed shooter that trades some freedom for polish.