Crysis 2

Granted the story is shallow at times, and the characters are the standard stereo types, the game on the other hand visually looks spectacular. The good things far outweigh the bad here.

It looses freedom of movement, but gains spectacle. Whether you are a fan of the original game or not, if you like first-person shooters you'll love this great game.

Probably the best all-around first-person shooter we've seen since the original.

Crysis 2 is a great game, a superb example of singleplayer gaming with an enjoyable multiplayer, but it's a little hard to justify as a continuation of the superb first iteration in the Crysis series.

The long and diverse single player campaign is only faulted by a too simple IA, but the technical achievements Crytek was able to get will probably make up for it for most of the gamers. Add to all of this, the complex and satisfactory multiplayer and what you'll get is one of the best FPS around, both on consoles and PC.

While most FPS like CoD series or Halo do improve in each iteration, this is one of the few games that dramatically enhances its previous installment. This is the new FPS, the thinking man's FPS, and I can't wait to get my second playthrough started.

New York in ruins, alien invasion and a hi-tech suit? Sounds like a typical B-movie. This time it's different – it's done with such perfection and enthusiasm that all FPSs can finally retire – either 2nd World War or modern. [Issue#203]

A terrific improvement over the original game, Crysis 2 has some of the best visuals in history, while the gameplay is both clever and fun. [May 2011, p.69]

Crysis 2 isn't perfect in terms of gameplay, but it is definitely one picturesque and epic game.

Crysis 2 feels like a much more refined version of the first game. The plot isn't amazing, but it's much better than the first game, and the pacing is well done.

If you're a fan of shooters, you won't be disappointed with Crysis 2. The lengthy campaign is enjoyable from beginning to end, and the online multiplayer is a unique experience thanks to the nanosuit. Mix in some extraordinary graphics, an outstanding soundtrack, and plenty of replay value, and you've got one of the best shooters of the year, so far.

The open world of Crysis is no more and players are confined to long levels, but Crysis 2 offers more speed and more action and still more freedom than the whole Call of Duty series combined. The nanosuit much more important now and a lot easier to use.

It's the Nanosuit that proves to be the star of the show, offering myriad ways to tackle Crysis 2's comprehensive combat.

Crysis 2's shiny graphics are nice and all, but the Nanosuit is the true star of the show. Offering a true sense of power rarely seen in modern shooters, it helps to make this one of the most exciting games of the year.

An enjoyable and very spectacular campaign that gets more intense with every mission, a decent multiplayer that should provide many hours of great fun for the lovers of fast-paced action, excellent audio and visuals - this game has everything that defines a real blockbuster.

It's a beautiful, engrossing experience that avoids the anemic, scripted playbook made law by the 500 pound shooter gorilla.

Compared to other Shooters of today, Crysis 2 manages to stand out easily. Graphics, Sound, Handling, Story, Gameplay-variety, Content ... Crysis 2 has it all. The only problem is: If you compare it to its own predecessor, things are starting to get complicated. Because to my mind, Crysis 1 was, in fact, the better game. So if you haven't played it yet, you'd better change that ASAP. If you did however: Go get Part Two, it's definitely still worth the money.

If you're tired of fighting corridor-based wars against an endless flow of brainless meatbags, Crysis 2 is worth a look. The unique sandbox approach to gunfights and game-changing nanosuit lend the title a flavor of its own, and Crytek smartly leverages these strengths in both the single- and multiplayer modes.

Crysis 2 merges technical perfection with an excellent gameplay on every single platform without compromises, thus setting a new standard in the FPS genre.

Crysis 2 is an excellent shooter, suggested to FPS maniacs and eye-candy graphics-addicted alike. The singleplayer experience is a strong challenge under the mental and skill side; this, along with good longevity for the today's shooter standards, make Crysis 2 a must for everyone with a lust for carnage, despite the fact that it's not innovative as the first chapter of the series.

Fantastic visuals, fast combat and clever nanosuit mechanics more than compensate for some linear leveldesign, a mediocre story and unvaried enemy design. It's not as good as the first game in the series, but it's a great shooter nonetheless.

Crytek's fourth game is their most confident to date, carefully balancing silliness, seriousness, and spectacle, and despite looking like a laundry list of bad shooter clichés at first glance the end product is surprisingly fresh-faced and triumphant. Switching to New York gives Crytek what it desperately needed: a credible sense of menace to go alongside gorgeous technical fortitude and impressive artistic direction.

Crysis 2 is mean, hard and incredible good looking. The multiplayer offers good fun and the singleplayer exciting. Crysis 2 is in every way a worthy sequel to the first masterpiece that is the first Crysis.

Visually near-perfect, but the ample action is bottlenecked by narrower level design and a weaker Nanosuit.

An experience unlike any other in terms of gameplay, but the bugs drag the score down.

The wow factor is undercut by some AI and multiplayer oddities. But while the lows are inescapable, the highs are intense, and the more you play, the more extraordinary they become.

Crysis 2 may not be the new killer app, but it's the complete package when it comes to shooters.

As human mercenary enemies make way for the dreaded aliens, the AI suffers a brain haemorrhage and the game needs to distract you with spectacular visual events to distract you from your stand and shoot enemies. It's as good as any recent shooter at epic moments and gun-toting drama, but it feels a little shallow once you realise how remedial the all-conquering alien force actually are.

It's this frustration that turns Crysis 2 from a raging river into a swollen lake. Everything it does well, it does really well. As an overall experience it looks great, feels great and tells a great yarn. Its bells all whistle and its trinkets all sparkle. But this dazzling array of graphical and technical wizardry hides the fact that water has quietly seeped into this title's few cracks. Some of the core gameplay mechanics that you'd expect a tier one developer like Crytek to knock out of the park, are instead a little rusted over.

When we played Crysis 2 on the consoles, we honestly could have taken or left it. Only on the PC do we feel comfortable recommending and replaying Crytek's best game yet – and its first chance of matching technical prowess with good game design.

A tighter, louder and gaudier journey than the first, but the core sandbox gameplay still manages to occasionally shine through. It's also the best looking game the PC has ever seen. [May 2011, p.72]

Although amendments have been made to cater Crysis 2 to a multi-platform audience, it is still a fun game for shooter enthusiasts. It's brilliant use of the nanosuit, high production values and good weapon physics make Crysis 2 a great first person shooter in singleplayer and multiplayer.

While losing some of the scope and ambition of the first game, Crysis 2 is still a phenomenal title which rewards the inventive player and takes FPS into a different direction for the better.

It doesn't give hardcore PC gamers every little feature they want, and that might be enough to sink the game entirely in many people's eyes, but Crysis 2 is still one of the biggest and most ambitious PC shooter releases in quite a while and it should prove to be well worth the purchase for most.

An astounding technical achievement. It's one of the best-looking games ever, and it knows how to bring the spectacle. Its single-player provides a playground for the joyous nanosuit powers, although some buggy AI and generic aliens keep the campaign from soaring as high as it could have. The multiplayer, meanwhile, is a fantastic buffet of playstyles that rewards the creative player.

The campaign lasts about 6-8 hours, but it's really not particularly fun or interesting. Things that made Crysis so awesome, like destructible buildings/foliage and vast sandbox environments, are nonexistent in the sequel, and the "new and improved" nanosuit is little more than a shell of its former self.

As a showcase for the power of CryENGINE 3, Crysis 2 is a gorgeous showstopper. But as a game, it's an average, action-packed shooter that will thrill you with amazing set-pieces, frustrate you with shoddy AI, and confuse you with a fractured story. If there is one reason you have to play Crysis 2, it is for the fantastic multiplayer.

Crucially, Crysis 2 represents the maturation of first-person shooters in general. Gone are the ludicrous system requirements, and the open-world setting. Instead, the series has shifted to a more focused linear playing field, where your actions are guided by the game rather than by your own curiosity.

Crytek's motto is "Maximum Game". Alas, Crysis 2 is anything but. Well, it happens when you activate the "Maximum Profit" mode instead of "Maximum Creativity".

Played correctly, it's still fun, but never feels as important as its older brother did. [May 2011, p.79]