Crysis

Those who have never played Crysis will still be aware of how great this game looks. This spiritual successor to Far Cry revolutionised graphical technology to such an extent that barely any computer was capable of running it at maximum settings at the time of its release in 2007. While the game received a lot of criticism for its uncanny system requirements, and quickly 'earned' a dubious reputation as system hog, it still stands as the epitome of current-gen graphical technology. Being able to behold Crysis in full glory is still one of the biggest reasons why gamers decide to get a new rig.

Without undermining the game's well-deserved reputation as a graphical masterpiece, however, it must be noted that Crysis is so much more than the glorified tech demo many people have since made it out to be. It does not attempt to reinvent the FPS genre, but it does offer incredibly solid, open-ended gameplay, well-dosed action, an incredible degree of polish, and a few subtle but worthwhile innovations, all of which make for one of the most satisfying single player shooting experiences to date.

Like in many shooters, the story of Crysis is hardly worth the trouble. You're part of an elite team of mariners equipped with high-tech Nanosuits, and your job is to investigate the nature of sudden North Korean military presence on a tropical island. Eventually you will stumble upon an ancient alien race that had been trapped inside a mountain, and aims to destroy mankind after having unintentionally been released by the North Koreans. Nothing out of the ordinary, although it must be said that the over-the-top, bombastic presentation succeeds in making these events more interesting than they would otherwise be, generating many 'wow'-moments along the way.

More importantly, these concepts make for some interesting gameplay possibilities despite of their simplicity. The Nanosuit, for example, is one of the most prominent new features in Crysis. This high-tech military suit allows you to choose between various superhuman powers. Armour lets you take a few more hits than normal, strength enables you to jump a few meters into the air and improves your odds in melee combat, cloak will make you turn invisible, while speed allows you to sprint faster. Utilising these powers (bar armour), however, requires energy. Your energy bar quickly regenerates just like your health, but it does prevent the suit powers from completely dominating the experience, instead offering you tools to just give you that little edge in combat.

What makes Crysis truly shine, though, is the open-ended gameplay throughout most of the game. Every level has a start and an end, but how the latter is reached is mostly up to the player. The levels have a large 'sandbox' feel to them, as you can often complete objectives in whichever order you like. Occasionally there are optional objectives that have the potential to facilitate the main mission at hand. Better yet, different playstyles can be adopted. There's the obvious 'no-nonsense, take no prisoners, shoot everything that moves'-approach, while the cloak function, despite being limited by an energy bar, allows for a more stealth-like, silent assassin method.

Fortunately, the stealth actually works in Crysis. The North Koreans really won't spot you as long as you are either invisible or hidden behind cover. And even if you are discovered, you can easily run into the jungle and hide from your enemies if there are too many of them. The stealth approach obviously takes more patience, and applying it a lot can really take the pace out of the game, seeing as there are many parts where you might not even encounter a single enemy in 10 minutes time. The AI also tends to be a bit too dumb for its own sake, as enemies will stop pursuit too quickly at times, blurting out phrases like 'it probably was nothing', even if there's a pile of dead bodies within sight that proves the contrary. But it is very refreshing to have AI that doesn't have eyes in its back and doesn't play by its own set of cheap rules.

To add to the custom gameplay, there's a decent amount of weapons to be found along the way, most of which can be tweaked to suit the player's style. Silencers can be mounted on most weapons, as well as flashlights, reflex sights, various scopes, and more. In essence it is more limited than it could have been, as you will probably end up mounting the same set of attachments on whatever weapon you are carrying. It is good to know, however, that while these guns can be enhanced and streamlined to fit your preferences, it still requires skill and thought to operate them properly. The weapons all have their strengths and weaknesses, and their accuracy isn't as forgiving as in arcade shooters. The ballistics aren't nearly as complicated as in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or ArmA, but taking out a dozen enemies requires a combination of smart combat positioning and an efficient use of weaponry. So while Crysis is still a super soldier experience pur sang, victory on the battlefield should never be taken for granted.

The unseen before technical polish supports the game's strong fundament to such an extent that many were fooled into thinking that Crysis is all about the technology behind it. The graphics are top notch, and despite its age, Crysis is still the single best-looking game money can buy, at least when it comes to the technical side of things. One could argue that the jungle environment does spark a sense of redundancy at times, but it all looks so good that it's barely worth complaining about. The sound also goes to show how much money and effort went into this project. The voice acting is really as good as it gets, even if the story itself is not all that interesting. The North Koreans, however, communicate in broken English, which can dampen the immersion quite a bit. They do speak their native tongue on the maximum difficulty setting, but there should at least have been an option for players to decide this for themselves. It's only a minor complaint, though, especially if you take into consideration the amazing sound effects, be they background noises or gigantic explosions. All in all, the sound department does not fail to further elevate an already great single player experience.

That single player experience lasts for about 12 hours, but it can differ greatly depending on what playstyle you choose to adopt. This also happens to be why Crysis has a very high replay value: not a single level feels the same once you play it again. Even many of the later, more linear levels still allow the player to make quite a few choices in how he reaches his goal. And that is exactly where the strength of this game lies, perhaps even more so than in its well-known technical refinedness. Crysis refuses to restrict its players, allowing them to treat many of its levels like one big playground for them to toy around in. The concept of sandbox gameplay seldomly took a more literal form.

Jesse Dolman, NoobFeed.