| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| Xbox 360 | 8.60 |
| Overall | 8.60 |
|
I finally got to play Crysis but the 360 version, better late than never. Lets get this out of the way, this game is not a looker on the 360. The game itself runs fine, no slowdown and the gameplay is totally intact. Everything is interactive, the world can crumble around you but it just does not look that great. I can only imagine how stunning this game must be with max PC settings. Crysis is a semi open world FPS where your character has an awesome suit with special powers. You can cloak yourself like the predator, you can create an armor barrier, and you have enhanced physical abilities. These powers drain an energy bar which regenerates very quickly allowing you to use the powers constantly. The game begins with your character landing on a tropical island where you have an objective. Each level has a large map area you can explore with the main objective usually being a large fortified base with enemies. At the start of the game I was in love with the amount of freedom the game allowed me. I could find a car and use that to drive to my objective or take a boat. I can simply super run my way there and snipe from a high hill. I can charge in and use my powers to create havoc, this option leaving me dead more often than not. I played on hard, not the hardest setting but enough to die quickly if not careful. This created a scenario where I had to play it rather stealthy to get by most enemy encampments. Your cloak gives you all the stealth you need and I quickly learned how to enter cloak, shoot with a silenced weapon and reenter cloak. This is basically the only strategy you need the entire game (or most of it). As the hours went by I slowly realized I was doing the same thing just in new areas. There were no change in enemy types, it was the same basic soldiers for the most part with a vehicle or two thrown in. There were areas where I decided to use other powers and while it is fun you simply die to much using them. In a game like this where I have super powers make it fun for me to use my super powers. I did not feel this games' sandbox gameplay allowed all the gameplay elements to shine compared to a game like MGS. I prefer an open FPS to a corridor one anyday, I still very much enjoyed the combat but there is much more potential that is untapped. Most of the maps are big just to be big with only a few roads or paths that have actual use. There are no secrets to find and the only side missions are very basic and usually very close to a main path. The result is a game that has open maps but does almost nothing with them. Toward the middle of the game you have some scripted vehicle segments which reminds me of Halo but they don't play as well, the change up in gameplay was definitely needed though. There is ONE moment where you battle enemies that have your super suits, just one spot, what the hell. Here is a new challenging enemy that the devs decide to never use again. The last third of the game is filled with a twist, no longer are you battling soldiers with decent AI in big battle grounds. Instead the final chapters are more linear battles with flying squid aliens. I personally enjoyed some of these moments simply cause of the scale of the action, it felt like an awesome sci-fi war movie. The gameplay gets reduced to basically a turret shooting gallery but damn is there some cool stuff going on. Once again there is big potential with these new enemies but they are very basic and the only strategy that works is to simply shoot until they die. The final moments have some boss battles that are more frustrating than fun but I give credit to Crytek for attempting boss battles. I was completely in love with this game the first day, nice open maps with such good perfect shooting mechanics. Sadly there are not enough well scripted segments or interesting enemies to allow your characters powers to shine. Its still a great FPS which never lives up to its full potential. |
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Posted by Dvader Wed, 11 Jul 2012 04:37:49
I used to hate that so much of the game consisted of battling people instead of the cool aliens toward the end, but ever since I started experimenting in the aforementioned ways, I've been able to appreciate this fact. Indeed, if experimentation is your thing, the appearance of the aliens absolutely ruins things, even while making the story more interesting.
It's really too bad that Crytek decided not to release Crysis Warhead on consoles. To me, it's a better experience than the main game, and incredibly long for something considered an expansion. You want set pieces? It's got set pieces. It also has a lot more nanosuit-wearing enemies, and the appearance of the aliens doesn't signal the end of enemy troops, as it did in Crysis. Its environments aren't as expansive, though. If your PC is up to it, I highly recommend getting Warhead. I believe you might be able to use a controller with it (someone correct me if I'm wrong).