Nanosuit Crytek is for the second time in Crysis 2. With a new parameter, fidelity graphics and sophisticated mechanical, definitely impressed Crysis 2 – but is it enough?
Crytek is defined as a studio that pushes the technical limits of the equipment.
With a game engine that brought the high-end PC to its knees, not too many people have had the privilege to experience Crysis the way the studio had originally planned.
So much so that the game has been slandered with the meme “can run Crysis.” To remedy this, Crytek Crysis 2 be available on all major platforms, but not without a few sacrifices.
Crysis 2 abandons the jungles of the South Pacific for the concrete and glass canyons of New York City.
Assuming the role of a US marine named Alcatraz, the player inherits a bioweapon called the nanosuit from the first game’s protagonist.
The nanosuit allows the player three core abilities: strength, armor, and stealth. The unique suit powers are the center mechanic of Crysis 2′s gameplay and level design. The urban landscape of New York City lends itself well to Crytek’s design philosophies and mechanics. Combat encounters are designed within sandbox-like arenas.
The level design and enemy patrol patterns are wide enough that it allows the player certain tactical options that take advantage of the nanosuit abilities.
An encounter can be carefully planned and scouted with the use of the game’s tactical visor.
When equipped, intel about enemy and ammo locations are highlighted, as well as possible tactical areas of interest.
While the visor recon is a part of the game’s overall lore and fiction, it ultimately made the sandbox combat encounters feel less dynamic and spontaneous – almost as if Crytek were being whispered in the player’s ear, “You can play this part in 3 different ways&”
The nanosuit powers, in practice, work well in encounters. What becomes the main issue in combat, however, is the inconsistent enemy AI.
Since the fiction places the player in-between a corporate army and an alien invading force, Crysis exhibits two distinct kinds of AI patterns – only one of which proved to be of any fun.
The alien counterparts feel predatory in their movement and grouping patterns.
What makes their encounters feel special is that they present the player a sense of parity.
Alien enemies each have nanosuit counter measures that can offset the player’s tactical advantages, making for a more dynamic and interesting encounter.
For instance, I tried to cloak and sneak past a large alien patrol through a wet ditch in an attempt to reach the other side.
Upon hearing the wet pitter-patter of my footsteps, the patrol started to hunt me down and was setting off area-of-effect electric magnetic pulses that, if I were to be hit, would drain the suit’s power automatically.
In comparison, the human AI is stationary in nature and offers no real tactical counter-measures to your core abilities.
What is troubling, however, is that the structure of the narrative alternates between enemy types – creating an awkward experience that is inconsistent in its pace.
The disappointing AI feels like the game’s compromise – as if it had to cut corners in order to render the graphical showcase of Crytek’s game engine.
To that end, Crysis 2 does not disappoint. Quite simply, Crysis 2 is amongst the best looking games to date. What sets Crysis 2 apart from the original, other than evolutionary steps in rendering technologies, is a visual sensibility.
Crytek’s visualization of an infected and war-torn New York City is surprisingly inspired, if not disturbing – especially as it borrows a lot of 9/11 imagery and mise-en-scene.
Crytek swung for the fences with Crysis 2, which offers the most beautiful games current platforms have yet seen. But Crisis 2 is the candidate that beauty contests – even though it is arguably more beautiful than its competitors – or do anything smart things to say when give the microphone.
