Crysis Review

Computer Specs:

ASUS G73JW

Intel Core i7-740QM, 1.73GHz

nVIDIA GeForce GTX460M 1.5GB

WIN7 Premium

17.3” FHD Display

8GB DDR5 RAM

Game Specs:

1600x1024

All settings High

No AA

~30-45FPS

Introduction

Well after spoiling myself with a new laptop, I figured it was time to really put it to the test. So here it is; my review of EA and Crytek’s Crysis. Is it more than just a pretty face? Let’s find out.

Story

Crysis, like Crytek’s previous offering Far Cry, takes place entirely on a fictional island in the middle of the ocean. You are Nomad, a member of an elite SpecOps team on a mission to liberate a group of archaeologists after the North Koreans take over the entire island. Exactly why the North Koreans invade and not another country is never really specified, though I guess if you’re going to pick an evil Asian nation, North Korea is on top of the list. Anyway, from the minute you arrive on the island you realise something strange is afoot as bother your team and the Koreans are being picked off by something unseen. Something huge. Something…alien.

All in all I really enjoyed Crysis’ story. It’s told in a very non-invasive manner using both interactive and noninteractive first person cutscenes. The pacing of the game is balanced perfectly, the start is more cerebral, focusing on large open areas with smaller amounts of enemies, while the end levels ramp up the intensity, taking you from one insane battle to the next. While the story isn’t anything new or fantastic, I really enjoyed it and found myself interested in what was going to happen. The cliffhanger ending is brilliant, too. Unfortunately, it is a little on the short side, the whole campaign took me less than 8 hours on normal, but there is a lot of replayability options.

Gameplay

Here is where Crysis really excels. Gameplay. Like Far Cry before it, it’s all about the freedom. But Far Cry feels merely like Crysis BETA. The game is sandbox to a fault. It’s not free roam like GTA or Just Cuase, the entire island is not available to you, you are limited to levels. However, the levels are massive, offering countless gameplay possibilities and scenarios, greatly encouraging strategy and replayability. Heightening this freedom is the NanoSuit. As a super-secret badass soldier, you are of course equipped with the latest and greatest tec. This includes the NanoSuit, a suit that basically turns you into a one man fighting machine. The NanoSuit has four settings: Maximum Armour, Maximum Speed, Maximum Strength and Cloak. Maximum Armour is the default setting ad absorbs bulletfire until the power runs out, very useful in firefights and surviving falls and explosions. Maximum Speed increases your movement speed and allows you to unleash a short super sprint. It’s mainly used for environmental transversal and for escaping hairy situations. Maximum Strength allows you to jump really high, break down doors and walls and pick guys up and throw them around like paper dolls. That’s right, pick them up and throw them. It’s just as fun as it sounds. Maximum Strength is a lot of fun when you get the chance to use it in combat, but outside it’s mainly used for the occasional environmental puzzle like a jammed door or high jump. And finally, my favourite, Cloak. Cloak allows you to turn invisible for a short time. Firing a weapon instantly disables it, whilst running and sprinting saps the power really quickly, but nothing beats the feeling of stalking a patrol through the jungle, picking them off one by one as they run around, desperately firing into the trees. Or sneaking up behind a group, switching to Maximum Strength, grabbing the guy at the back and throwing him into his three mates, killing them all. The possibilities are endless. There’s even a tank and airplane level later in the game, just to shake things up.

Of course, all this freedom would mean nothing if the AI sucked. Thankfully, it doesn’t. Dare I say it; this is the best AI since Half Life. The soldiers react exactly how you would expect. They’ll call in reinforcement under fire, use cover, hide in the environment, split up and flank you, switch to melee if you get too close, they even react like human beings when one of their guys mysteriously winds up dead. Occasionally they get stuck on environments, or spot you behind a tree or through thick grass, but for the most part, the AI never feels cheap or broken. Even the friendly AI is useful. The grunt soldiers are pretty hopeless, but your SpecOps members will blow the shit out of anyone who messes with them, just like badass soldiers do.

Graphics

Ah yes, graphics. It really doesn’t need to be said that despite being over three years old, Crysis is still one of the best looking games available, period. The environments are gorgeous and realistically destructible, the lighting effects stunning, the character design almost human, the water effects glorious etc etc. Also, a lot of love for the alien design. The romp through the alien ship is one of the best parts of the whole game, the design is simultaneously organic and metallic. Truly wonderful and it extends to the creature design too.

Unfortunately, it really isn’t refined very well. I had a lot of trouble getting a consistent framerate. It was consistently above 30fps, but no matter what I did, it flailed between 30 and 40 for no reason, which can make the picture really jumpy. There were occasional pauses and frame rate hitches, too, mainly during heavy combat. It’s a testament to just how much of a system hog this beast is that 3 years later it still rapes your computer.

Sound

The voice acting and sound effects in Crysis are stunning. The guns sound sufficiently powerful, the explosions will rock your world if you’re too close, the enemies (at least at Delta difficulty) chatter away in their native tongue and the voice acting for the most part avoids the usual clichéd supersoldier bullshit. Credit should be given to our own Claudia Black (who voiced Nate’s other love interest in Uncharted 2) as Helena Rosenthal, giving a real believability to her unfortunately underused role. Nomad’s voiceovers are great, too. They are very realistic and never interject where they shouldn’t be. His running commentary during the alien spaceship is wonderful. Unfortunately, some of the characters, like the Admiral, fall into the cliché bin, but you forgive that by the end. He gets what he deserves.

Final Impressions

If you’ve got the hardware to support it and are in any way a fan of Sci-Fi FPS, then you should definitely play this game. I got the entire Crysis bundle for $5 on Steam, so it’s not going to put a hole in your budget. What few flaws it has, it makes up for by making you feel like a total badass, giving you unrivalled freedom to play the game your way, and never failing to blow your freaking mid. Seriously, my favourite moments: the sunrise as you reach the top of the hill on the first level and look out onto the beach, the alien spaceship, and the final battle on the aircraft carrier.

Seriously, you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t get this game. So stop reading and go get it. Go.

Story: 8

A few clichéd elements and the relative short length let you down in the end, but the pacing is superb.

Gameplay: 10

Unrivalled freedom, brilliant AI, massive levels, awesome weapons and the NanoSuit. Just badass.

Graphics: 9

Serious machine hog and lack of optimisation mar how perfect this game looks.

Sound: 9

Some clichéd voice acting and blah music, but the sound effects are awesome

Overall: 9/10

Buy it, rent it, steal it, whatever. Just play this game!