The first thing that is strikingly obvious about Crysis 2 is that the series has left the trademark tropical islands for a concrete one. New York sets the stage for some seriously catastrophic events and that’s where you come in. Playing as a marine known as ‘Alcatraz’, you are given the infamous Nanosuit from the original game’s protagonist, Prophet. After being informed of the alien invasion currently taking place, Alcatraz needs to track down a man named Dr. Gould who could have the key to stopping the takeover.

The story itself is actually very good and it builds relevantly on the original game’s premise. The protagonist doesn’t say much, but the narrative is held down by great voice acting of the supporting cast. The pace and direction of the story is also very well timed, and given the 12+ hour campaign, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth.

While the gameplay expands on what the first Crysis introduced, it also gains an identity for itself. Essentially Crysis 2’s missions are structured a little more linear than its predecessor, but don’t be put off, it actually works in the game’s favor. Where the original Crysis stumbled slightly was in its focus and direction for missions, here in Crysis 2, the player is put into large (and we mean large) areas where some objective needs to be completed before progressing to the next area.

There is a multitude of ways to do every segment, although the little bit of structure makes the whole experience much more immersive. Players can use a Tactical Visor which allows a detailed schematic of the battlefield to pop up, highlighting vantage points and objects such as weapon caches.

The hook of the whole Crysis experience is undoubtedly the Nanosuit and its powers. Players need to balance the power of cloaking and armor as each ability depletes an energy bar. Cloaking works well and gives the chance to flank enemies and perform stealth kills, while armor gives that extra boost when standing your ground in fire fights. Both these features add a lot to the strategy of how you approach each situation and really do mix up the traditional FPS formula.

The Nanosuit also increases speed and strength substantially, allowing players to be more agile on the battlefield. Scaling walls, vaulting over ledges and a very handy slide mechanic all help the pace of the game as you can traverse objects fast and efficiently. Players can also interact with certain objects, such as kicking cars, which sometimes gives that extra little ‘thump’ that your enemies may need.

While initially it may not be as striking as the original Crysis’ lush tropical jungles, the sequel is no slouch and is the eye-candy everyone has been waiting for. While many may disagree, the level of detail, gorgeous lighting, fluid animations and absolutely stellar vistas and backdrops trump the original in every department. There are slight graphical and AI glitches; however there is no denying that Crysis 2 is one of the best looking games ever made. Period

All of the Nanosuit’s powers and abilities are undoubtedly carried over into the multiplayer arena. There are a number of team and free-for-all deathmatches, with some capture the flag type modes to mix up the component. Using cloak and armor in multiplayer adds a new level of depth to the online strategy, and with the dynamic and well-designed maps giving players a chance to attack from anywhere, you definately get an experience no other game will offer. 

Crysis 2 is exactly the game you’ve been waiting for. It’s an absolutely drop-gorgeous visual masterpiece, but it’s also so much more than that. All the gameplay mechanics have been tightened up from the original, and all the loose fatty ends cut off. This is a unique FPS experience that you won’t find anywhere else.

Pros

• Eyegasm
• Variety in play styles
• Impressive length of campaign given the quality

Cons

• Controls may overwhelm noobs
• Framerate on console version sometimes trips

Ever since the announcement of Crysis 2 we’ve all been dying to know what the sequel to the PC exclusive is going to be like. Not too long ago Crytek announced that the game would feature a multiplayer component and with the recent drought of epic multiplayer games, we could help but get excited.  Thankfully we had the opportunity to play through the Crysis 2 multiplayer demo.

The demo features a single Crysis 2 multiplayer map as well as two game modes to go along with it. The first being your standard team death match playlist and the other an objective based game mode which requires teams to capture and hold certain areas which gives them points. While these may not seem new, they still make for some entertaining play time.

The actual gameplay of the multiplayer contains some great features which set it apart from other shooters. During a single match, players will have a number of power-ups at their disposal.  These include invisibility cloaks, armour powers ups, enemy warning devices as well as the ability to air smash enemies. One of the other great features of the game is that the overall pace is very fast thanks to lightning like sprinting as well as the fact that your character is capable of some serious jumps which allow you to get up buildings at an alarming rate.

The weapons are well balance and overall the shooting feels fairly solid. It could use some work in order to perfect the feel when shooting. Guns are also customisable and as you rank up you will be able to add attachments such as silencers, scopes, extended mags as well as an attachment which creates a decoy.

While the multiplayer for Crysis 2 may be the side show for the single player, it would be great to see it take off. With a little polishing of some aspects here and there, this has the potential to become a cult multiplayer game.

Among the mix was Crysis 2. The groundbreaking FPS sequel will be heading to PC’s and consoles sometime within the fourth quarter of 2010 (which covers the last 3 months of the year). Dead Space 2 and Dragon Age Origins 2 were also slated for a Q1 release in 2011.

The record selling Sims 3 will also make its jump to home consoles and will drop sometime in Q4 2010.

Many other titles are still on the release calendar from EA this year, including NBA Jam, FIFA Manager 11, NBA Live 11, FIFA 11, Skate 3, Medal of Honor, FIFA 2010: World Cup South Africa and EA Sports MMA to mention a few.

We’ll keep you posted with more information on these titles, as well as their release dates within the coming weeks.