Crysis 2

Crysis 2 Review

Kid Safe: Low                     Game Quality: Very High

Genre: First Person Shooter

-          This game is characterized by the viewpoint and weapons used in the title. In a first person shooter, you are looking down the barrel of a gun as though you yourself are holding the weapon. Likewise, as the term "shooter" implies, the game specifically uses guns and firearms.

Internet Requirements: Moderate

-          Crysis 2 features a moderate amount of internet requirement in the form of online multiplayer. Despite having a rather impressive single player story-mode, this title also features an in-depth and well done multiplayer mode that allows players to engage in battles with people from around the world.

Story Summary: In Crysis 2, you take the role of "Alcatraz" a Force Recon Marine sent in to New York

City during a national crisis to rescue Dr. Nathan Gould. At the time you go in, there has been a massive outbreak of the "Manhattan virus", a gruesome flesh-eating plague akin to the Ebola virus which literally breaks people down at a cellular level. Horrible viruses aside, the city is now under attack from the Ceph, a group of hostile alien invaders who are rumored to have introduced the Manhattan virus into the population.  On top of all of this, you must also battle the CELL organization, a group of military trained soldiers looking to eliminate Alcatraz under suspicion of having been infected with the virus as well as get at his high-tech body-armor, the Nanosuit.  Now you must rescue Gould, the only man who might have information to save New York and, quite possibly, the world.

Kid Safe: Low

-          Foul Language: High

o   Crysis 2 features a high amount of foul language, primarily in the world "f*ck", "motherf*cker", "s*it", and "b*tch". Ironically, while the majority of foul language is found throughout the single player mode, most of the cursing from Crysis 2 is found in the online multiplayer. You will regularly hear characters (not players) screaming profanity, their most favorite word being "f*ck", "motherf*cker", "f*ckers", and more. Players will hear these words regularly throughout gameplay.

-          Violence and Gore: Very High - Not Recommended for Children

o   Crysis 2 features a very high amount of both violence and gore. To begin with, as a first person shooter, the primary focus of the gameplay is to shoot and kill others. Target enemies will be either human CELL operatives in masked military-attire or the Ceph aliens, which range from small, spider-like creatures to humanoid-like creatures. Enemies will spray blood and gore from open wounds when they are shot or stabbed before they crumple and collapse to the ground.

o   Players will use an array of different weapons and abilities to fight and kill their enemies including but not limited to pistols, rifles, submachine guns, heavy machine guns, assault weaponry, sniper rifles, knives, grenades, and more. Players are able to run over enemies with a variety of vehicles that they find around the streets of New York City, as well. Players are also able to use special abilities like "stealth kills" which allow them to sneak up behind an unsuspecting enemy and perform a "special attack" on them where they either grab the enemy and stab them in the throat with a combat knife or they break the enemy's neck.

o   Aside from gameplay violence, players will experience a number of disturbing scenes and visuals. Within the first couple minutes of starting the game, you will meet a man who, after telling his story and providing you the Nanosuit, will take a gun and shoot himself in the head. You will run into a large number of dead or dying New York civilians that are being consumed or were killed by the flesh-eating Manhattan Virus, leaving bodies strewn about in various states of decay, bloating, bleeding, and gore. You will run into several medically-gory scenes as well, one example being where an individual was left dead on an operating table, mostly covered by a blanket but with his sliced open abdomen available for all to see. Finally, you find out that a number of the alien "structures" are in fact human bodies that have been melted down and used as an organic building material.

             

-          Sexually-Related Content: Very Low

o   Crysis 2 features a very low amount of sexually-related content in the form of slight nudity. Amongst the dead bodies that you find from the plague, players will occasionally run into slightly nude individuals with bare buttocks.

-          Use of Drugs and Alcohol: Very Low

o   Crysis 2 features a very low amount of drug and alcohol usage which in only via reference. Early in the game, there is the reference that, "Contrary to popular belief, tequila is not good for your health."

             

Game Quality: Very High

-          Graphics / Visuals: Very High

o   Crysis 2 has, by far, the best graphics that I have seen to date in almost every aspect, with the exception of one or two shortfalls with the human faces. The intensity of the visuals is simply breathtaking. As I worked my way through the decimated city-streets of New York City, I found myself drawn by the nearly photorealistic visuals. I cannot count the times that I was killed by a random enemy because I found myself just standing there staring into the distance or crawling about, examining the texture of a floor. As ridiculous as these claims may sound, they are completely true. If you have ever been to New York, or obviously live in New York, I have no doubt that you will be blown away as you look over the city skyline or walk through the streets. I normally have more to say, but I don't. Almost every street, structure and car looks almost like it should in real life. Also, the water.....oh the water. Some of the basic water graphics I have ever seen.

o   But! You don't come here to listen to me gab about how much I like something, therefore I'm going to get a bit nitpicky. First, the facial animations require a bit more work. For something with such intense structural visuals, the fact that the humans' facial structure moves like a puppet is a bit disconcerting. They could have easily have tried to integrate new motion-capture technology that uses real actors. Secondly, while the foliage in the game is a beauty, it's an illusion and every branch and leaf is strangely flat; causing it to take away from the experience.

   

-          Audio: High

o   The audio quality in Crysis 2 is rather impressive as well, especially in the area of sound effects and voice acting, but does tend to fall a bit short in the area of background music. To start, the sound effects are top notch and this title features some of the better gunshots that you will hear. Each firearm gives off a different sound effect that actually resonates with the player rather than the standard "plinkplinkplink" sounds that tend to saturate the market. Likewise, every little nuance of things like water dripping in the distance, rocks skittering as they are kicked, or footsteps landing heavy or soft really intensifies the gameplay, allowing you to, quite literally, play things by ear.

o   The voice acting is also near the top of the scale with acting not only being limited to "main characters" but a number of side characters and soldiers. Crysis 2 includes a notable list of voice actors, including, but not limited to, Jeff Mash, Peter Brooke, Tommy Campbell, and Andrew Byron. Every actor nails their lines with pinpoint accuracy that not only matches their characters to a "T", but portrays just the right emotion to pull the story along without a hitch.

o   However, the one shortfall for this title is the music. While Crysis 2 certainly has a minor musical score to accompany the game, it tends to feel a bit lack luster. I can't think of a single song or score that really hit home or made any real impact. It's not bad, it's just not good either. It's not even worth noting.

-          Gameplay / Playability: Very High

o   Crysis 2 boasts an exceptionally high level of both gameplay and playability that picks up the first-person shooter genre and shakes it by its shoulders. First, concerning playability. Players are slowly and systematically introduced to every aspect of the game's features over the course of several hours, allowing them to not only become more familiar with each combat tactic, but also allowing them to consider different ways to use them. Equally, the game has several difficulty modes that can be switched at any time so that a player may decide just how hard they want the game to be, or reduce it if the going is getting a bit rough.

o   However, the  gameplay is Crysis's real shining point. While taking a relatively well-recognized and over-used style of gameplay, the developers threw in a huge number of new features to make gameplay interesting. Using the "Nanosuit" powers, a player can, at any time, turn invisible, become super strong, become invulnerable to damage, and even scan the surrounding areas for threats, weapons, and tactical options like infiltration points. These are usable in both single and multiplayer modes. Nanosuits aside, players are actually able to modify their special abilities and their weapons in real-time in game so that they can customize EXACTLY how they want to play the game and what they want or need to take on a certain situation.

o   Last but not least, players are not limited to a single approach to any given problem. By examining the battlefield through "nano-vision", players are able to assess several different options on how to handle a situation. Maybe you would like to go guns blazing through an enemy camp? Maybe you'd rather steal an assault vehicle and go it that route. Perhaps you aren't looking to shed blood at all, but instead stealthily sneak through an infiltration point. Play the way YOU want to.

          

-          Dollar-Value: Very High

o   Overall, Crysis 2 has a Very High dollar value. Without even mentioning the rather impressive graphics and gameplay elements, this title still has features to boot. The single player mode can take anywhere from 10 to 14 hours of solid gameplay depending on your level of skill. On top of this, once you get done with the single player story mode, you can engage in a rather impressive online multiplayer mode that features an in-depth leveling system that rewards players for how long and how well they play the game. As players engage in the multiplayer more, they will unlock more and more weapons, armors, and special "nano-suit" powers, as well as additional game modes and possibilities. All in all, if you want a fun, fast, and fresh new first-person shooter, Crysis 2 is worth a pick up.

Recommendations

-          If you are looking for a first-person shooter with less blood, death, and destruction, we recommend the Battlefield series, namely Battlefield 2 or Battlefield Bad Company, or the Halo series. If you are not bothered by the violence and are looking for a high quality shooter, we still recommend the Battlefield series but we also recommend taking a look at the Call of Duty series, namely Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2.