Crysis 2

For the best part of seventeen years consoles have been trying to emulate the unparalleled experience of playing first person shooters on the PC. For the first time Crysis 2 shows console gamers that they can have the PC experience without the massively expensive gaming rig.

Granted the story is shallow at times, and the characters are the standard stereo types, the game on the other hand visually looks spectacular. The good things far outweigh the bad here.

It looses freedom of movement, but gains spectacle. Whether you are a fan of the original game or not, if you like first-person shooters you'll love this great game.

If I had to sum this game up in one word...that word would be "WOW!"

Crysis 2 is a fantastic game. The graphics are fabulous and the gameplay is great. With Crysis 2 you get a fantastic single-player and a great multi-player. The sequel of Crysis works perfect on the PlayStation 3 and is for every shooter fan an instant buy.

What can I say, finally the prettiest shooter arrives on consoles. Although you haven't all the opportunities from the first Crysis in terms of exploring a whole island, New York seems to be the right choice for action. The Pretty Apple gets all my attention and makes me forget the straight-forward gameplay. Not quite an innovation, but a really great shooter.

While most FPS like CoD series or Halo do improve in each iteration, this is one of the few games that dramatically enhances its previous installment. This is the new FPS, the thinking man's FPS, and I can't wait to get my second playthrough started.

Despite any story hiccups, I can't stress how incredible it all looks.

Crysis 2 takes the ideas and technological prowess of the first game and focuses them into a multifaceted experience that encourages you to go to town with its tactics and physicality. The nanosuit is what defines the Crysis 2 experience, and once you get familiar with its features, it feels as natural as a second skin.

Don't make the mistake of viewing Crysis 2 as a new shooter on the block that has to desperately prove itself to all the established PS3 heavy-hitters. In many ways it's actually the other way around. [May 2011, p.69]

A lot better story than the first Crysis, top notch graphics, smart game mechanics based on the nano suit and a nice multiplayer mode.

Crytek has delivered an extraordinary shooter. The Nanosuit with all its functions is a real joy and it keeps gameplay exciting in both the long singleplayer and the fantastic multiplayer.

Due to great level design the battles, against enemies ranging from the slow and heavy to ones who use ledges to attack from above, never have the scripted feel that you get from many other games.

Crysis 2 feels like a much more refined version of the first game. The plot isn't amazing, but it's much better than the first game, and the pacing is well done.

If you're a fan of shooters, you won't be disappointed with Crysis 2. The lengthy campaign is enjoyable from beginning to end, and the online multiplayer is a unique experience thanks to the nanosuit. Mix in some extraordinary graphics, an outstanding soundtrack, and plenty of replay value, and you've got one of the best shooters of the year, so far.

An absolutly gorgeous game with more to it than a pretty face. The compelling and focused single-player campaign, with its multitude of options, together with a fully fledged multiplayer component makes Crysis 2 one of the most complete first person shooters on the market right now. The AI may have some flaws and the minor graphic glitches tarnish the surface somewhat, but not in any serious way.

At about 14-15 hours in length, it's refreshing to finally play a shooter campaign without feeling short changed at the end.

Crysis 2's shiny graphics are nice and all, but the Nanosuit is the true star of the show. Offering a true sense of power rarely seen in modern shooters, it helps to make this one of the most exciting games of the year.

Crysis 2 is a great game, a superb example of singleplayer gaming with an enjoyable multiplayer, but it's a little hard to justify as a continuation for the superb first iteration in the Crysis series.

If you're tired of fighting corridor-based wars against an endless flow of brainless meatbags, Crysis 2 is worth a look. The unique sandbox approach to gunfights and game-changing nanosuit lend the title a flavor of its own, and Crytek smartly leverages these strengths in both the single- and multiplayer modes.

Among all the weapons Crysis 2 offers to the player, the most important is choice: the free roaming structure of its predecessor comes back somehow transformed, more streamlined and best suited to the NYC concrete jungle. A perfectly balanced gameplay, stunning graphics and an entertaining multiplayer make this a must-have for every FPS addict.

Crysis is a great shooter and brings the current generation to its limits. The visuals offered are some of the best you will ever see and the gameplay doesn't lack behind. You won't be disappointed.

It plays well, encourages creative problem-solving, and confidently delivers a series of escalating and changing encounters and scenarios that will push you to think in a way few shooters have in an era of increasingly funneled experiences.

Crytek's fourth game is their most confident to date, carefully balancing silliness, seriousness, and spectacle, and despite looking like a laundry list of bad shooter clichés at first glance the end product is surprisingly fresh-faced and triumphant. Switching to New York gives Crytek what it desperately needed: a credible sense of menace to go alongside gorgeous technical fortitude and impressive artistic direction.

Crytek's boiling hot sequel is an exhibition in cleverly designed freedom and gorgeous graphics.

The campaign is long and involved, the intensity, emotion and immersiveness continues to get better and better as time goes on, the technical achievement cannot be overstated, and the multiplayer is a rewarding bonus.

Crysis 2 may not live up to every expectation, but its pleasant surprises make up for most of its shortcomings.

Fantastic visuals, fast combat and clever nanosuit mechanics more than compensate for some linear level design, a mediocre story and unvaried enemy design. It's not as good as the first game in the series, but it's a great shooter nonetheless.

An experience unlike any other in terms of gameplay, but the bugs drag the score down.

Crysis 2 is an excellent first person shooter and delivers a different experience than what other titles in the genre are currently offering. "Have it your way" is really the name of the game and whether you love frantic shooters or stealth based games, Crysis 2 has a little of everything.

Crysis 2 is more than just a pretty face. The single player campaign is well paced and at a running time of 9-10 hours is nearly twice as long as your typical shooter. Multiplayer draws heavy inspiration from the likes of Call of Duty and Halo (mostly the former) but still manages to hold its own thanks in large part to the Nanosuit.

Crysis 2 doesn't make as strong of a mark, but in a sea of me-too shooters, it feels unique and offers an exciting journey that's as much your own making as that of the developer. The wow factor is undercut by a few issues--the bargain-bin AI and some unfortunate bugs among them.

A decent, if repetitive, shooter with incredible looks and set-pieces. [May 2011, p.78]

Crysis 2 may not be the new killer app, but it's the complete package when it comes to shooters.

No matter how beautiful the exterior is, Crysis 2 cannot cloak the fact that it lacks the emotional impact to become a classic. Still, Crysis 2 is a lot of fun when you get down to its main hook, which is not the graphics, but the newfangled nanosuit that turns your character into a rockstar killing machine.

At its best as a cerebral shooter but loses something when gameplay gets too overblown. [May 2011, p.82]

The game is fun though. It does get repetitive, and it does feel like a corridor at times, but the desire to see all of New York City, destroyed and lying in ruin, is what will drive you forward. Towards the end of the game it does overstay its welcome, and you'll be wishing you could just walk through the levels with no enemies in sight, detracting from the wonderful visuals. With all that said, the suit powers are enjoyable the first few times and any fan of shooters will have a good time in the game's dystopian New York City.

A game that's still unique, impactful and wholly entertaining despite containing every FPS cliche conceived since Halo and Half-Life. [Issue#108, p.98]

Crysis 2 is an excellent game - one with dynamic combat, smooth controls, and slick visuals. But the unimpressive narrative and rampant glitches hold the overall experience back.

Crysis 2 is an amazing game that doesn't live up to its full potential. The storytelling is au contraire to the new action system and amazing visuals, quite horrible. The game plays like a dream though, contains amazing actions sequences and offers enough variation in its somewhat linear missions. But it's the Nanosuit that makes Crysis 2 stand out from the crowd, which is also the case on the multiplayer front.

The expectations were so many around Crysis 2, perhaps too high for what Crytek actually managed to deliver.

The early pacing really does drag for a few stretches but the latter half of the campaign more than makes up for that and the multiplayer, while a little unbalanced, can present great opportunities for superhuman struggles powered by the ubiquitous Nanosuit.

Neither of the two controller layouts felt particularly comfortable – particularly mapping Fire to the L/R1 buttons rather than the more comfortable/conventional L/R2. Also, compared to the open-plan nature of the original, Crysis 2 is decidedly more linear. It may focus attention on the action, but it's a pity the total freedom of Far Cry, compromised for the original Crysis, continues to be constrained here.

It's excellent - technically strong, visually outstanding and full of welcome fresh ideas. It also has a poorly-told story and a deadening first few hours, but - a crucial but - the de-faced alien at the chewy centre makes it all worthwhile. [Apr 2011, p.97]

I'd rank the single player campaign 7/10, above average in my opinion, but nowhere near as good as I thought it would be. The multiplayer, however - for being one of the most robust and comprehensive online experiences on PS3 - deserves a solid 9/10. With single player and multiplayer in mind then, Crysis 2 scores a very good, but slightly lower than expected 8/10.

Almost perfect visually (depending on the platform), Crysis 2 delivers a solo campaign that is less spectacular than expected. It's not as easy as we'd hoped to dive into this New York atmosphere, hit by an ongoing catastrophe... Crytek didn't hook me, despite the intensity of the fights. Fortunately, the multiplayer is really fun, with mechanics that induce a level of challenge that relies completely on players' skill level.

An astounding technical achievement. It's one of the best-looking games ever, and it knows how to bring the spectacle. Its single-player provides a playground for the joyous nanosuit powers, although some buggy AI and generic aliens keep the campaign from soaring as high as it could have. The multiplayer, meanwhile, is a fantastic buffet of playstyles that rewards the creative player.

Crysis 2 ticks all the right boxes, with a lengthy campaign that packs plenty of replay value and multiplayer options that are bound to prove a big hit. If only the suit's powers were managed a little better, and the AI was up to scratch, we'd be recommending this outright.

While the single-player campaign is something I can see myself returning to a couple more times in a quest for Achievements/Trophies, the multiplayer side of Crysis 2 has me utterly hooked. I came for the pretty graphics, was happy with the solid shooter underneath them and am pretty much beside myself with how unexpectedly good the online play is.

Gets a hell of a lot of things right and is fun - especially if you're willing to experiment with your approach. But some poor design choices and a bizarre level of bugginess let the whole ting down. [Issue#204, p.78]

It's a motif that permeates Crysis 2: everything functions agreeably but nothing engages exceptionally. [May 2011, p.76]

Quotation forthcoming.