EA crafts a successful sequel in Crysis 2, and has developed one of the more intense shooters on the market.
Written by xGlenn11x
When the original Crysis was first released, gamers and critics everywhere were drooling at the mouth from the amazing graphics and gameplay that were witnessed on the PC. Well, those who said PC's could always out-do consoles can now put that theory to the test with Crysis 2, the sequel to the best looking shooter of all-time. In Crysis 2, you are now in the urban jungle known as New York City, and must take control of the Nanosuit 2.0 to combat a deadly virus and stop an alien invasion. Crysis 2 does a perfect job by not changing the formula, only making minor tweaks to an already solid package. How does Crysis 2 fare with the top shooters today? Well, it blows them out of the water in a lot of ways, while still feeling the need for some more minor improvements.
To keep this review as spoiler-free as possible, I won't discuss the story all that much. You play as a solider named Alcatraz, who is originally on an important mission with his squad. When your submarine is destroyed, you are rescued by a man known as Prophet, who is seen wearing a high-tech suit of some kind. When you wake up, you now wear the suit, known as the Nanosuit 2.0. The man who originally wore it is seen lying dead, from suicide. He turned his mission over to you, and also, his reputation. Now everyone believes you to be this "Prophet", and from there, the game takes off. This is a beautifully written story, and ranks up there with the best first-person shooters up there in this regard.
To find out more about this terrific story, you must play the game for yourself, or simply go to YouTube.
Now Crysis 2 is definitely one of the best first-person shooters in my opinion. Its gameplay seems flawless at times, though it does have the occasional mishap here and there. As far as the gameplay goes, the controls are very responsive for the most part. Sometimes when trying to grab or silently killing an enemy, you may experience some problems, and on the game's harder difficulties, it essentially means death. I didn't have this happen too terribly often, but it is worth noting. You have a variety of weapons to choose from, as well as ways to approach each area of the game. There is always the classic "guns-blazing" tactic that you can choose, though if you are someone who prefers strategy and stealth, you can activate the Nanosuit's cloak for a brief time to move from place to place. Just beware, as it does drain the suit's energy levels quite fast, so plan accordingly in those situations.
You also have a variety of ways to boost your abilities and customize your arsenal of weaponry. I never had a dull moment in Crysis because of this, and even after getting these new abilities and upgrades, I still felt challenged which was very nice to see.
The online play in Crysis 2 did lose a few points for me, though that is not to say it is bad in any way. Very frequently, I experienced lag and choppy play online, and it can cause some interesting things to happen. Could that have been bad luck on my part as to who the host of the game was? Possibly, it very well could have been. The connections weren't horrible, they just weren't good either. You have a variety of maps to choose from as well as game modes, and it keeps everything feeling fresh. The speed is fast and causes you to really think and stay on your toes a lot.
Crysis 2 is a terrific shooter, and one that I think any first-person shooter fan can enjoy. It doesn't change the successful formula of the first game which is very nice to see. Sequels always face the difficult task of being better than those who came before them, and EA and Crytek did a terrific job with everything here. Crysis 2 surpasses the PC original with flying colors, and has a successful debut on consoles.
(+,-)
+Beautiful Visuals
+Fast-Paced Strategic Gameplay
+Well-Written Plot
- Online Connectivity Issues
(Overall Score)
Crysis 2 (X360): 9/10