A lot of promise just to screw on a few points... and with a lousy ending.
Crysis is probably the game that created the longest threads in every forum before its release. Now it is out, and it lives up to all it said it would be. Almost.
First, the graphics. If you can run this thing, then you can run anything for the next 5 years. It simply brings to a crawl anything you throw at him. That shouldn't be a problem, since the graphics are pretty on the MEDIUM setting. Never play on LOW, though, it's plain ugly.
You'll find yourself staring at landscapes, the sunrise over the ocean, a misty river valley, the sun lighting between the leaves. And it's really impressive when an helicopter explodes in the air, sending debris and smoke everywhere, just to fall on some trees and brake them, putting them to the ground.
On the sound part, the only cool thing that you'll notice are the sounds of the alien machines, specially when they are far from your position. Other than that, everything is pretty average. The voice acting is good on some characters, bad on others.
The gameplay is where it is both thrilling and disappointing. The first part of the game sets you in the jungle, trying to find some hostages. It is cool that you can, theoretically, approach every situation the way you want. It's sort of like that, except you can approach every situation either shooting or sneaking, or from two or three different angles. Or, sometimes, you can go around and not face the enemy. That's it. Not much of a choice, if you ask me. If you play on Delta, it is almost impossible to win by only shooting, and you'll eventually have to hide to recover.
The first let down are the enemies. They can take a lot of bullets and, in a game that seems to be so realistic, it's strange having to shoot guys for, five, six times before they fall, unless you score a headshot. You'll get used to it, but it's not cool.
The weapons modifications is a nice touch, so is your armor. All the power and the combos are exciting. But such armor is the second disappointment. It's strange for a special forces soldier to shine bright with red light when jumping to a tall spot, or to become a speedy yellow spot. Specially when it is the enemy using the armor. It's ridiculous spotting them at night turning all red right in front of you, or blinking white everytime you score a hit.
The second part of the game is fun. It's open war between your side and the KPA. Again, you don't have much option, but you'll be able to go through one angle or another. It's cool to have fighters and artillery all aorund you, but it's more a showcase for the eyes then anything else, and it quickly cools down to base invading..
The third part has you inside the alien ship. It's cool, just because you are moving in zero-gravity, and the aliens and enviroment are beautifully crafted and designed. Other than that, it is a linear shooter, which has you running from your enemies rather than facing them.
After that, it's the frozen landscape. Not so beautiful anymore, and things don't quite react to your shots as you'd expect from this game. Also, it's plainly linear and not much fun until you get out of the sphere but, even there, it's just running and gunning.
The last part is big just because it's made to be epic. Other than that, it's more average shooter thrown at you with beautiful graphics. And you'll meet a character that has cliche written all over him, with a plot twist that has cliché written all over it. It's rather disappointg.
All things considered, Crysis is a game that does not inovate that much, except for the graphics side. IT's pretty common, with a plot you will learn to predict but that still draws you in. The biggest drawback being that it does not end. So be prepared to expend that extra buck on the sequel.