The Official Crysis 2 thread - Review embargo finally ends at 12PM on launch day

Release Date: March 22, 2011

PS3,360,PC

For some reason, there was a review embargo up till 12PM today even though the game officially came out earlier today. Figured the reviews would be up by midnight last night but apparently EA was being a bit too anal about reviews. Kinda baffling since the reviews have been glowing so far.

Reviews:

Giantbomb: 4/5

Gamespot: 8.5

Eurogamer 8/10

IGN 9.0

Launch Trailer:

http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/red-hot-crysis-2-launch-trailer-fires-in

Who knows how Crytek managed to squeeze Cry Engine 3 onto the consoles while maintaining such extraordinary level of detail? But this world sits next to Uncharted 2's as the most detailed and well-expressed yet seen on our TVs.Eurogamer

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The single player looks fantastic. I am getting this today (hopefully the 360 version). Will post impressions later. Anyone else picking this up today?

Should be coming in from Gamefly tomorrow. I'm pretty pumped for it.

While I will like to get the game right away on the X360, I'll hold out and get the PC version ( getting a custom PC later this year for Battlefield 3 ) and my backlog is huge right now.

There is no directx11 support as of yet or 64bit in my PC version of the game i got. Bought it both for PC and PS3 from bestbuy

Just got it for 360. Don't care what any reviews say (and I don't want to know), the game is f***ing incredible so far (90 minutes in)

From PC Gamer:

New York promotes much less of the exploration, emergence and casual application of inhuman power that the tropical island did in the original Crysis. Having just replayed that game, it's so disappointing that Crysis 2 isn't a game where I can pick up a chicken and punch it a quarter mile down the block, or take a joyride on a boat on a whim. Natural jungles and their urban counterparts are obviously fundamentally different, but the inclusion of a number of linear, narrow sections—sewers, parking structures, office buildings, elevators, and two linear turret-firing vehicle battles—inhibits the freedom the Nanosuit's superhuman mobility provides. Expressing your abilities as a player demands vertical and horizontal space, and there's less of it in NYC than I would've liked.

Worse is the omission of a dedicated strength mode and of fists as a selectable weapon. There's a melee bash attack, but it's not the same as leveling an enemy with a super-powered fist. It's subtle stuff—and some of it may be necessary to balance the game—but it sums to a feeling that simplifying the Nanosuit, while promoting accessibility, eliminates some of the ridiculous, emergent, purposefully overpowered stuff I did in Crysis.

This game may look and play best on PC, but the cross-platform development has definitely had an impact. Specifically, it's disappointing to see that Crysis 2 makes some absolutely baffling technical omissions. The graphics settings menu offers just four areas to adjust: resolution, v-sync, HUD bobbing, and one of three pre-defined quality settings. Why can't I pick what level of anti-aliasing or shadow quality I want in PC gaming's most beautiful game? Quick-saving, too, is replaced by checkpoint autosaves; a developer console was also nowhere to be found.

Pretty much what I expected. I've been watching lots of gameplay videos and while it does seem quite more open than your average FPS, it still pales in comparison to the original. The lack of options certainly doesn't sit well with me either. It also seems that this time around the nanosuit is the focus whereas in the original it was just one more tool at the player's disposal.

All that said, Crysis 2 seems to offer engaging urban combat against smart AI. I needed a demo for a day 1 sale, though, so I'll be getting this once the price drops or if it's a Steam deal.

From PC Gamer:

New York promotes much less of the exploration, emergence and casual application of inhuman power that the tropical island did in the original Crysis. Having just replayed that game, it's so disappointing that Crysis 2 isn't a game where I can pick up a chicken and punch it a quarter mile down the block, or take a joyride on a boat on a whim. Natural jungles and their urban counterparts are obviously fundamentally different, but the inclusion of a number of linear, narrow sections—sewers, parking structures, office buildings, elevators, and two linear turret-firing vehicle battles—inhibits the freedom the Nanosuit's superhuman mobility provides. Expressing your abilities as a player demands vertical and horizontal space, and there's less of it in NYC than I would've liked.

Worse is the omission of a dedicated strength mode and of fists as a selectable weapon. There's a melee bash attack, but it's not the same as leveling an enemy with a super-powered fist. It's subtle stuff—and some of it may be necessary to balance the game—but it sums to a feeling that simplifying the Nanosuit, while promoting accessibility, eliminates some of the ridiculous, emergent, purposefully overpowered stuff I did in Crysis.

This game may look and play best on PC, but the cross-platform development has definitely had an impact. Specifically, it's disappointing to see that Crysis 2 makes some absolutely baffling technical omissions. The graphics settings menu offers just four areas to adjust: resolution, v-sync, HUD bobbing, and one of three pre-defined quality settings. Why can't I pick what level of anti-aliasing or shadow quality I want in PC gaming's most beautiful game? Quick-saving, too, is replaced by checkpoint autosaves; a developer console was also nowhere to be found.

Pretty much what I expected. I've been watching lots of gameplay videos and while it does seem quite more open than your average FPS, it still pales in comparison to the original. The lack of options certainly doesn't sit well with me either. It also seems that this time around the nanosuit is the focus whereas in the original it was just one more tool at the player's disposal.

All that said, Crysis 2 seems to offer engaging urban combat against smart AI. I needed a demo for a day 1 sale, though, so I'll be getting this once the price drops or if it's a Steam deal.

UpInFlames

I can definitely see why fans of the original might feel burned or even betrayed by the direction Crytek went with the sequel, but I am also very tired of playing linear shooters with even linear shooting galleries. From the looks of it, Crysis 2 still offers more sandbox gameplay than any other shooter out there save for Halo and to a lesser extent Killzone, with some of the prettiest visuals on consoles and that's good enough for me. :)

Just got the game, installing now. :D

Played for an hour. The main titles were awesome. The intro was also pretty cool, best water effects I've seen in ma life! But it was kinda disappointing to see the visuals once you got out in the open. I mean it's nice to see massive skyscrapers around you, but the framerate isnt particularly smooth. It's kinda jittery and I'm certainly not digging the shimmering. Loving the weapon nozzle effects though, gives it a very visceral feel.... there's just something beautiful in watching heat distortion produced by firing your weapon. :D One thing I dont like is the iron sights, they block the whole screen, you can barely see through it. WTF? I seriously hope we get some decent scoped rifles, though judging from the awesome level of customization in this game, that's probably a given.

Cant rave more about the gameplay. This is definitely not a run and gun shooter. You have tons of options to tackle each situation, and I dont just mean open enviornments that allow for flanking manuvers like in Halo or Killzone. You can go invisible and take out enemies silently or you can beef up your armor and go Rambo. But here is the beauty of this system, you can switch your playstyIe on the fly. Let's say going rambo isnt working out for you and you have ten enemies closing in on you, simply go invisible, sneak out of harms way and either go back to being a lone wolf or stalk your prey like a snake.

The enviornments are full of interactable objects. You can pick up just about anything and throw it at your enemy, or you can simply kick cars or other big objects and smash people with them. it's fun everytime. :lol:

The gameplay in this game is such a breath of fresh air, finally a game that doesn't ask me to shoot everything to proceed. There are also 'Tactical Options' whenever you approach a new enemy territory but I'm not sure what I am supposed to do there.

Asi the story, this is your standard FPS shooter material with some random dude barking orders at you over the phone and no actual plot developments outside of gettin from Point A to Point B. Your character is a mute which is mind boggling considering this is 2011 and FPS devs are still stuck in the 90s. The graphics are slightly disappointing, but other than that, I just know I am going to have a lot of fun with this game.

Played a few matches of MP and about 2 hours of SP, easily my favorite FPS so far this gen :P.

In regards to no initial DX11 support......just found this out this morning from the guys at EVGA.

Crytek is preparing a patch that will add DX11 (and all of it's eye candy improvements). Hopefully we'll see this ASAP after the release!

My copy has been dispatched and i should get it by this friday and i ordered the 360 version.

But it was kinda disappointing to see the visuals once you got out in the open. I mean it's nice to see massive skyscrapers around you, but the framerate isnt particularly smooth. It's kinda jittery and I'm certainly not digging the shimmering.

S0lidSnake

Really?

The visuals are the best I've seen in a console shooter, besting even Killzone 3, which is gorgeous in its own right.

Also, I've been playing through the XB360 version and thus far the framerate has been generally smooth. It certainly dips here and there but given what this game is delivering the tradeoff seems worth it.

Still, it seems to be a consistent 30 fps most of the time. (Apparently the PS3 version has some more noticeable framerate issues)

[QUOTE="S0lidSnake"]

But it was kinda disappointing to see the visuals once you got out in the open. I mean it's nice to see massive skyscrapers around you, but the framerate isnt particularly smooth. It's kinda jittery and I'm certainly not digging the shimmering.

Grammaton-Cleric

Really?

The visuals are the best I've seen in a console shooter, besting even Killzone 3, which is gorgeous in its own right.

Also, I've been playing through the XB360 version and thus far the framerate has been generally smooth. It certainly dips here and there but given what this game is delivering the tradeoff seems worth it.

Still, it seems to be a consistent 30 fps most of the time. (Apparently the PS3 version has some more noticeable framerate issues)

I dont think there are frame drops like in Assasin's Creed, more like a consistent sub 30 framerate. especially when turning and shooting, the shimmering on trees was kinda bad too. I do love the visual touches like the Depth of field, the motion blur and of course the heat distortion effects. The intro with the water is probably the most amazing visual effect i've seen in a video game.

How far along in the game are you? I am starting the section on the FDR drive. I hear it starts looking better later in the campaign.

Going to pick up my copy today so I am really happy about that!!!!!! :D

From what I been hearing it well worth it..

I dont think there are frame drops like in Assasin's Creed, more like a consistent sub 30 framerate. especially when turning and shooting, the shimmering on trees was kinda bad too. I do love the visual touches like the Depth of field, the motion blur and of course the heat distortion effects. The intro with the water is probably the most amazing visual effect i've seen in a video game.

How far along in the game are you? I am starting the section on the FDR drive. I hear it starts looking better later in the campaign.

S0lidSnake

I'm just a tad further than you. (The FDR collapse was amazing looking.)

The most jarring framerate drops I've experienced have been, oddly enough, when I zoom out using the scope on one of the rifles. The framerate certainly dips but the game has played mostly briskly, though not nearly as fluid as something like COD. (Understandable given the much more intensive graphical demands being levied against the console)

Did you install the game to the HD? From what I've heard this makes a bit of difference in terms of performance, including improved load times, less texture pop-up, and a slightly more stable framerate.

The motion blur is among the best I've experienced on a console and the game achieves photo-realism in several instances. Also, while the human enemies move similar to other FPS, the aliens traverse the terrain with strikingly fluid and realistic animation that borders of surrealism.

Incidentally, I've only played the demo of KZ3. It actually seemed pretty stable in terms of fps. Does it maintain that framerate throughout the single player campaign?

[QUOTE="S0lidSnake"]

I dont think there are frame drops like in Assasin's Creed, more like a consistent sub 30 framerate. especially when turning and shooting, the shimmering on trees was kinda bad too. I do love the visual touches like the Depth of field, the motion blur and of course the heat distortion effects. The intro with the water is probably the most amazing visual effect i've seen in a video game.

How far along in the game are you? I am starting the section on the FDR drive. I hear it starts looking better later in the campaign.

Grammaton-Cleric

I'm just a tad further than you. (The FDR collapse was amazing looking.)

The most jarring framerate drops I've experienced have been, oddly enough, when I zoom out using the scope on one of the rifles. The framerate certainly dips but the game has played mostly briskly, though not nearly as fluid as something like COD. (Understandable given the much more intensive graphical demands being levied against the console)

Did you install the game to the HD? From what I've heard this makes a bit of difference in terms of performance, including improved load times, less texture pop-up, and a slightly more stable framerate.

The motion blur is among the best I've experienced on a console and the game achieves photo-realism in several instances. Also, while the human enemies move similar to other FPS, the aliens traverse the terrain with strikingly fluid and realistic animation that borders of surrealism.

Incidentally, I've only played the demo of KZ3. It actually seemed pretty stable in terms of fps. Does it maintain that framerate throughout the single player campaign?

Yeah, the zooming in and out can be a bit jarring. But I love how there is transition animation everytime you zoom in AND out. Most games dont even bother with that, and some do it too quickly. I have the game running off the HD, and have experienced no texture pop-in whatsoever. I definitely agree that the game is more photorealistic than any other game I've played. The tall manhattan skyscrapers look very realistic and love the motion blur when turning your rifle, but that results in the slightly jittery framerate that hinders the overall performance.

KZ3 has one major sequence early on in the game when the framerate dips to below 20, but it's extremely smooth through out. It's just as weighty as Crysis 2, but turning doesn't have an effect on the framerate(probably because they have toned down the motion blur a lot which doesn't cause a hit to the framerate) It also has this gorgeous lighting, sharp IQ, and fantastic art direction. I will go back and play it again to compare but i think KZ3 just barely edges out Crysis 2. But of course i havent played the whole game yet.

Loved fighting the aliens btw. Still need to formulate a decent strategy to counter their fast movements. I had to resort to maximum armor to be able to take their melee attacks.

Yeah, the zooming in and out can be a bit jarring. But I love how there is transition animation everytime you zoom in AND out. Most games dont even bother with that, and some do it too quickly. I have the game running off the HD, and have experienced no texture pop-in whatsoever. I definitely agree that the game is more photorealistic than any other game I've played. The tall manhattan skyscrapers look very realistic and love the motion blur when turning your rifle, but that results in the slightly jittery framerate that hinders the overall performance.

KZ3 has one major sequence early on in the game when the framerate dips to below 20, but it's extremely smooth through out. It's just as weighty as Crysis 2, but turning doesn't have an effect on the framerate(probably because they have toned down the motion blur a lot which doesn't cause a hit to the framerate) It also has this gorgeous lighting, sharp IQ, and fantastic art direction. I will go back and play it again to compare but i think KZ3 just barely edges out Crysis 2. But of course i havent played the whole game yet.

Loved fighting the aliens btw. Still need to formulate a decent strategy to counter their fast movements. I had to resort to maximum armor to be able to take their melee attacks.

S0lidSnake

I came away very impressed by the KZ3 demo. I think Crysis 2 has the technical edge overall but that margin is slim as both games are mind-blowing in terms of graphic fidelity. I'll have to play both fully to make a final decision but it's damn close.

I've been using the armor against the aliens as well and I love the seamless integration of the suit into the gameplay. They've also done a good job with allowing you to perform tall leaps and grab unto ledges, making this feel a bit like Mirror's Edge with superior shooting mechanics.

This game offer more variety and viable combat solutions than any FPS I've played in recent memory. The choke grab is seriously cool and nasty. (Does it act as a human shield?)

I haven't read many replies in this topic but I can already tell what they're saying --

"There's not as much freedom as Crysis 1!" Waaaahh!

"It's dumbed down for consoles!" Waaahh!

:lol:

I never played Crysis 1, but I can definitely say this is the best single-player FPS experience since Bioshock (on consoles). I'm blown away at the brilliance of Crysis 2's gameplay, and it's apparent a meticulous level of care has gone into the single-player experience, which is a non-existent gameplay model for shooters nowadays. The game is captivating, exciting, rewarding, and just plain badass. I feel sorry for people who aren't as blown away by this game as I am. Oh well, you can always wait for Half Life 3, which should come out sometime in 2035.Hahaha!

XoXo

Waiting to find my wallet to buy it, then its game time. >:)

It looks nice from the review, almost a shame its a shooter. =pAllicrombie

It's NOT a shooter. it's a first person stealth action game like Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid. if you are patient enough, you can sneak through almost every situaton without firing a single shot.

I came away very impressed by the KZ3 demo. I think Crysis 2 has the technical edge overall but that margin is slim as both games are mind-blowing in terms of graphic fidelity. I'll have to play both fully to make a final decision but it's damn close.

I've been using the armor against the aliens as well and I love the seamless integration of the suit into the gameplay. They've also done a good job with allowing you to perform tall leaps and grab unto ledges, making this feel a bit like Mirror's Edge with superior shooting mechanics.

This game offer more variety and viable combat solutions than any FPS I've played in recent memory. The choke grab is seriously cool and nasty. (Does it act as a human shield?)

Grammaton-Cleric

How do you do the choke grab? So far the only melee's i've been able to do are the kicks and the stealth kills.

Crysis 2 definitely has the edge considering how massive some of these levels are. It feels like an open world game at times, like a next generation version of GTA4. Massive draw distance, incredibly detailed textures and has this really cool film grain effect that makes it look photorealistic at times. I played the vehicle section just now and the visual effects, heat distortion, explosions with those ripple-wave effects have been pretty awesome to look at. And even though it came at a cost of an unstable framerate, it was not bad like in the PS3 version of AC2 and Brotherhood so nothing to complain about. Dont care for the dawn/dusk lighting, but it looks gorgeous during daytime. Cant wait to see the night time..the E3 demo sold me on the game.

Yesterday I loved all the combat options available to me, but today it was a bit frustrating since I kept getting caught by the enemy A.I even though I would be behind cover. Somehow the enemies would still magically locate my position and start shooting at me. I say only a bit frustrating because they would lose me the instant I would put the cloak back on. I suppose it's too much to expect decent enemy A.I routines in a shooter, but there ARE occasions when they would notice me cloaked in and investigate, but on other occasions run right past by me or stop shooting me the second I activate the cloak.

Played for about three hours today and didn't fight the aliens so that was disappointing but the helicopter fight was fantastic! When those dudes started repelling down, it felt like I was part of some cool action scene from a Schwarzenegger movie. The variety in gameplay situations manages to keep impressing me level after level, but so far I've been able to stumble stealth my way out of each situation. Would definitely play it more rambo in my next playthrough.

No impressions on the story because i have no idea what's going on. lol

How do you do the choke grab? So far the only melee's i've been able to do are the kicks and the stealth kills.

S0lidSnake

I believe it's hold X, RT to throw.

I'm with you guys, I'm loving this so far. Quite possibly my favorite FPS in a long, long time (like since the original Halo long...). Visceral shootouts, great sound, decent graphics, and an interface so streamlined it's just a pleasure to play. While I enjoyed the original, I really am not as proficient at playing it with the mouse and keyboard as I am at this because I always have to search for the proper key, and I found it difficult to change suit powers at a moment's notice. Unlike here. Playing this has made me want to try the first using a controller.

My only gripes are the uncanny ability for enemies to locate me when I'm fairly well hidden to recharge, and the inconsistency of the A.I. I also found many of the suit's upgrades to be a bit lame and not quite necessary or tactically applicable. For the most part the A.I.'s more than adequate, but there's definitely some questionable moments here and there. But there are times it's incredible. One time I had silently taken out an alien with the knife. One of his patrolling buddies found him, he then called his friends over and they then proceeded to search in wider and wider circles from the body, walking around behind obstacles and hiding spots, doing their decloaking impulse wave every so often trying to flush me out as I silently snuck away. It was awesome to see.

Finally, I never get tired of hearing, "cloak engaged" followed by the predator-esque clicking sound effect. Ah, I love it. And damn the campaign is LONG. Almost too long. This is definitely great bang for the buck.

[QUOTE="S0lidSnake"]

Yeah, the zooming in and out can be a bit jarring. But I love how there is transition animation everytime you zoom in AND out. Most games dont even bother with that, and some do it too quickly. I have the game running off the HD, and have experienced no texture pop-in whatsoever. I definitely agree that the game is more photorealistic than any other game I've played. The tall manhattan skyscrapers look very realistic and love the motion blur when turning your rifle, but that results in the slightly jittery framerate that hinders the overall performance.

KZ3 has one major sequence early on in the game when the framerate dips to below 20, but it's extremely smooth through out. It's just as weighty as Crysis 2, but turning doesn't have an effect on the framerate(probably because they have toned down the motion blur a lot which doesn't cause a hit to the framerate) It also has this gorgeous lighting, sharp IQ, and fantastic art direction. I will go back and play it again to compare but i think KZ3 just barely edges out Crysis 2. But of course i havent played the whole game yet.

Loved fighting the aliens btw. Still need to formulate a decent strategy to counter their fast movements. I had to resort to maximum armor to be able to take their melee attacks.

Grammaton-Cleric

I came away very impressed by the KZ3 demo. I think Crysis 2 has the technical edge overall

Crysis 2 NXE Install size, 5.5GB! Killzone 3 on blu-ray.

CryTek must be magicians or developers from the future or something, because how in the world they got Crysis 2 looking this good within 5.5GB is beyond my comprehension!

I kind of wish CryTek added a few more MP maps with the extra space on the DVD. :(

[QUOTE="Allicrombie"]It looks nice from the review, almost a shame its a shooter. =pS0lidSnake

It's NOT a shooter. it's a first person stealth action game like Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid. if you are patient enough, you can sneak through almost every situaton without firing a single shot.

Oh c'mon. There are tons of segments where you have no choice but to shoot your way out. This is an FPS, you just have options to tackle situations that you see fit. Portal isn't a shooter. Crysis is.

Anyway, I'm loving the game. I just hate what they did to the aliens. Everything else is top notch... except the aliens :P

Yesterday I loved all the combat options available to me, but today it was a bit frustrating since I kept getting caught by the enemy A.I even though I would be behind cover. Somehow the enemies would still magically locate my position and start shooting at me. I say only a bit frustrating because they would lose me the instant I would put the cloak back on. I suppose it's too much to expect decent enemy A.I routines in a shooter, but there ARE occasions when they would notice me cloaked in and investigate, but on other occasions run right past by me or stop shooting me the second I activate the cloak.

S0lidSnake

A lot of shooters rely on enemy placement and tons of scripting (as opposed to AI) to make encounters interesting, but there are shooters out there which boast strong AI. FEAR 1 and KZ2 and 3 have sharp AI and I seem to recall you saying that Halo Reach has sharp AI.

[QUOTE="S0lidSnake"]

Yesterday I loved all the combat options available to me, but today it was a bit frustrating since I kept getting caught by the enemy A.I even though I would be behind cover. Somehow the enemies would still magically locate my position and start shooting at me. I say only a bit frustrating because they would lose me the instant I would put the cloak back on. I suppose it's too much to expect decent enemy A.I routines in a shooter, but there ARE occasions when they would notice me cloaked in and investigate, but on other occasions run right past by me or stop shooting me the second I activate the cloak.

CarnageHeart

A lot of shooters rely on enemy placement and tons of scripting (as opposed to AI) to make encounters interesting, but there are shooters out there which boast strong AI. FEAR 1 and KZ2 and 3 have sharp AI and I seem to recall you saying that Halo Reach has sharp AI.

I suppose I should've been more clear. The AI in KZ and Halo only have to worry about "action" or "combat" scenarios. In Crysis 2, Crytek had to implement not only action/combat AI routines but also stealth ones like in MGS games. Like mentioned earlier by Rekunta, if patrolling enemies locate one of their fallen comrades, they will begin to investigate and go into 'Caution' mode.... if I can borrow a term from the MGS games. It's pretty brilliant when it works, but sadly it's very incosistent. Like I said, there were times when I would be taking a stealth route, go in the subway, and right when I would decloak, the enemy patrols on the Street level would start firing from above through the concrete. There's no way they could've seen me. Sometimes they completely fail to notice you when you are cloaked and are sitting right infront of them, but then there was a time when I was cloaked below a staircase, and the enemy soldier climding down the stairs was magically alerted to my presence. Made no sense whatsoever.

I did have a brilliant moment where i blew up an ememy base to create a diversion, cloaked up and started moving back. I saw a soldier running towards the enemy base and we ended up face to face, I kept my cool and stood still, cloaked. He kept running, ran right past me but slowly turned his head back to see if there was something there. I kept still and he shrugged it off and kept running. Pretty awesome and definitely not something I've seen in KZ or Halo.

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

[QUOTE="S0lidSnake"]

Yesterday I loved all the combat options available to me, but today it was a bit frustrating since I kept getting caught by the enemy A.I even though I would be behind cover. Somehow the enemies would still magically locate my position and start shooting at me. I say only a bit frustrating because they would lose me the instant I would put the cloak back on. I suppose it's too much to expect decent enemy A.I routines in a shooter, but there ARE occasions when they would notice me cloaked in and investigate, but on other occasions run right past by me or stop shooting me the second I activate the cloak.

S0lidSnake

A lot of shooters rely on enemy placement and tons of scripting (as opposed to AI) to make encounters interesting, but there are shooters out there which boast strong AI. FEAR 1 and KZ2 and 3 have sharp AI and I seem to recall you saying that Halo Reach has sharp AI.

I suppose I should've been more clear. The AI in KZ and Halo only have to worry about "action" or "combat" scenarios. In Crysis 2, Crytek had to implement not only action/combat AI routines but also stealth ones like in MGS games. Like mentioned earlier by Rekunta, if patrolling enemies locate one of their fallen comrades, they will begin to investigate and go into 'Caution' mode.... if I can borrow a term from the MGS games. It's pretty brilliant when it works, but sadly it's very incosistent. Like I said, there were times when I would be taking a stealth route, go in the subway, and right when I would decloak, the enemy patrols on the Street level would start firing from above through the concrete. There's no way they could've seen me. Sometimes they completely fail to notice you when you are cloaked and are sitting right infront of them, but then there was a time when I was cloaked below a staircase, and the enemy soldier climding down the stairs was magically alerted to my presence. Made no sense whatsoever.

I did have a brilliant moment where i blew up an ememy base to create a diversion, cloaked up and started moving back. I saw a soldier running towards the enemy base and we ended up face to face, I kept my cool and stood still, cloaked. He kept running, ran right past me but slowly turned his head back to see if there was something there. I kept still and he shrugged it off and kept running. Pretty awesome and definitely not something I've seen in KZ or Halo.

To avoid the problem you're complaining about, the stealth games I'm familiar with have a ruleset which governs awareness (nods towards MGS, Tenchu, Splinter Cell and Riddick). It doesn't sound like the ruleset of Crysis is well constructed if detection/nondetection is that erratic. Also, I've seen complaints in some reviews (including GS's) and some Youtube videos indicating that the combat AI is pretty bad.

Also, while they aren't as stealth heavy, the KZs (and Uncharted 2) do limit the awareness of enemies moreso than many shooters. Once a firefight begins every enemy on the battlefield knows they are in a firefight, but unless someone has eyes on you, they don't know where you are so its possible to ambush or sneak past enemies. By way of contrast, in Uncharted 1 and Resistance 2, once the bullets started flying, enemies always knew exactly where you were and oriented themselves accordingly.

DigitalFoundry has their analysis up for the console versions. It looks like they turned out much closer than that assy PS3 demo led me to believe.

-360 runs at native 720p, PS3 runs at 1024x720
-PS3 version is stretched horizontally leaving a 'stretched' effect
-Occasional tearing but is basically invisible during gameplay
-Both versions employ temporal AA and also use edge detect blur for the foreground
-PS3 has better texture filtering
-360 has better framerate than PS3 version
-In the most stressful areas PS3 actually manages to hold the framerate a bit better than the 360 even though the 360 commands the framerate advantage
-Shadow offset issues on PS3 but on closer inspection the PS3 shadows are less blocky
-The game sometimes uses prerendered FMVs, author says they're the worst quality they've seen in some time(my guess is BINK), on top of that they're the -same quality on both platforms even though the PS3 game is only 7.5GB and the 360 is 5.5GB so they clearly had tons of space left to improve video quality.

I really hope developers stop using BINK for FMVs. It looks awful every time.

looking forward to get the game! Looks amazing in single player, and can't complain about the MP either...

Saw it in the game store In GB and they are realising it on the 25th, so tomorrow I will get my hands on it!

My gf said i was a nerd to be lucky forward to the game, tbh, don't care, Its like what gamestation said in the store,

"Buy this, its cheaper the you girlfirend" LOL

DigitalFoundry has their analysis up for the console versions. It looks like they turned out much closer than that assy PS3 demo led me to believe.

-360 runs at native 720p, PS3 runs at 1024x720
-PS3 version is stretched horizontally leaving a 'stretched' effect
-Occasional tearing but is basically invisible during gameplay
-Both versions employ temporal AA and also use edge detect blur for the foreground
-PS3 has better texture filtering
-360 has better framerate than PS3 version
-In the most stressful areas PS3 actually manages to hold the framerate a bit better than the 360 even though the 360 commands the framerate advantage
-Shadow offset issues on PS3 but on closer inspection the PS3 shadows are less blocky
-The game sometimes uses prerendered FMVs, author says they're the worst quality they've seen in some time(my guess is BINK), on top of that they're the -same quality on both platforms even though the PS3 game is only 7.5GB and the 360 is 5.5GB so they clearly had tons of space left to improve video quality.

I really hope developers stop using BINK for FMVs. It looks awful every time.

rragnaar

KZ3 uses BINK and its cutscenes look freaking awesome. But then again, it does employ a higher bit rate which should've fixed Crysis 2's BINK issues as well. If i remember correctly, the 70 minutes of cutscenes in KZ3 used up almost 12GBs on the bluray. Not sure why Crytek didnt use up the Bluray. I can understand them not wanting to do a dual layered DVD for the 360, but a single layered Bluray can hold upto 25GBs. Weird.

Luckily, the game has little to no cutscenes/story so it's not an issue.

So glad I'm not the only one who thought the framerate was bad at times. I've been stealthing my way through the past few sections and haven't seen any major drops in the framerate which tells me I should stick with being stealthy.

DigitalFoundry has their analysis up for the console versions. It looks like they turned out much closer than that assy PS3 demo led me to believe.

-360 runs at native 720p, PS3 runs at 1024x720
-PS3 version is stretched horizontally leaving a 'stretched' effect
-Occasional tearing but is basically invisible during gameplay
-Both versions employ temporal AA and also use edge detect blur for the foreground
-PS3 has better texture filtering
-360 has better framerate than PS3 version
-In the most stressful areas PS3 actually manages to hold the framerate a bit better than the 360 even though the 360 commands the framerate advantage
-Shadow offset issues on PS3 but on closer inspection the PS3 shadows are less blocky
-The game sometimes uses prerendered FMVs, author says they're the worst quality they've seen in some time(my guess is BINK), on top of that they're the -same quality on both platforms even though the PS3 game is only 7.5GB and the 360 is 5.5GB so they clearly had tons of space left to improve video quality.

I really hope developers stop using BINK for FMVs. It looks awful every time.

rragnaar

[QUOTE="rragnaar"]

DigitalFoundry has their analysis up for the console versions. It looks like they turned out much closer than that assy PS3 demo led me to believe.

-360 runs at native 720p, PS3 runs at 1024x720
-PS3 version is stretched horizontally leaving a 'stretched' effect
-Occasional tearing but is basically invisible during gameplay
-Both versions employ temporal AA and also use edge detect blur for the foreground
-PS3 has better texture filtering
-360 has better framerate than PS3 version
-In the most stressful areas PS3 actually manages to hold the framerate a bit better than the 360 even though the 360 commands the framerate advantage
-Shadow offset issues on PS3 but on closer inspection the PS3 shadows are less blocky
-The game sometimes uses prerendered FMVs, author says they're the worst quality they've seen in some time(my guess is BINK), on top of that they're the -same quality on both platforms even though the PS3 game is only 7.5GB and the 360 is 5.5GB so they clearly had tons of space left to improve video quality.

I really hope developers stop using BINK for FMVs. It looks awful every time.

EXEraserVS

What earlier comparisons? If you're talking about the demos then maybe they were from an earlier, unoptimized build.

To avoid the problem you're complaining about, the stealth games I'm familiar with have a ruleset which governs awareness (nods towards MGS, Tenchu, Splinter Cell and Riddick). It doesn't sound like the ruleset of Crysis is well constructed if detection/nondetection is that erratic. Also, I've seen complaints in some reviews (including GS's) and some Youtube videos indicating that the combat AI is pretty bad.

Also, while they aren't as stealth heavy, the KZs (and Uncharted 2) do limit the awareness of enemies moreso than many shooters. Once a firefight begins every enemy on the battlefield knows they are in a firefight, but unless someone has eyes on you, they don't know where you are so its possible to ambush or sneak past enemies. By way of contrast, in Uncharted 1 and Resistance 2, once the bullets started flying, enemies always knew exactly where you were and oriented themselves accordingly.

CarnageHeart

Combat AI is pretty decent unless you get up close and personal, then they starting acting like morons. But say if they spot you from far away, you will see them group together, form a parameter, take cover and try to close in on you. Again, it's incosistent but kinda cool to see them in action at times.

I really liked the KZ3 stealth level but the stealth here is so much more organic thanks to the massive levels. Usually in KZ3 and in U2, you would go to a smallish section filled with 3-4 enemies patrolling the area. Here each section is massive with some enemies on higher ground, some guarding entry points while others patrolling. It feels more like MGS than KZ3 or U2 in that regard since almost every situation in this game can be tackled with stealth. I'm not saying it's done perfectly, but they are definitely more complicated than the stealth AI routines we saw in U2 and KZ3.

Ah, I actually went to buy this at blockbuster today (with a 10 off coupon) but they didn`t have it in, so I ended up renting it. Off to play!F1Lengend

Awesome. Just remember to grab nanomachines from dead aliens, they unlock stuff in your suit. I just played through half the game without knowing that.

Had my most fun playing this today. The Wallstreet section is easily my favorite in the game. The shooting finally clicked with me especially when i realized I dont have to shoot in control bursts because there is zero recoil when you use the reflex scope. The graphics were awesome. Didn't notice any framerate issues, shooting people was a lot of fun, and there was a pretty lengthy and interesting cutscene at the end of it. These cutscenes are realtime so I'm guessing Bink was only used for the MW2 map-styIe cutscenes. Noticed alot of pixelation in the flashback cutscenes, but they were barely a minute long. The actual cutscenes look great because they are realtime.

I'm also starting to see why people think this is the best looking game on consoles. The night sections have been gorgeous so far. Amazing what lighting can do to a game engine, it totally brings out all the neat little post processing effects going on that you can miss during levels with bright sunlight. The fire is definitely the best I've seen in a video game.

Fantastic 5.1 surround sound too. Especially when shooting at Aliens. VERY cool. LOVING this game. :D

My only gripe so far is the suite's abilities dont really make a big difference. After seeing a few Crysis 1 vids, i was hoping to be a walking one man army, but in reality I actually found my abilities to be very limited when it came to crazy close quarters combat with the aliens. Melee doesn't raelly work against them, and having only 30 bullets in each clips means you are reloading right when someone is charging straight at you. You cant run away because sprinting are tied to your suit's energy meter and you used up all the energy when you activated armor to withstand that enemy's melee attach while you were reloading.

Amazing easter egg:

Very minor spoilers, I guess-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRTXpncI8BI&feature=player_embedded

LMAO

So far Im really enjoying the game. :)