Crysis: Tools of Destruction
While AI and level design retain a high level of importance in any first-person shooter, the first line of defense remains the actual weapons that players will be employing during the game. Being that Crysis is set in the near-future, many of these tools of destruction will be fairly conventional at their base though don't count out weapons found farther into the game that provide a little more bang for the buck. Today Dennis Schwarz, Game Designer at Crytek, has graced us with an explanation of the weapons system and what to expect from the basic weapon set in Crysis and why it's more than meets the eye. We've also got an exclusive new nearly 3 minute long weapons video (including an HD version) for you to check out (just click the image below or go to the media section for other video formats) that'll give you a look at some of the weapons you'll be handling in the final game.
The weapons in Crysis were designed with the focus on customizability and diversity to allow players to find their own ****and quickly adapt to new challenges by modifying their weapons in real time. So while we feature all of the conventional FPS weapons you'd expect from a near-futuristic FPS, it's up to each player to decide how they want to best utilize that weapon - be it an assault rifle, SMG, shotgun, missle launchers or even some of our high tech late game weaponry, like the gauss rifle, which fires super-fast metal slugs.
Just because you choose a precision rifle, doesn't mean you are restricted to sniping. If you mount a red dot reflex sight and a laser aiming module, you will get an excellent close range weapon to clear out those buildings up ahead. This is how we round the player's arsenal out - supplying additional attachments like silencers, scopes and grenade launchers to beef up your weapons arsenal.
Different fire-modes enhance this experience. For example, when using the shotgun, you can narrow its spread, put a sniper scope on top and take out that pesky sentry at the window across the street with an aimed shot. When you enter the building to round up your remaining enemies, switching back to normal spread will give you the necessary punch in close quarters. In the same way, you can modify your trusty assault rifle with a silencer and sniper scope, and stealthily take out that guard in the watch tower, or blow up a fuel tank with your underbarrel grenade launcher attachment to create some confusion and snatch those important documents from the commander's office without being detected.
With a wide range of conventional and experimental arms to choose from, it's hard to pick one that stands out. My personal favorite is the missile launcher. It gives you a wonderful bang for your buck. The weapon holds three missiles that can be fired in rapid succession. They can be controlled midair by pointing the launcher at the target you want to hit. After firing all three rounds, you simply throw the disposable tube away and can pick up a fresh launcher.
You can have so much fun with this weapon, firing salvos of missiles and guiding them on multiple targets or concentrating them on a single threat in one awesome display of firepower. If you want to be on the safe side, you can also aim through the launcher's weapon scope and take advantage of the built-in locking mode that will automatically guide the missile to the acquired target - very handy for distant vehicles, boats and aircraft.
I really love using the missile launcher like a mortar, which is so much fun against stationary targets or against convoys for example: Just fire all three missiles up into the sky with a slight delay between shots. After a couple of seconds look down on the convoy and guide the missiles in, changing targets after every successful hit. You can wipe out the whole convoy within a couple of seconds that way!
The cool thing is this is just one of the many cool things you can do with one weapon in the game. I am really excited to see the creative ideas players will come up with on their own once they get their hands on the game. In the mean time, I'll keep bombing away.
http://media.pc.ign.com/media/694/694190/vids_1.html
Enjoy.
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