Crysis 2, for PC
Rating: 8.3/10; Great
Highly recommended for shooter fans, though somewhat disappointing when compared to the first game
Crysis 2 is a first person shooter which has the same signature mechanic as the first game; an exosuit that uses a recharging energy resource to provide superhuman abilities. The powers are largely the same as the first game, though have been simplified. Speed mode has been removed entirely, and now you expend energy to sprint while in any mode. Unfortunately, this means you cannot move faster than walking when out of energy. Strength mode is now the default mode and has no advantages; no more recoil reduction and using super jump and super melee can be used from any form. Armor and cloak are largely the same, though both consume energy at a steady rate regardless of what you do. Armor depletes energy faster as you take damage, and cloak depletes faster the quicker you move.
The first game used a wheel style menu to change suit mode while having optional automatic triggers (such as automatically changing to power when making a melee attack). This game still has that wheel, but there is little point to use it. You can assign specific buttons to cloak and armor mode allowing for very easy switching. All other abilities can be used by holding the appropriate button (such as hold jump to do a super jump). This is a significant improvement over the first game, which allows for more streamlined play.
You can only carry 2 main weapons now; there is no ability to carry 2 rifles + a sidearm. Also, the same slightly awkward weapon swap system returns; that being the weapon swap key switches between everything, including grenades and C4, though the numeric keys can be used to cycle between specific types of weapons (such as one key to cycle just between your 2 guns). Weapon attachments can be freely swapped in real time (like the first game) and weapons that come with attachments have different names in game (such as ranged, spec op, demolition etc). An interesting feature is that under barrel weapons (shotgun and grenade launcher) replace the semi auto fire mode, so that pressing the fire mode button only swaps between 2 firing modes at any given time. This is more streamlined and user friendly, and you can still use semi auto mode reasonably quickly by swapping the attachment.
Despite these improvements in gameplay, Crysis 2 is not as good a game as the original. There were a few features which seem like lack of polish; dropped weapons falling through terrain, dropped empty weapons vanishing, occasionally buttons would not work (there was one time where my gun refused to change to semi auto mode, and would not do so until I replaced it with another gun and then picked it back up), and getting stuck on terrain (requiring a jump to proceed even though it looks like something low enough to step over).
Biggest problems come from level design and story though. While the levels are fun, they are far more linear and restrictive than the first game, and closely resemble just about every other shooter. Gone is the semi open world feel of the original game. The visor mode even points out places you can go to flank or sneak, which I think is fair for easy difficulty, but not on hard. I don’t want to be told tactics, I want to figure it out on my own. Vehicles are also significantly more restricted, and mostly serve the same as a turret. The levels are clustered with cover, so driving a vehicle would be pointless. There are levels which are specifically designed for vehicle use, even including replacement vehicles just in case you do too poorly, which again is less than the more open nature of the first game.
The story in this game makes me wonder what the developers were thinking. There is a huge gap between the events of this game and the previous, which makes it feel like I am missing something important. The aliens are completely different. They no longer have a cold blue motif from the first game, and are now dark and red. Why the change? Instead of freezing the planet, they are using a bioweapon (with a very black color motif). Again why? Freezing is much cooler, and would leave much more to the imagination (such as what the alien homeworld is like). None of the alien units from the first game return. Instead of the flying tentacle robots, we have generic humanoids (which do seem to be squid inside of mechs or exosuits) and ships that look surprisingly similar to human aircraft. I don’t even think the squid-like creatures inside those suits are the same as the “naked” aliens fought in the original game. And while we are on that topic, why do the squid have fleshy bits exposed at all?
The story telling method in game, and the story itself, suffers from “too much modern”. It focuses entirely too much on flashy cinematics and diagrams, showing detailed maps, military strategy, and technological and biological processes, which explain very little. They rely on the player having some basic understanding of tactics and science, and then add in some cryptic dialogue, and hint at conspiracy and a nearly mystical solution. It is about wowing the player with eye candy, rather than actual substance. Another review sums the story up quite well by saying something like: it does not need to be more complicated than there are aliens, you are strong so go punch them in the face. Overall, I think the developers are just trying too hard to be like all the other modern shooters (like Call of Duty). I would have much preferred a deeper story involving learning about the aliens. Maybe they crashed on Earth long ago and are not actually hostile; just trying to survive. That kind of story, which sets up the aliens as tragic antiheroes, would be far more entertaining than the over the top stereotypical story that this game has.
Crysis 2 takes 1 step forward in suit gameplay mechanics, while taking several steps backwards in all other departments; ultimately trying too hard to be like other shooters. It is still a great game made special by the suit. I did not play multiplayer.
Pro
- Some levels are dark or foggy enough to require thermal vision
- Silenced pistol is the only weapon able to be fired while cloaked
without breaking cloak
- Key rebinding
- All suit functions have easily used keys
- Visor mode highlights ammo boxes and specific weapons
- Ammo boxes do not replenish energy ammo
- Can swap weapon attachments based on which ones you have found
- Enemies will react to your laser sight
- Progression by purchasing suit upgrades with “currency” looted from
aliens
- Enemy AI is decent (though not as good as first game)
Con
- Thermal vision is called nano vision, because?
- No night vision mode
- Checkpoint saving (no quicksaving)
- Visor mode highlights tactical options
- Ammo boxes replenish ammo for equipped guns a fixed number of times
without regard to specific calibers; this is like converting pistol
and rifle ammo into high powered sniper rounds
- Some scenes have you press buttons to progress (similar to quick time
events, but not difficult at all). I would rather have a
non-interactable cinematic
- Can only carry 2 primary weapons, and pistols take up a primary slot
- Laser sight is a type of optic and prevents use of iron sights or
scope
- Aliens are too different from the first game, and there are no
returning types
