Crysis (2007)

The very first entry to the Crysis franchise is a FPS by Crytek that became instantly famous for its groundbreaking graphics and ambitious design. Set on a lush, tropical island, the MC is called Nomad, a U.S. Delta Force operative, who is tasked with rescuing hostages and investigating alien activity. What makes the experience truly unique is the Nanosuit, a high-tech exoskeleton that grants abilities such as enhanced strength, speed, armor, and even cloaking.

This allows for a variety of approaches, you can go in guns blazing, sneak past enemies unseen, or use environmental objects as weapons, giving unprecedented tactical freedom at the time. The open-ended level design encourages experimentation and rewards creativity. Combat feels dynamic because enemies react intelligently, cover is realistic, and the environment is highly interactive, allowing for destructible structures and natural cover. And this was impressive at the time, though still today, few games try to implement such deep and intelligent interactions with your enemies, so I can safely say this title is not all about the looks.

But beyond the gameplay, it stunned you with its graphics, with detailed foliage, realistic lighting, and water effects that were unmatched in 2007, earning it a reputation as a benchmark for PC hardware. The story, involving a mix of North Korean soldiers and extraterrestrial invaders, is serviceable but mostly serves as a backdrop for the action rather than a deeply emotional narrative. And I wished that at least the characters that you interact with would be able to carry the plot, but very few of them are charismatic enough.

Particularly, I really like the protagonists of the subsequent entries to the series, way more than the first one, such as Psycho and Prophet. Despite this, the pacing keeps you engaged from the dense jungle ambushes to large-scale confrontations with alien forces. As for the performance, this was notorious for being extremely demanding, to the point where the phrase “Can it run Crysis?” became a meme. Yet, for those with high-end PCs, the game offered a stunningly immersive experience that combined beauty, challenge, and innovation. Though as technology evolved, it became clear that the real issue in running this title was due to it's bad optimization, which lead to poor resource usage when it comes to multi-core processors at the time.

In retrospect, this videogame remains a milestone in PC gaming, both as a showcase of technological achievement and as a flexible, thrilling shooter that rewards creativity and tactical thinking. I would recommend playing the Warhead expansion instead of this one, it is a much better experience in my opinion, and I would only advise playing the first entry if you are a fan of shooters in general and want to experience the past of FPS PC gaming's milestones.

first play

played on gt 730, i3 7100
An average game, the missions are okay but too difficult in some cases(playing at delta setting). There is no fun in playing the game in any manner, go and kill, not a lot of character development. just a military op game, some missions are okay, but the entire game is just an advanced high-tech soldier fighting even advanced high-tech soldiers(aliens).

I Give the rating for the graphics and physics, this game was developed that too in 2006 - 2008. playing this game in 2022 feels average because the physics and graphics improved so much, but this still feels like okay gameplay, only regarding mechanics and physics, and graphics.

Reminded me of Fortnite unreal engine graphics where you can pick destroy and throw many things. That is why I am amazed that this was developed a decade before Fortnite and still feels good.

I am coming to story-wise just not much impact or worth remembering or caring about. The Entire Gameplay inside the ship is not even worth the time, it is not a good experience and the mission is dull and stupid in my opinion because it didn't add anything story-wise or had an impact in a meaningful way.

The Last Mission is okay with unlimited rockets to fight with, but it too got boring quickly.

Played this in 2010 when didn't even know about first-person shooter games, but remembered the hype this game generated. Today in 2022 even though there are remastered versions of this series, no good playing this game except for the graphics.

Won't play this game again. though. Unlike the Sequels which I love.

EDIT: 2024 June

played on rtx 4060 amd 7700x
Bought a new pc and played this game in remastered can it run cyrsis setting. The one thing i like is how the army is divided in different areas and can't even see the people in the fight just like a real war, but stil spamming hide and unhide solves this. still good to kill some koreans but story wise still didn't feel any impact.

Pros

• Cool graphic
• The suit and modes are pretty cool

Cons

• I found it pretty boring in terms of gameplay
• The storyline totally uninspiring lost interest very fast
• Crysis 1 had the wide-open areas, but much of those areas was just empty fields/jungle nothing to find or interact with

I enjoyed only the first half of the game... It was known for being graphically heavy. The game is mostly just visuals, and hardly any gameplay.

Crysis, for PC

Rating: 9.0/10; Masterpiece

If you like shooters at all and do not own this game; get it!

Crysis is a first person shooter which has as its signature feature the use of a powered suit with 4 different modes fueled by a recharging energy resource. One mode provides a damage shield (similar to the Halo energy shield), one improves melee damage and recoil control, one makes you invisible for a length of time depending on how fast you move with it, and the last gives a burst of speed for extreme sprinting. These abilities provide great tactical depth to a game that already has plenty of tactical depth from intelligent enemies, realistic levels that are large and open with many different routes, and gun ballistics/controls that balance close range run-and-gunning with long range precision sniping.

Most of the enemies in the game are North Korean soldiers that operate in squads and use a variety of weapons including grenades, fixed machine guns, ground vehicles and helicopters. Of particular note is that groups of enemies operate independently, but if you make too much noise and/or allow them to set off an alarm, enemies that are further away will reinforce the ones you are fighting. It is also very cool that higher difficulties make them speak Korean (without subtitles) instead of English, adding to tactical immersion and difficulty. This is a trend found in all aspects of the game’s difficulty levels; rather than artificially inflate enemy health, accuracy or damage, the game removes handholding making the higher difficulties a more realistic experience.

The game also allows you to freely use enemy turrets and vehicles (including unarmed civilian vehicles), and even includes levels with American vehicles to drive. Vehicles are fun to drive and fight in, and provide their own tactical advantages and disadvantages (with lack of stealth being the main disadvantage).

The entire game is extremely well made, providing both fact paced action and intense slower paced thrills. There is very little wrong with this game; just some minor housekeeping design flaws.

Pro

• Can rebind keys
• Destructible environments, including knocking down trees and collapsing small buildings (and enemies can use this against you)
• Beautifully detailed environments
• Enemy freeze ray, which can knock you over (thus changing your viewpoint) and is a novel enemy ability
• Good enemy AI
• Good stealth and enemy alert system
• Good shooting gameplay. I like how enemy helmets can be shot off
• Can change weapon attachments on the fly
• 4 different suit modes, each with distinct advantages. It is easy to switch suit mode
• Vehicle use and combat, with good controls
• Vehicles display damage, including holes in windows that obstruct your view
• Save at any time
• Cool visual effects for frost on your goggles
• Zero gravity level was fun, with great controls
• Decent story and voice acting (if cliché). I especially like the alien design and the implications of what their homeworld is like
• Tank barrel is a physical object in the world, which can be obstructed on trees, walls, buildings etc, and prevent you from shooting and even restricting ability to move the tank

Con

• No option to have aim down sight hold (instead of toggle)
• No option to have crouch toggle (instead of hold)
• Weapon swap system is a little awkward. Next/last weapon cycles between everything, including unarmed, “1” selects pistols, “2” cycles between your 2 primary weapons and “3” cycles between C4, missile launcher and final boss weapon. I don’t see why every weapon cannot have its own designated button, or an equipment wheel
• Picking up ammo when you cannot carry the full amount does not leave the remainder behind (it disappears)
• Tank has poor reverse power
• Though there is an option to automatically switch suit mode when pressing certain keys, those keys are tied to other functions and there is no way to assign keys specifically just to each suit mode
• NPC allies like to yell at you incessantly to get you to progress
• Second last boss has a ton of health and no indication of how to kill it. NPC allies don’t give encouragement as you attack. A health bar or visual indication of damage would have been useful
• Final boss is a series of using the ultimate weapon to destroy parts. The second last part to be destroyed is a hatch, which I had an extremely difficult time locking on to with the ultimate weapon, only to find out afterwards in a walkthrough that I could have used regular missiles. NPC allies did not say to use missiles
• Cannot melee kill an enemy from stealth in one hit unless you switch to strength mode

Completed on Delta difficulty for my first time playing. I did some screw ups at the beginning by trying to snipe with a suppressed assault rifle. I later neglected stealth by going loud with an assault rifle with the best scope (eventually the sniper scope) in single shot mode and fight from as far away as possible. My second weapon was a precision rifle with the same attachments, though I used it sparingly. I preferred to use sniping and strength mode for added stability. After killing all enemies in sight, I would go dual silenced laser sight pistols and use cloak to take out enemies in close range.

This strategy changed quite a bit against the aliens as I often had to use whatever was lying around, and a run and gun style in armor mode was more suitable. Never once used incendiary ammo, smoke grenades, flashbangs or grenade launcher and hardly used any frags or C4. Had one cool C4 kill against a suit wearer in the mine who was hiding behind a mine cart; just ran up to him, dropped 3 C4, and ran like hell.

Would be fun to play again with mods to make it harder.

Wew, finished the game. It took about 10 hours according to my steam. The game consistently improved until the finale, which was still pretty decent. The plot wasn't deep, but the design and gameplay made up for it. The difficulty curve was very good, it continually amped up throughout the game. However the final part I found to be a bit disappointing... I mostly just hid behind an obstacle and popped out to shoot. However the whole quicksave system made things a lot easier than older games. You just quicksave before a hard part and try different things until you don't die.

The game doesn't end with a resolution of any kind. It just leads straight into what I presume will be the sequel. Fair enough, doesn't bother me too much. The credits caught me by surprise though. I was expecting one last mission to provide a resolution but whatever.

The unique part in the middle was amazing, however. I definitely had a "this is awesome" moment there. It reminded me a bit of how Thief changes after a few missions.

Despite the gameplay being pretty good, the only real lasting impact the game has had in gaming culture has been the "but can it run Crysis?" meme. Apart from that, and the fact that the engine was somewhat futureproofed, well not much else stands out. There's not much to gain from playing the game in terms of gamer culture, except the ability to say that you've played it.

Anyway, in summary it was a pretty great experience. The only letdown was the simplistic plot and the average ending. Definitely still a great game in 2017.

I decided to resume from an older save. One of the save files was corrupted which was annoying, but an earlier save was fine. I learned that you just need to shoot 3 rockets into the tanks. Also completely missed the stash of rocket launchers in the school. That's old games I guess.

The game was more enjoyable this time around. I got up to the base with the bridge and helicopter. I think the enemies are less armoured if you don't get spotted. I haven't bothered being sneaky: I find it easier to just run for the objectives. I was pissed that I couldn't find a sniper rifle in the game, but fortunately I found one at the base, plus scoped SMGs.

Finally got this on a steam sale. I remember people going on about this game back in the day, so I was excited to give it a go. I was surprised that I was able to run it on very high. People mentioned that it still holds up pretty well these days, and I partially agree. It can certainly pass as a game which could've been released this year.

However there are a few notable things that I was surprised were missing. For example I only saw very basic dynamic lighting even though Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl was released around the same time. The game also lacked any postprocessing except AA as far as I'm aware. There are god-rays which I think are overused because it was the big thing back then. The physics engine is okay, but I threw a glass bottle expecting it to break, but nothing. Also no splashing if you throw something into the water. Small things, but I would've expected them from something this groundbreaking. Bodies sometimes go flying when you shoot them. I wonder why that happens often in games with physics engines. Draw distance is not that amazing, with pop-in if you use binoculars. Poly count isn't great but hey I'm sure it was great for 2007. Vegetation was pretty well done I guess. I can't find any option to toggle crouch, and sometimes it's difficult to go prone...

The game is kind of a straightforward shooter, which surprised me. Modern shooters usually include tactical elements, but this game was pretty much "go around killing stuff". Refreshing in a way, but definitely reminded me of what we take for granted these days. I found myself basically running around, activating stealth, finding a good position, and then ambushing people.

The game isn't a pushover... Even on normal difficulty, I found myself dying a few times at the beginning. Modern shooters typically will hold your hand more. The enemies are also a lot more competent at spotting you than expected, which I don't mind. However the AI seems quite simple. They path toward you and shoot. They also do basic searching and throw grenades but that's about it. The game gets its difficulty by giving the enemies a lot of hp and sending huge waves after you. It can get intense I guess. Once I learned the stealth/move/hide strategy it became pretty manageable though. There seems to be no friendly AI. The buddies in the game seem to be there just for plot.

Anyways I played a couple hours and got stuck at the part where you have to kill 2 tanks. I shot the tank several times in the back with the rocket launcher with no results. That's a bit strange. I then found a petrol station nearby and a tank blew up when it drove into it, but it killed me too. I guess I should try luring the tanks over there again. This is probably one of the latest games that lets you get stuck on something without hitting you over the head with the solution. That's nice if you were around for that stuff.

The game is fairly engaging. I guess it's pretty good for a shooter, but modern shooters are generally better. However, it is pretty impressive to hold up 10 years after release. Few games can do that.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I want to bother finishing this game. Basic shooters aren't really my jam. I don't care too much about the story or anything like that, so it's just "go from one location to the next, and kill everything there". I'll think about it.

6.5/10

Priča: 7/10

Gameplay: 7/10

Toliko priče i hvalospjeva o ovoj igri, a na kraju je ispao jedan baš average shooter. Plus je definitivno nelinearni pristup "misijama" (uglavnom), uđi i razbi tenkom, stealthaj se i ubij jednog po jednog, dođi i vulgaris se napucavaj s njima, zaobiđi cijelo selo ili ga sravni sa zemljom... Priča iako ima potencijala da se razvije u idućim nastavcima, ovdje nit smrdi nit miriše, premalo toga je objašnjeno... Od 5-6 oružja koliko ih postoji u igri actually sam koristio sva, pa je to plus, al da su nešt zanimljiva pretjerano i nisu, kombinacije s kojima ih se kakti može mijenjat i upgrejdat ne mjenjaju puno gejmplej, a odijelo abilitiji su fora, ali opet, mogli bi imati veći impact da budu zanimljiva za moj ukus. Nekako mi u svemu ovome fali neke epičnosti, a i jebiga, igra je većinom hvalospjeve dobila zbog maestralne grafike i enginea, a obzirom da sam ju ja odigrao gotovo 8 godina nakon što je izašla naravno da nisam ostao impresioniran, osim činjenicom da nisam mogao bez problema igrati na very high requirmentsima na laptopu od 12.000 kuna kupljenom 5 godina nakon što je igra izašla...