Crysis 2 Demo Impressions

Written 3/2/2011

Note: This review is for the PC version of the demo. Screenshot and video taken from my machine.

The original Crysis was without doubt the best looking, as well as most system intensive, game of the past five years or so. Not only was it stunningly beautiful, the inclusion of the Nano-Suit and all the powers that came with it basically guaranteed a great gameplay experience. Soon though, we will be making our computers cry even harder as we attempt to run Crysis 2.

If you thought the original Crysis was beautiful, get ready to change your definition of beauty. The Crysis 2 demo is absolutely, unequivocally gorgeous! That speaks multiple volumes, because this is a multiplayer demo! If anything needed to be stripped out of the single-player campaign visually or if Crytek is holding back some of the eye-candy in this demo, I simply cannot wait to see what the full game looks like. This vast visual improvement is thanks to Crytek’s new CryEngine 3. On a somewhat unrelated note, some videos I’ve seen of the CryEngine 3 creation tools make the game seem stupidly easy to mod for. If that’s the case, I’m very much looking forward to what I and other modding hobbyists/indie developers can come up with. The sound in the demo is also top-notch, and almost equal the quality of the visuals.

Gameplay-wise, the demo will feel familiar to those who have played the original Crysis and/or Black Ops or Modern Warfare 2. It’s much faster paced than the Crysis Wars multiplayer, and more focused. The main differences are in how your Nano-Suit functions and the inclusion of Suit Abilities. In the original Crysis, your Nano-Suits Armor power was always on by default, and never drained your suit’s power unless you were being shot. In the Crysis 2 demo, your Strength and Speed powers are not selectable, but activate automatically when I need to jump high or run fast. Your Armor power must also be toggled on now, and drain your suit’s power in the same way your Stealth power does. This can take some getting used to, especially if you’ve played the original Crysis. I can’t tell you how many times I forgot to turn on my Armor power because I just assumed it was automatically on. The Stealth power seems infinitely more useful in Crysis 2 multiplayer than in Crysis Wars, and it is now entirely possible to stalk your enemies without them ever noticing. Suit Abilities are basically the Crysis version of Perks in Black Ops. They can range from simple weapon efficiency abilities to more extravagant abilities like Power Slam, which has you jumping in the air and slamming your fist into the ground which causes a slight earthquake around you and kills anyone in range. It’s a difficult ability to use, but extremely satisfying if you land your mark.

The two maps you’ll be playing in the demo are Skyline and Pier 17. Skyline is set on a large New York City building rooftop, and is well thought out in its flow from interiors to exteriors. Pier 17 is the larger map set in a largely destroyed and abandoned ship dock, and shows how remaining cloaked to cross open areas can save your life more times than you may care to admit. Both maps also use vertical vantage points effectively, so make sure to look up while you’re also looking around. The maps also both work well for the demo’s available gametypes: Team Instant Action and Crash Site. Team Instant Action is exactly what you think it is, and is fun in the fact that it lets you freely kill other players with the awesome Nano-Suit powers. Crash Site is basically a team version of King of the Hill, but with the hill moving every two minutes or so. Both gametypes aren’t exactly the most original things in the world, but are still worth it for the simple fact that the Nano-Suit changes core FPS mechanics enough to breath new life into the same old same old.

In all, it’s a lot of fun, if you can actually connect to the game that is. The biggest issues by far are the terrible connectivity issues and a bug that refuses to start a match once you finally get a connection. First off, just accept that you’re going to lose connection to lobby servers a lot, but not in-game servers as much. Once you do get a solid connection though, prepare to sit in a server’s lobby and wait for the final countdown timer to reach its end, freeze, and start over again, and again, and again. This forces you to leave that lobby, even though you had a good connection, and start the whole process over again until you get lucky enough to land on a server that works. Once you do though, get ready to have a blast! Crysis 2 will be released on March 22 on PC, PS3, and 360. Let’s hope that the issues I’ve just mentioned can be resolved before then. If you think you can handle the frustration though, you can grab the demo from the official Crysis 2 site, or FilePlanet.

Crysis 2 Demo Impressions: