Crysis 2 - Be the Weapon

[Trouble]

Release Date: March 22

I don't think I've ever been as excited about as a game as this. Crysis 2 takes place a few years after the original with the aliens having begun waging war against mankind. The action takes place in New York City turned into a huge battlefield between alien forces and humans. The Nano Suit continues as the core concept behind gameplay and has been heavily expanded with many new abilities and customizability. In multiplayer the Nano Suit abilities are what serve the unlock system. Compared to upgrades/abilties/etc. in the other popular FPS's this looks like it's really going to blow shit away. The Nano Suit concept provides the avenue for bringing in superheroesque abilities into the FPS genre.

"It's different from other FPS games in that you are this ultimate super solider that has the ability to cloak at any point in time, so it's different than modern military shooters, it's different to Halo. You have the manoeuvrability, you're in an urban environment, you can jump, you can slide, you can climb. There's so much you can do in that first-person experience that the other multiplayer games don't offer."

Crytek claims it will have the best graphics of any video game to date. They also claim it will have the most sophisticated AI of any game. It's par for the course for AAA games to talk shit up, but from what I've seen and from their track record I'd tend to believe them. "Crytek’s Nathan Camarillo has declared that developers need to start churning out titles capable of scoring in the 90s if they ever want to be recognised in today’s competitive market conditions."


Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crysis_2
http://www.mycrysis.com/
http://www.mycrysis.com/gallery/trailers - Tons of videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHLEbuj5x6Q - Initial Reaveal Theatrical Trailor (New York, New York!) - Pretty sure it's game engine rendered
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XayuFRqLQ4w - Demo of the various CryEngine 3 features, gives you a good overview of how the game looks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kvl31g77Z8 - CryEngine 3 - Beauty Speed Interaction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7ME7rkAkQ - CryEngine 3: RealTime Immersive Inc. - Technology Demo

C2TV - Dev Video Blog Type Thing
http://www.mycrysis.com/gallery/trailers/c2tv-episode-1
http://www.mycrysis.com/gallery/trailers/c2tv-episode-2
http://www.mycrysis.com/gallery/trailers/c2tv-episode-3
http://www.mycrysis.com/gallery/trailers/c2tv-episode-4

[tgr]

Looking at the "multiplayer features" got me somewhat depressed. It seems to be all about the catassery. 60 hours to get to the top tier, with options like seeing where shots are coming from, faster firing rates/reloads, seeing the trails of people etc etc etc.

However, if there's one thing I can't help but think, it's how awesome this engine would be if combined with bohemia interactive. ArmA3 with crytek3 would probably be awesome.

[NiX]

Dev build from January was leaked for PC. Contained the master key(s) for the DRM they plan to use.

Not that it changes anything, but should be interesting to see if Crytek blames that if the game doesn't do well on PC or if they shift to console only.

[tgr]

that will allow consumers to de-authorize machines

Oh. I see. Nevermind then, won't buy.

[jakonovski]

I've been playing the multiplayer demo for 360. It's surprisingly good looking, considering the platform. However, texture and object pop in is really bad, and lines of sight are short presumably because of this. Eg. I found a spot where you can theoretically hide in the bushes and snipe, but the regular approach to that spot is so far away the foliage doesn't draw on the opponent's screen.

Gameplay wise it's a Modern Warfare ripoff. You don't get to be an alien, just one of two human sides with exosuits. They even copied the killstreaks: 3 for radar sweep and 5 for a strafing run, 7 (?) for orbital strike. But to the developer's credit, they had enough sense to copy the good parts and added some Crysis flavor. The game also slower paced than MW, which is why I'll give it a shot. I can't handle Blops anymore.  



 

 

[Trouble]

They definitely shot to be a lot better on the low end specs than the original, and especially to hit the consoles. But the fact is this game was really made with a decent current PC in mind. I remember reading some stuff they were saying last year about how limiting the console platform is compared to the PC. They're working with the equivalent of a mid-spec gaming PC from 2006 on consoles.

[Malakili]

I'll steam sale it to look at the pretty graphics.

[Azazel]

Me too. probably. I'm not especially excited for this.

[Trouble]

Interview with Sci-fi Author Richard Morgan who wrote the story for Crysis 2 - http://pc.ign.com/articles/114/1149556p1.html

But what you will see in Crysis 2 is a mature social and political context for the action. One of my major inspirations in fiction has always been the noir form, and in most noir, the social critique emerges not so much as a function of the main narrative, but as backdrop.

Nine times out of ten what kills a game narrative (and many mainstream movies) for me is the level of sheer contempt the story-tellers seem to have for the audience. Time and again, the assumption seems to be that the target is less competent than they truly are.

Thing is, I've started to notice an assumption floating around in a lot of the interviews I do for the gaming press, that everything has to be some kind of fight - writer versus level designers, narrative versus gameplay, quality fiction versus widescreen thrills, so forth. Smack-down! Duke it out! The aim of everybody aboard Crysis 2 was to build a kick-ass game at every level. That means compelling fiction and gob-smacking impact. It means engaging characters and full-on action. There is no reason why these things cannot co-exist.

Alcatraz [the main character], by contrast, is gifted with the suit and all it implies in the midst of bloody chaos, and spends a lot of the game just trying to stay alive long enough to work out what the hell is going on.

[Ironwood]

Whoa, what ?  Morgan wrote this ?

I'm much more interested.

Edit :

IGN: What did you want to do with the story in Crysis 2 that wasn't in the first game?

Richard Morgan: When I looked at the first game, my immediate feeling was that there were a huge number of implications in the plot that never got explored. What does Prophet know that makes him behave so strangely in the latter half of the game? How come he survives the alien attack that killed his other men? Where did he get the alien weapon from? What's the CIA's involvement? Where are the aliens from and what are they doing on Lingshan? These were some of the threads that I aimed to pick up and explore in Crysis 2.

Whoa.

[Morfiend]

Whoa, what ?  Morgan wrote this ?

I'm much more interested.

Edit :

IGN: What did you want to do with the story in Crysis 2 that wasn't in the first game?

Richard Morgan: When I looked at the first game, my immediate feeling was that there were a huge number of implications in the plot that never got explored. What does Prophet know that makes him behave so strangely in the latter half of the game? How come he survives the alien attack that killed his other men? Where did he get the alien weapon from? What's the CIA's involvement? Where are the aliens from and what are they doing on Lingshan? These were some of the threads that I aimed to pick up and explore in Crysis 2.

Whoa.

Holy fuck. Whoa is right. I am super amped now.

[Strazos]

Making me finally play through the first Crysis, which I bought for cheap at some point.

[Trouble]

To be fair the original game was very light on plot. How this is rolling out reminds me very much of HL1 to HL2. HL1 had some story, but it was mostly in a vacuum around you in order to drive you forward through the game world. There were a few points that drew you in deeper storywise but you really couldn't say it was deep. Standard for a FPS (after HL1 anyway) but with a great environment that helped sell it. HL2 was built around a much deeper storyline contained in a larger world.

In the original Crysis most of the story was just in the moment pieces to drive the action forward and explain why you're doing what you're doing. As in HL1 there's a few interesting bits (most mentioned by Richard Morgan as quoted above), things that were hinted at but not explored. It really didn't get deep at all, and a lot of the wow factor that contributed to the story was actually provided by the environment (like seeing the giant mountain breaking apart with the alien ship inside it) and not in actual plot, dialog, or character development. Again we see the sequel looking at a much broader swath focus on storyline.

The latter half of Crysis 1 was entirely about retreat, withdrawal, losing battles and that's the feeling you take away from the game. It seems like they really made that their starting point with Crysis 2 and amped it up to 100. Using NYC as a symbol for the world, they put you in the middle of it fighting to save the destroyed remains.

[Trouble]

Cinematic Story Trailed was released a few days ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmGAfgv9uPo

[Ironwood]

 

That looks great but, I suspect, falls into the exact same problem the first one did.  I look forward to playing it in 3 years time.

(Also, the preorder bonuses are just  )

[Trouble]

Well keep in mind they had to make work on consoles, which have WORSE stats than the original game required. They've said that it will run on shittier specs than the original.

[Trouble]

New York, New York...

PC demo hitting tomorrow. PS3 "soon".

http://www.mycrysis.com/news/crysis_2/crysis-2-multiplayer-demo-goes-multiplatform-on-march-1

[Trouble]

Also The Crysis 2 Experience: Part 2 - Semper Fi (gameplay video on PS3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzsPr_DqKfc

[Morfiend]

Cinematic Story Trailed was released a few days ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmGAfgv9uPo

Not gonna lie. I got little chills.

[jakonovski]

The MP demo is out on PC. Feels like a port, which is kind of sad.

[Ironwood]

For fucks sake.  Tell me it ain't so.

[Morfiend]

The MP demo is out on PC. Feels like a port, which is kind of sad.

Please please please no. I'm downloading now.

Although, really the first ones multiplayer felt like a port too.

[Nightblade]

*Opened MP Demo*
*Gets asked for log in name and password*
*Looks down to see gamespy logo*

*Closes demo*

 

[MisterNoisy]

Someone on GAF posted this gem, which (if true) would seem to indicate that Crysis 2 will ship as a DX9 title only, with DX11 support to be patched in later.

[Trouble]

Consoles are ruining games. And humanity.

[Ironwood]

Not at all.  I just want to play console games on consoles.

[Trouble]

My favorite response on a steam bitching thread "Because five year old consoles are the future of gaming." To be fair the demo is 1.5 gigs and it's likely the actual game will at least be able to scale up a lot better. This demo feels rushed, we'll see how they reflects on the release.

Edit: also lol "As a console gamer, I fear for my life if this game turns out to be consolized garbage for PC Gamer"

Edit2: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1776333

A quick little program written by me, creates a .bat file that you can launch Crysis 2 demo with certain variables.......

Can currently adjust:
Crouch Toggle
Zoom / Iron sights toggle
Mouse Acceleration
Skip Intro
Motion Blur
FOV
Mouse Sensitivity

[IainC]

Gamer - Advanced - Hardcore

Those are the system spec choices in the options screen. 

Aim assistance on by default.

Holy shit this plays like a bad console port.

[Trouble]

Despite that, it's really fuckin fun. A PC version has to exist somewhere for them to have been making those DX11 videos, so hopefully that's what we'll be getting.

Edit: just referring to the nano suit modified FPS multiplayer formula. The console portiness is grating.

[UnSub]

This is Crytek going, "We told you we'd be focusing on console games from now on!". 

[jakonovski]

I don't know what the hell Crytek is thinking. By neglecting the PC release, which is their base so to speak, do they really expect that console gamers will go "Crysis 2 fuck yeah!" like it was Halo?

I predict the game will see mediocre sales at best, and then Crytek will throw their toys out of the pram and claim it's all PC gamers' fault.

[Morfiend]

I played the MP demo last night as was surprisingly fun. I found that even with the consolitus, it was better than Crysis 1 multiplayer by miles.

[Trouble]

I played the MP demo last night as was surprisingly fun. I found that even with the consolitus, it was better than Crysis 1 multiplayer by miles.

It's really an interesting thing. It's actually a new twist on FPS as far as I've seen. Take FPS, add in a resource mechanic similar to energy in WoW which you have to manage, and then add a few powerful and fun abilities that rely on that resource. Having played a bit, I'd take it as a shitty console port. It is really fucking fun that way it combines. Even in the 30 minutes I played I already found myself improving on my usage of stealth, nanovision, etc. which is entirely outside of the normal set of FPS skills. Being really good at using the nano skills correctly can make a much less twitch player a winner over twitch players with no ability to formulate tactics.

I may be premature, but I think this game is going to be one for the ages. This is the most fun I've had playing FPS multiplayer since...forever. Even when you lose you're lose "next I'm going to stealth and I will fucking PUNCH THAT GUY TO DEATH LITERALLY" and you can do it.

[Velorath]

I don't know what the hell Crytek is thinking. By neglecting the PC release, which is their base so to speak, do they really expect that console gamers will go "Crysis 2 fuck yeah!" like it was Halo?

I predict the game will see mediocre sales at best, and then Crytek will throw their toys out of the pram and claim it's all PC gamers' fault.

They're probably having flashbacks of Crysis 1's release when it almost flopped selling only 86k in the first couple weeks while being massively pirated.  Sure it rebounded, but while 3 million+ sales over it's lifetime is good for a PC game (although I'm sure a lot, if not the majority of those sales weren't at full price), you don't even have to be Halo or CoD to beat that on consoles.  Bad Company 2 and Medal of Honor both probably sold more copies in a month than Crysis has over its entire lifespan (and MoH didn't even get particularly good reviews).  So yeah, I'm not really surprised that they're not going for bleeding edge graphics this time around, and putting a lot of focus on the consoles.

[Nightblade]

Aim assistance on by default.

Why the hell does a PC fps even have aim assist to begin with?