Crysis 2 Review (Xbox 360)

STAFF REVIEW of Crysis 2 (Xbox 360)

Sunday, March 27, 2011.
by Brent Roberts

So you're the new big gun everyone on the field is talking about. Walking in with your shiny new nanosuit thinking you're going to just waltz in and save the day right? Well Alcatraz, before you go off laying waste to The Big Apple with your new found toy, take a minute and get debriefed about XboxAddict's review of what we got right here, Crysis 2 because those who do not learn from the past, are doomed to repeat it.

Originally Crysis took place on the Lingshan Islands away from the US, but now the danger has stepped over our welcome mat and kicked down our front door. You're an elite soldier of war Alcatraz. You're a Force Recon Marine, and mankind's only hope for survival. Welcome to New York, hope you brought a miracle.

In the original Crysis, we brought the fight to the aliens. We sent in an elite squad called Raptor Team (Nomad, "Psycho", Aztec, Jester and Prophet) and they were comprised of the best we had to offer. I believe you met one of them already. It took an entire team effort just too barely make it out, now though, the whole thing rests on your shoulders. Armed with your new nanosuit and a bunch of other toys, you'll need a prayer as you take on The City that Never Sleeps, the apparent "Manhattan" virus, oh and this little alien invasion we have by the Cephaloids. Be careful who you put your faith into Alcatraz, for it may doom all of mankind if you fail. Now pay attention for some details before the war on Crysis 2. I pray you succeed Alcatraz because we have no one left.

Make sure you got that nanosuit worked out because when it comes to gameplay, Crysis 2 delivers such a wealth of innovation that it not only raises the bar, but throws it through the ceiling and smashes it to pieces. To start off the innovation eruption we have to shed some light on the nanosuit. This super hero style combat suit is not only your biggest weapon, but also your biggest supporter throughout the entire game. By utilizing either the RB or LB buttons you can make your suit hard like tank armor, or go Predator style and cloak your way through danger. The suit though does more than just give you options as to how you would like to play, but it also offers a wide range of visual aids as well.

For starters with the push of a button you can call upon your suit's visor to help you locate and mark key locations, enemies, weapons and more, and it can do all of this through walls, floors, and ceilings making your visor absolutely critical if you wish to survive New York. The visor however, isn't finished yet because it offers you a tremendous bonus by allowing you to switch to thermal view as well so you can track fast moving aliens with ease.

Another great innovation of the suit is the ability to customize it. Throughout the game when you kill the alien enemies you will obtain material needed to upgrade a lot of the suit's many functions, as well open more of the suit up for you. You can gain such improvements as an armor upgrade to ensure you make it through the gunfights, tracking incoming fire to help you designate where the threat is, stealth upgrade so you can stay cloaked longer and allow you the time to gain that critical flanking position, and more. This alone would make any title an instant classic, but the innovations of the gameplay continue.

One of the most major innovation changes in Crysis 2 is the control scheme. As Crysis was only available on PC format, the controls this time seem more streamlined and simplified so that the game could run on consoles. This not only makes the game feel more streamlined, but easier to pick up and play for those who haven't played the original.

Crysis 2's innovation however also spills out into New York itself by allowing you to choose how you want to play. You can opt for the more straight forward "spray and pray" or "run and gun", but instead of just throwing you into such a linear level bottle neck, Crysis 2 offers gamers multiple ways to handle any situation. Most of the time the decisions will be simple, however, there are times when the right choice may not be running straight in blasting away.

You can customize how you play, you can customize your own nanosuit, and to wrap up the customization Crysis 2 allows you to customize your weapons. By upgrading to items such as extra-long magazines, under barrel shotguns, silencers, sights and more, Crysis 2's gameplay truly lets you customize and play how you want. To say that the gameplay of Crysis 2 is perfect wouldn't be true, to say that the gameplay of Crysis 2 is one of the best we will ever see is dead on accurate.

When Crysis originally launched it was inundated with acclimations of fame for their graphics and their physics. With Crysis 2, it's safe to say that the mantle better be ready because more awards are coming. With consoles being very limited compared to a PC, Crysis 2 delivers a phenomenal graphical performance on the Xbox 360. Without question this is one of the most beautiful games you will ever see on the 360. The lighting coming in between the buildings, the smoke coming up from the fire, water running down your visor, and a lot more of these amazing little touches have all been combined to deliver one of, if not the best graphical experience you have ever had on the Xbox 360.

One of the key staples to Crysis's fame is the physics. With the original being herald as some of the best physics ever produced in a video game, Crytek had more than its work cut out for it when it came to Crysis 2. With the setting being the major metropolitan city New York, Crysis 2's physics set an industry standard as you witness buildings collapsing around you, windows shattering from gunfire, cars exploding into the sky, and more. Get ready to experience one of the best looking games we will ever see on the Xbox 360.

The sound of Crysis 2 is quite honestly one of the game's weakest points. While the soundtrack does little to bring New York to life, one of the bigger issues is the sound effects and voice overs. The soundtrack is relatively flat and offers a marginal success, but the sound effects and voice overs just drag this game's audio experience straight down. They seem laughable at best, and that is seen esp. at the end of the levels as you hear nothing but annoying voice overs trying to guide you to your next objective. Granted it's a fault, but if as much attention to the visuals was put into the sound, then this game would be an unquestioned icon.

When it comes to first person shooters, a lot of the game's credit resides in its multiplayer. Thankfully Crysis 2 has taken some of the best aspects from other successful multiplayer gameplay and incorporated those winning features into their own multiplayer. Crysis 2 offers a bounty of player upgrades through its player progression system which if we're honest does feel a lot similar to CoD. In Crysis 2 however, you cannot change how your player looks; however, you can upgrade things like weapon loadouts and suit modules which bring you new weapons, attachments, and more.

Crysis 2 offers up six multiplayer options which are variants of classic multiplayer gametypes such as team deathmatch, CTF, and more. Each round your character will earn xp which can be used to upgrade your suit and weapons, so it will seem that every round brings you one game closer to that new weapon upgrade, or that new suit ability. With a solid multiplayer foundation and a more than ample player upgrade system, Crysis 2 is poised to become the king of FPS on consoles.

As we reload and prep for re-deployment, we have to easily classify this as a game of the year contender. Crysis 2 offers quite possibly the best graphical experience you will ever find on the Xbox 360. On top of that, Crysis 2 delivers unparalleled physics and a very solid and deep multiplayer experience. Great new gameplay innovations and a redesigned control scheme, mean that it's easier to pick up and play. Crysis 2 is a phenom of a game and many factors have already become an instant industry standard. Now Alcatraz, go bring humanity another fighting chance!

Overall: 8.9 / 10
Gameplay: 9.3 / 10
Visuals: 9.8 / 10
Sound: 7.5 / 10

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STAFF REVIEW of Crysis 2 (Xbox 360)

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