July 8, 2010 by Paul Curtin
After attending the 2010 E3 Expo and playing tons of great games, our most anticipated is Crysis 2, the sequel to one of the best looking games of all time. Developed by Crytek, the same studio behind the original, Crysis 2’s graphics are once again raising the bar and setting the standard for graphics in the video game industry.
Breathtaking visuals were Crysis‘ biggest strength back in 2007, unfortunately, being ahead of its time graphically was also one of Crysis‘ biggest flaws with most gamers not having access to a computer capable of playing the game. The original was exclusive to the PC and even gamers with top of the line gaming rigs couldn’t play Crysis on the highest “ultra” graphics settings and the game became more of a PC benchmarking tool than a favorite amongst gamers. Now, 3 years after the release of the original, Crytek has announced that in addition to Crysis 2 being released on PC, that it will also be available on both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in an effort to bring the Crysis series to the masses.
For those still not familiar with the series: The original science fiction first-person shooter was based in the year 2020 on a tropical island near North Korea where a mysterious alien spaceship had been discovered and taken control of by North Korea’s Army. Players assume the role of United States Delta Force operator Jake Dunn, referred to in-game by his call sign “Nomad” who was sent by the U.S. government to discover what secrets the North Korean government were hiding from the rest of the world. Stranded and armed with a government issued Nanosuit that grants him access to superhero-like powers, Nomad fights his way through both North Korean and alien enemies in an effort to uncover the mystery of the island.
Back in 2007, the North Korean island was perfect for displaying the power of the CryEngine 2, which was able to run Crysis with endless amounts of jungle to explore — all of which featured fully destructible environments, dynamic lighting and plenty of enemies with realistic A.I. to fight. But now it’s 2010, and Crytek is once again stepping their game up with the announcement that Crysis 2 will move the series from the lush jungle setting of the original to the concrete urban jungle environment of New York City. The new city levels will allow for players to have more options when traversing the open world environment with multiple levels of buildings being playable and destructible.
A new location isn’t the only big change from the original; Crysis 2 will also feature a new main character by the name of “Alcatraz” who is said to have stolen a new version of the Nanosuit that Nomad wore in the original. The new suit which is being called “Nanosuit 2” will allow players more freedom over gameplay by being able to chain together powers, a feature that wasn’t present in the original which forced players to use one power at a time.
The biggest upgrade from the original is being applied to what has made the series infamous throughout the gaming community — the graphics. Crytek has announced that Crysis 2 will be the first game using their being new graphics engine (CryEngine3) and will also be available in stereoscopic 3D. Although we didn’t get a chance to go hands-on with Crysis 2, we were able to view a demo of the game being played behind closed doors. Even with the game not being shown to us in 3D, it was still absolutely stunning on the big screen we saw it played on and worthy of our choice for Most Anticipated Game of E3 2010. Set for a fall 2010 release date, we can’t wait to get our hands on the full game, until then be sure to check out the gameplay footage we were shown at E3 2010 below.
