Crysis (Because it worked with Mass Effect)

[Blackcompany]

You guessed it. Never played these either. (What kind of PC gamer am I, anyway?) They look spectacular. (Crytek, so, duh.) But I was wondering whether these are worth while games from a game play/story standpoint. Crysis 1 seems pretty open (and spectacular.) Also, it looks fun, and I do love a good shooter now and then.

Crysis 2 on the other hand did not get good reviews. So I thought I would ask the community whether these are worthwhile. They seem fun and look good, but I value opinions of gamers above review sites.

So thanks again.

[The JG Man]

I haven't played 2, but I have played 1 and Warhead (its stand-alone expansion, oft referred to as 1.5 and so on).

I found 1 to be a great game, with fun mechanics and sold feel. Shooting feels right, movement feels great and so on. The problem I had with it is that whilst it's very open, both in terms of space and gameplay options, I found one solution and kind of ran with it throughout. Perhaps that speaks to my creativity (or lack thereof) or the fact that you can actually get away with doing that, but I wasn't sure if I thought the fuss was all up to it. As you may know, there's a big twist some way into it that changes how you play. A lot of people didn't like it after that point because it was too linear. I thought it was fine and was consistently good all the way through.

Warhead is a more linear, but plays in very much the same way. Cry/War are great games though, certainly worth playing if you're interested in them.

[Flint]

Crysis 1's gameplay is generally excellent to a point; whether you still enjoy the game after the aliens appear is a matter of opinion but it definitely isn't the same game after they become your opposition. Still, before they come to say hello, playing around with your powers creatively is immensely fun. As is the damn fun stealthiness if you opt to go that way. Plot is forgettable generic action game stuff.

Not sure about Crysis 2, never got around to it.

[SirKicksalot]

Crysis 2 is a good game. While the environments are often smaller than the original's they are full of options to approach each encounter as you like (or bypass huge sections entirely). It feels more concentrated. Also there is less empty space between action bubbles than in the original.

The spectacle of Crysis 2 would make Roland Emmerich proud and the soundtrack is amazing, one my favourites ever and not including games only. However it fails spectacularly in its presentation - the cutscenes, story and HL2 style "interactive cutscenes" are rubbish. They drag the whole package down. Even worse, it's 1/3 longer than it should. It peaks with a series of awesome nighttime levels and then keeps going on and on and loses steam.

It's worth buying, especially at today's prices, but keep in mind it has some serious flaws. It never reaches the bottoms of Crysis' alien levels, its high points are among the best in the shooter genre but it often feels sort of... middling.

[XisLoose]

Well I played all 3, and I must say I enjoyed each one.

The first was very good, Flint pointed it out quite nicely, it's a different game with the aliens involved, but I liked it just the same.

Warhead just felt like a pumped up action version of the first game imo, less attention to the plot and more fast paced shooting.

Crysis 2 lost some of the 'open world' feel Crytek tried to make in the first 2 games, but put more emphasis on the plot.
The only thing I didn't like about it is the fact that the stealthy way was the most dominant method (for me at least) to play.
Overall i'd recommend all 3, as they are very good!

[DaftPunk]

Get Crysis 1 and Warhead,one of the best FPS games this gen. On other side don't get mass effect if you want good rpg game,its overrated as hell.

[victory]

Crysis 1 has pretty much the worst user interface I have seen in a (modern) first person shooter. It feels off all the time. I didn't play single player, though; I would suppose the shortcomings are easier to ignore in SP.

[Freud]

I enjoyed Crysis more than Crysis 2. I think the original had more of a sandbox feel where you could just enjoy the suit and your abilities whereas the sequel insisted on you playing it the way it wanted. It's not a bad game and if you find it on sale, it's decent fun.

[Mistabashi]

Definitely worth giving the first one a go, just remember to make an effort to try new ways of approaching each situation, and don't be afraid to switch weapons a lot - if you don't you'll just end up doing the same cloak-snipe-run-cloak routine and it can be quite boring. Also keep in mind that silencers reduce damage, so only use them when necessary to avoid frustration. There's a few really great set-pieces in the first game though that make it well worth while regardless.

Warhead does improve on some things (more weapon variety for a start), but it's also a lot more linear. Both games suffer when the aliens show up, and I actually never completed either of them for this reason, but I'd still recommend you try one out.

[Blackcompany]

Thanks again for the advice. Might check out Crysis soon, too. Pretty well sold on Mass Effect, so, trying that first. Time for a little break from High Fantasy.

Thanks everyone.

[Juan Carlo]

Never played Crysis 2, but Crysis 1 and Warhead are very good. Strictly in terms of gameplay at least, I think they are some of the best single player FPSs available (of course the writing sucks and the plots are generic, which probably keeps them from approaching the echelon of the all time greats, but they are still fun games).

Plus, the graphics still look awesome 4 years later----even better if you use one of the many graphics mods out there.

[Grizzly]

Crysis 2 lost some of the 'open world' feel Crytek tried to make in the first 2 games, but put more emphasis on the plot.
The only thing I didn't like about it is the fact that the stealthy way was the most dominant method (for me at least) to play.!

I actually played much more as a frontal assault man in Crysis 2 then I did in Crysis 1, where the stealth mode was mandatory (for me at least).

[Drayk]

Played 1 and 2, not warhead.

Liked the second better. But it was too short. Fast played, fast forgotten.

[Juan Carlo]

I actually played much more as a frontal assault man in Crysis 2 then I did in Crysis 1, where the stealth mode was mandatory (for me at least).

If you play Crysis 1 on the hardest difficulty it very much becomes more of a stealth game than a full on assault game, at least until you get better weapons. I'd very much recommend playing it that way. I think Crysis is one of those games that is drastically altered by difficulty level. The experience of playing it on easy or normal is vastly different than playing it on harder difficulties. It's not just that the enemies are tougher, but that it forces the gameplay to change as a consequence. And there are enough ways of approaching objectives that the game can allow for this (which is a rare thing). In fact, I kind of love how if you think smartly even on the hardest difficulty you can find ways of doing things that make things a whole lot easier.

[ttcfcl]

If you play Crysis 1 on the hardest difficulty it very much becomes more of a stealth game than a full on assault game, at least until you get better weapons. I'd very much recommend playing it that way. I think Crysis is one of those games that is drastically altered by difficulty level. The experience of playing it on easy or normal is vastly different than playing it on harder difficulties. It's not just that the enemies are tougher, but that it forces the gameplay to change as a consequence. And there are enough ways of approaching objectives that the game can allow for this (which is a rare thing). In fact, I kind of love how if you think smartly even on the hardest difficulty you can find ways of doing things that make things a whole lot easier.

Agree with playing 1 on hardest. It's actually hard and at makes the now-and-then "base assaults" really really intense. Unfortunatley the AI is faulty as as soon as one guy is killed, they all get alerted and seem to know where you are. It definitley requires 1v1 stealthy pick-em-off-as-they-come style gameplay. I tried to do Crysis 2 on the most difficult but had to go down to regular halfway thru. Mostly cause 2 doesn't have quicksaving. But I guess it was fun in how you have to find out a process that works. "First I snipe this guy, then I cloak over here and hide, then I can kill this other guy and hide over there" etc. But 2 would spawn enemies behind you which really sucked sometimes. And then eventually you get thrown face first into some real tough enemies and there's no place to hide at all. That REALLY sucked. Oh also Crysis 2 felt a lot like Splinter Cell Conviction feel to it. The level sections felt a lot more "deliberate" with where you could and couldn't go, and enemy placement. And of course the stealthyness between the two.

[soldant]

If you play Crysis 1 on the hardest difficulty it very much becomes more of a stealth game than a full on assault game, at least until you get better weapons.

Heh, and everyone told me that playing on hardest meant run and gun with ample use of strength and speed modes, and that stealth became useless... while also trying to tell me that you need to snipe everything in sight.


Crysis is a decent shooter. I'm not a massive fan of it and I think it relies too much on sneaking around, but it's fun for the most part. Storyline is basically Far Cry except with North Koreans and aliens instead of lab-grown biomenace horror-terrors. The first few areas are the most fun since you really get to play around.

I tried to play Crysis 2 but it just bored me, so I gave up.

[Bhazor]

@OP

Crysis is brilliant.
Crysis 2 is just good.

[Fumarole]

Definitely worth giving the first one a go, just remember to make an effort to try new ways of approaching each situation, and don't be afraid to switch weapons a lot - if you don't you'll just end up doing the same cloak-snipe-run-cloak routine and it can be quite boring.

This. It's a game where you get out of it what you put into it.

[Blackcompany]

Sounds like a whole lot of fun. Will most likely pick up the first game on the first Steam sale where it goes down, this year. Should have nabbed it last time it went sub-ten dollars, really. Missed out on Crysis and ME1 that way. Lesson learned.

I like the fact that difficulty settings can change a play style. That is refreshing. Will have to give this a go soon. Too many games, too little free time.

[jnx]

I recently played Crysis 1 and Warhead through. They are still visually very impressive. Never played the second one.