Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Crysis 3 has taken on a strange, amorphous shape in my head. I’ve not really been following it closely enough to really say all that much about it, and having gone back to look at all the previous materials to post this video – including Nathan’s interview with Mr Crytek, in which he talks about a lot of things which are not Crysis 3 at all – I’m rather excited. I realise I am in a (handsome, intelligent and perceptive) minority in having had a great time in Crysis 2, but I can’t help feeling that Crytek’s mission is laudable. They really do want to make the shooter that covers everything, and is all things to all shooter-fans. Yerli’s quotes in that interview suggest he’s lost none of his ambition, and it’s clear that all kinds of concessions have to be made in projects of this magnitude. And the very least they are aiming high. This new footage, below, contains some spectacular moments. Go take a look.

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We don’t usually do system requirements posts, but when it comes to Crytek they do have a history of basically telling us all that our PCs are rubbish and outdated. Granted, while once it was the high watermark of e-willy waving, the Crysis series hasn’t of late been the technical Goliath/Mephistopheles it once was. Does that change with the upcoming Crysis 3? You know how this works.
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Colonial Marines isn’t due until February and that’s a long wait for the next attempt to capture the horror of man versus the ultimate murderer. The best parts of Rebellion’s first (and the best) AvP game are the marine levels, at least in single player. Horror games often take away weapons or severely limit ammunition in order to increase tension, but even if you’re armed to the teeth, aliens are deadly and terrifying. Beefjack spot oldschool.Dave’s work on a recreation of the game’s marine campaign, all built in Cryengine 3. Video of the opening scuttling in the air ducts down below. I remember the opening almost perfectly, even though I haven’t played it for ten years or so.

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Remember when Valve and EA didn’t see eye-to-eye last year over certain portions of Steam’s terms of service? First Crysis 2 managed to flub its camo and make a very loud exist from the download empire’s hallowed halls, and then Dragon Age 2 was like “Haha, guys, wasn’t that wild? Well, at least you still have me. Wait, never mind. Bye forever.” Speculation pinned the blame on Origin, but then, people have also been known to blame Origin for premature male pattern baldness and racism. The real reason, however, was never confirmed (though DLC policies were implicated, but not explained), and the controversy slowly died down. Now, though, Crysis 2: Maximum Edition has suddenly reappeared on Steam. So, are the likes of Dragon Age 2, Battlefield 3, and Mass Effect 3 waiting in the wings? Well, it’s complicated.

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Yesterday brought official word that a profitable videogame would see a follow-up. Surprise! But while we got to ogle a few Crysis 3 screenshots, we didn’t get to see it in motion. We still don’t, because life is harsh and cruel and that’s a lesson that we all need to learn at some point. Now go to bed without having any dinner. Once you wake up tomorrow, starving and miserable, we might just let you watch this footage of the latest update to CryENGINE 3, which might just offer some visual hints about what to expect from Thrysis. Included – more ear-shaped ears, diving fish-guys, a man with multi-coloured stubble, the kind of fantasy castles that we all wish Skyrim had, a lovely waterfall, a man taking out his existential rage on a window and a shed.
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Here is a poorly-kept secret: I’m not a very tall man. Here is another one: Crysis 3 is happening. Even before evidence turned up last week, a fourth nanosuited adventure seemed something of a given, but it’s taken the EA-Crytek announcengine this long to formally confirm the next game. I’ve just played Press Release Bingo and I’ve got a “stunning”, a “state of the art”, an “unparalleled visuals”, an “ultimate”, a “leveraging the latest technology” and enough pre-order unlocks to kill a small horse.

Confirmed: we’ll play as angry baldy man Prophet (those who’ve finished Crysis 2 can probably work out why that’s the case), that bow and arrow is legit, it’s due next Spring, it’s using CryEngine 3, it’s going to have “sandbox gameplay” and it’s set in a New York trapped inside an Nanodome which has caused it to transform into an ‘urban rainforest.’
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While struggling to think up a headline pun to accompany the unsurprising news that there’s almost certainly going to be a third (well, fourth technically speaking) Crysis game, the ‘crap rhymes’ part of my imagination dredged up No Way Sis, who were at one time deemed the UK’s premier Oasis tribute act and enjoyed far too much success of their own. Even a hit single. What a terrible, terrible world this can be.

Anyway, Crysis 3. A spot of digging by Neogaf and Eurogamer’s German arm has turned up assorted hints that Crytek’s third nanosuit oddyssey is due for a reveal soon. They even found a picture of a Crysis dude with a bow and arrow. Which seems sort of incongruous to the nanosuit, but maybe the Strength mode will enable us to shoot arrows that fly for over 20 miles. EXTREME HUNTING.
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This is probably old news to you, but it’s new news to me and my ancient Egyptian ancestors told me during my hypnotherapy that the entire universe is just a figment of my imagination, therefore I can post it if I please and if you moan it’s only because I’m imagining someone moaning. Cloud gaming tech Gaikai has been offering streaming demos of various games – most notably Dead Space 2 and Mass Effect 2 – here and there for a while now, but I’ve just discovered that, over on Eurogamer, you can jump into browser-based slices of Crysis 2, Magicka, FIFA 12 and the Witcher 2.

Update: omigodomigodomigod. There are more demos on the Gaikai site. Including FARMING SIMULATOR. Yes! Also, try this link if you’re being region-blocked on the other. It might work: hard to say without catching a few jetplanes to the other side of the world.
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Rumours emerged this weekend that all isn’t happy-times at Crytek. The Crysis developer has been accused of mistreating staff, and sacking employees unlawfully, the accusations appearing on a Tumblr blog. But these are accusations Crytek’s co-founder Avni Yerli has rushed to deny, speaking to Develop. Amid suggestions that six-month crunch periods leave employees not knowing if they will still have a job, Yerli insists that Crytek respects and values staff.

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