Time Crysis: CryEngine Loses Number, Gains Version
STOP THE PRESSES. The most significant thing to happen in gaming news all year just, er, happened. CryEngine has thrown out its number. No more CryEngine 3, 4, 8, 12, or XCVIII. Just a sleek, svelte, quietly confident CryEngine. It doesn't need to boast with arbitrary digits to take on the likes of Unreal Engine 427,000. It's gonna be just fine no matter what because Crytek has a bunch of military contracts... er, I mean, something something gun games blasto-men eye-popping weather effects yeah. There's a trailer below that highlights some snazzy features. It won't blow your mind or anything, but there are some gorgeous gears churning away beneath its graphical pixel beams.
Did you see the frog? I hope it gets its own game soon. FrogCry. It could be about a nanotech-enhanced, biomechanically-rebuilt Frogger crossing the street into a world of vengeance after one too many deaths at the hands of inept players. Welp, time to go get Konami on the line. Fame and incredible riches await.
In the meantime, here's why Crytek decided to strip CryEngine of its number, leaving it boldly, defiantly naked:
"Supplying an engine is not about delivering a static piece of software. It’s about Crytek being an R&D team for our game licensees; providing the latest, greatest technology we can, all the time. As an industry, we’re all looking to deliver games as a service now – and we feel the same approach can be taken with game engines. Today's announcement reflects this progress, as well as our ongoing commitment to making sure CRYENGINE licensees always stay well ahead of the game."
So basically, it reflects the reality of how these things have actually worked for years. Shocking. Perhaps other engines will soon follow suit? Everyone just calls UE4 "Unreal" anyway, and Unity's just, er, "Unity".
I have now spent entirely too long discussing game engine naming traditions. Yes, I'm aware it was only a couple hundred words. That's too much. THIS ISN'T WHY I TOOK UP THIS BEAT.
Ahem. Anyway, that trailer had some really nice rain. Wasn't it nice? I thought it was nice. But which game had the best rain of all time? Ready, aim, and fire your discussion cannons... at each other.