La verdad es que los chicos de Crytek saben exprimir una consola. Después de sacarle jugo a los PCs de todo el mundo en 2007 con, probablemente, uno de los juegos más exigentes de la historia para el hardware de la época, en 2011 han atacado el sector consolas con el juego, bajo mi punto de vista, más espectacular gráficamente de esta generación (con permiso de algunos exclusivos de PS3 como Uncharted 2).
Crysis 2 is available for PS3 and Xbox 360 since last April for a price of €64.95 and for PC for a price of €45.99
Does Crysis 2 have more than just incredible graphics? Definitely, yes.
Crysis 2 is the sequel to the game released in 2007 by Crytek, so the story takes us after what happened in the first part of the game. Even so, do not despair if you have not played the first part, since it is not necessary at all to understand the plot, and you can enjoy the complete experience without knowing anything at all about the first installment.
The game places us in the year 2023, where Manhattan (New York) is being devastated by aliens. In this case, the alien race that attacks the earth are the Ceph, named for their great resemblance to cephalopods. Our protagonist is the soldier Alcatraz, who after the start of the game will end up being the wearer of the Nano suit that you probably know from the game images.
The first thing to talk about is the graphics, the similarity of Manhattan to reality is incredible, at all times we will be encountering emblematic locations that will leave our mouths open**. Furthermore, everything is modeled in an almost perfect way, making the effects of shadows, explosions, particles, etc., a delight for the eyes. I am sure that Crysis will not leave you indifferent, since after watching it, the rest of the games (especially in the case of the Xbox) will seem like they were from a past generation.
The Nano suit will be the main companion in our mission, allowing us to confront the enemy in multiple ways. To start, the suit has 2 basic possibilities: camouflage, which allows Alcaraz to become completely invisible. It will allow us to play the story stealthily simulating an infiltration game (for example, breaking necks like in Metal Gear Solid). The armor, on the other hand, will allow us to face the action directly, being able to go as if we were Rambo from cover to cover receiving hundreds of bullets without flinching. These two possibilities give a lot of play, allowing everyone to choose the way they like the most, and changing quite a bit the way of completing the missions if they are limited to a single option.
Additionally, the suit’s visor will allow us to decide the best tactical options before facing a battle, being able to mark the enemies to know their patrols on the map, points of interest to flank, use a sniper, resupply, etc… Although this section may sound very interesting, it ends up being repetitive and somewhat tiring, so as the hours go by, you use it less and less. It is a shame that it could not be used with more interaction with the scenarios, for example strategic points where you interact with the scenario to kill the enemy, perhaps that would have made this option more used.
The story, although not one of the best I have played this generation, is entertaining, with a couple of unexpected twists that will keep you sitting on your couch. And it has a more than acceptable duration with about 7-9 hours depending on the difficulty. Furthermore, by being able to face situations in different ways, the game does not become repetitive.
I have to mention that, although the graphics are great, the enemy AI is far from perfect. For example, on some occasions, enemies just walk against the wall as if they were stupid, which seems unforgivable to those who tried the game. Both times I played the campaign, I suffered from said AI problems, so it doesn’t seem like a remote bug that would be difficult to locate. Additionally, we also found the occasional graphical error, such as one time when we were able to leave the stage, but that seems more like a specific error since we were not able to reproduce it.
The sound section by Hans Zimmer could not be anything other than excellent, and the word to define it would be, above all, epic. The Spanish dubbing is very correct, and the voices match well with each character. The only problem I would say is that perhaps the sound of the assault rifles firing is not very successful.
The multiplayer section, although at first glance it could be considered filler, is very entertaining, and had me hooked for a good few hours. I have to specify that the possibility of playing against novice people in your first levels is a success that all online games should introduce, since no one likes to be overwhelmed by 0-30 in their first game. Perhaps as a complaint, I would lower the importance of the invisible online, since it gave me the feeling that people were abusing it.
Note
- Presentation: The story is quite good, and it is a detail that it is not necessary to know the story of the previous game to get your bearings. 8.5
- Graphics: The graphics are amazing. At all times it seems that the console is at its limit. Not much more can be said. 10
- Duration and Engagement: The game lasts about 7-9 hours in story mode, which is not bad at all. The possibility of repeating the chapter, along with the two totally different game possibilities, can lengthen this mode quite a bit. The multiplayer mode also adds quite a few hours to the final result. 8.5
- Final Note: Perhaps Crysis 2 is not the best First Person Shooter of this generation, but it is a very complete product, which reveals the graphical limits of the consoles of this generation. A very entertaining game from start to finish, although with some small bugs. A very good purchase if you like FPS. 9