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Crysis 2 Hands-On Preview for Xbox 360 (X360)

Crysis 2 Hands-On Preview for Xbox 360 (X360)

I Want A Nanosuit

When the original Crysis released back in November 2007, people had plenty of reasons to be excited about this groundbreaking new franchise. The developer, Crytek, who was known for their Far Cry series, certainly had a lot to live up to. Now with the highly anticipated release of Crysis 2, they have set the bar even higher. With a huge focus on refining their multiplayer component, Crytek has expanded on its ambitions and given the famed Nanosuit a larger role than ever before.

The first thing you’ll notice when stepping into a new match is the downsized multiplayer lobby. It now features two squads of six going head-to-head throughout six different game modes with eight variants, a drastic difference from the previous thirty-two player lobbies. A big change that makes sense, considering the open terrain of the jungle has been replaced by a closed-in New York landscape. The lack of vehicular warfare in Crysis 2’s multiplayer should be a given.

Crysis 2 Screenshot

During our hands-on time with the game we only got to see three of the six available game modes: Team Instant Action, Crash Site, and Extraction. Crysis fans will recognize Team Instant Action as your standard team deathmatch scenario, but Crash Site and Extraction are brand new to the multiplayer experience. Anyone who is familiar with first-person shooters will see that Crash Site is essentially a King of the Hill game-type. Players will battle over crashed alien drop pods that fall into the map at random locations. Teams then try to maintain these drop points by controlling the vicinity, and gain points while the area is being dominated. After a limited amount of time the pod will explode, causing damage or death to anyone close enough, and the drop ship above will begin the process all over.

Although the mode is standard for a multiplayer shooter, the Nanosuit abilities change the gameplay dramatically. You have instant access to armor, power, and stealth capabilities during the fight, along with upgrades that can be unlocked through a newly implemented skill progression system. The more you use these abilities during combat and execute a particular task – like killing enemies during a slide maneuver or pulling off stealth kills – the more you earn experience within these three categories and unlock more upgrades as you build your overall rank. These acquired “modules” can then be equipped through your load out screen before a match to improve a multitude of play styles.

Crysis 2 Screenshot

Unfortunately, not a lot of these modules were unlocked for us during our playtime, but the few we saw were interesting. The initial stealth module was your basic cloaking enhancement, but the counter to this was an ability to see the players’ glowing footprints as they walked around the map. An armor module we were given was a powerful air stomp that caused a concussive blast around your drop point, destroying anything or anyone unlucky enough to be in the way. There were even a few that granted skills like heat vision or the ability to detect bullet trails, but nothing we saw was ever vastly overpowered or a game changer. As you rank up even further through the progression system, you can move beyond the four standard classes of Assault, Scout, Sniper, and Gunner to create five custom classes. You can equip any combination of weapons, attachments, and modules to customize your experience and create load outs however you see fit.

The other game modes explained during a short presentation didn’t feel like anything significantly different in terms of multiplayer. However, the focus on the Nanosuit seems to bring the level of fun out in these otherwise typical scenarios. Our next game was an attack and defend mode called Extraction. The goal here was to capture two small nano pods and return them to an awaiting helicopter in your squad’s spawn location. It was quite fun, but also a bit of a challenge to defend against a team who can become invisible and sneak in at any given moment. Luckily the person who grabs the pod gets highlighted with a red target and becomes the center of attention while trying to escape. The job for the remainder of the squad is to protect him while on route to the extraction point, and it can get pretty hectic to say the least.

Crysis 2 Screenshot

Aside from the Nanosuit upgrades being a huge priority, the maps themselves are tailored well to accommodate the fast-paced and tactical gameplay. One of the areas featured was at the top of a New York City skyscraper, in and around a rooftop garden, along with another within a large parking structure and a third out front of a cathedral. These maps felt smaller than they actually were, but only because there is a free-running element to the gameplay. The quickest route from point A to point B was literally to Parkour across the terrain. The power of the Nanosuit gives you the ability to hop over walls, up onto high ledges, or even take shortcuts through a glass window after a boosted jump. The quickness with which you could roam around brought a whole new level of excitement and a sense of strategic vertical thinking to the game. However, the main thing to be cautious of is that these fast-paced methods can be a huge energy sap to your suit’s power, leaving you vulnerable during moments where you may need a shield boost or a stealthy getaway.

It almost goes without saying that the game, graphically, looks incredible. I never witnessed an out-of-place texture or a single hiccup in frame rate throughout my entire time with the game (granted that it was for only a few hours). If Crytek can maintain this amount of stability upon its release, then it can easily be a huge competitor in a very crowded multiplayer market. With gameplay that’s a mash-up of Battlefield’s tactics, Call of Duty’s perk and upgrade system, and the pure fun of Halo’s multiplayer, you’d be hard pressed to find a more successful combination of gaming inspiration.

For those who want to check it out for themselves and intend to play on the Xbox 360, Crytek and EA have recently announced there will be an exclusive multiplayer demo arriving tomorrow, Tuesday, January 25th.

Game Features:

  • Be Strong – Take on multiple enemies with Armor mode, mince them with heavy weapons, or squash them by kicking cars.
  • Be Fast – Get to the action quickly with a power jump, ledge grab, and slide round the environment with amazing agility.
  • Be Invisible – Use Stealth mode to set traps, hit and run your enemies, or snipe from a concealed position.
  • Be The Weapon – With the Nanosuit you choose how you want to play. Fully customize your suits upgrades and adapt your combat tactics for any scenario.


  • New York City in Crysis

    Set in 2023, three years after the events of the first game, Crysis 2 exchanges the foliage of the jungle for the steel and concrete of iconic New York City. This “urban jungle” has fallen under invasion by an alien force bent on the destruction of humanity. Amidst the chaos of a crumbling metropolis only one supersoldier, using the newly enhanced Nanosuit, has a chance of stopping this unrelenting threat to the world.

    Crysis 2 Screenshot

    So begins Crysis 2 from developer Crytek Studios who have done everything they can to top their own critically acclaimed game, Crysis from 2007. By the looks of things, they’ve done just that–Crysis 2 provides the same freedom and options of its predecessor while opening up new possibilities in the chaos of the smoldering ruins of New York. Despite this shift of location, the game is still focused on providing open-ended approaches to levels with large outdoor environments that emphasize vertical exploration as the player leaps from one story to another while avoiding enemies and snipers peppered throughout towering buildings and structures. Destructible environments add to the mayhem, keeping the player constantly on his toes when bullets and grenades are flying, reshaping the city around him. And thanks to Crytek’s CryENGINE 3, the city is portrayed with exquisite detail and top-notch dynamic visual effects.

    Crytek put a lot of work into perfecting the Nanosuit from the first game. The new 2.0 version grants the player a massive amount of freedom when approaching obstacles and enemies. Two main suit modes, Armor and Stealth, allow for a heavy, direct combat approach or a sneakier style, respectively, while a secondary mode can be toggled between greater power or greater tactical awareness. This streamlined approach to the Nanosuit opens up the gameplay for each individual player to play differently: for example, a stealth approach works great for locating outlying enemies and sneaking into the heart of the opposing forces, then a switch to pure strength can plow through the unsuspecting enemies. With new upgrades available as the story progresses, the gameplay style is all up to the player. And adaptability is crucial here; Crytek has also developed a brutal artificial intelligence (AI) system that is sure to challenge and surprise the player in any number of ways.

    Crysis 2 Screenshot

    Multiplayer mode puts these options and principles into the fast-paced, hectic atmosphere of online competition. By customizing the Nanosuit in multiplayer, the player can approach the battle from various perspectives–sneaking up to enemies with stealth invisibility, using raw power to plow through them, using speed to quickly flank retreating opponents, or using the Enhanced Visor module to sniff out hidden enemies. The abilities are all up to the player and by progressing through the eighty general ranks, more and more supersoldier powers are unlocked.

    Multiplayer features twelve maps in various New York City locales designed around using the Nanosuit’s multitude of abilities. Additionally there are six game modes including Team Instant Action, a standard team deathmatch mode, and Crash Site which has two teams working against each other to control Ceph Drop Pods to earn points. With so many options and features, Crysis 2’s multiplayer looks like it’ll provide some of the most varied and expansive multiplayer action available on any of the three platforms.

    Crysis 2 Screenshot

    Amidst all of these unique features and possibilities, Crysis 2’s most ambitious feature may be that the game will be available in true stereoscopic 3D. Crytek CEO and President Cevat Yeril explains that “the 3D experience represents a quantum leap in interactive entertainment. With all of the same story and action seen in the 2D version of the game, the 3D version adds another dimension of intensity and immersion to the action.” It remains to be seen just how 3D support will bolster the game, but if the various other features of Crysis 2 are any indication, it will push the boundaries of FPS gaming.

    Crytek Studios blew gamers away with the first Crysis game, and they will no doubt do it again with Crysis 2. From stunning visuals and 3D support to the myriad customizable options, Crysis 2 seems to have everything an FPS fan could ask for. It’s been a long wait, but it looks like Crysis 2 will be well worth it.

    Game Features:

  • New York New York: Crysis set the visual benchmark for PC games that still stands today. Crysis 2 will redefine the benchmark on console and PC platforms, shifting their attention to the rich urban jungle of New York City.
  • Amazing Aliens and AI: Challenging best-in-class AI with unique group coordination and group behavior systems which give realistic responses to your actions.
  • Nanosuit 2: Adapt your combat tactics by customizing your Nanosuit and weapons in real time with revised modes, unlocking a variety of supersoldier abilities.
  • Multiplayer: World-renowned multiplayer shooter studio Crytek UK is going to reinvent multiplayer with the dynamic intensity of Nanosuit 2. By using Nanosuit technology the player has nearly unlimited ways to approach the dynamic combat environment.

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