Crytek invites a revolutionary masterpiece in Crysis 2

“Crysis 2″
5/5 Pitchforks
Released on March 22
PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Photo courtesy of Crytek Press Relations

It’s 2023 and New York City is in shambles. The Statue of Liberty’s dismembered arm lies crumbling in a crater, for not even its torch can pierce through the darkness brought on by devastatingly powerful aliens who swarm throughout this capitalist hallmark with a sole objective of annihilating mankind.

This is the cataclysmic setting in which players find themselves throughout the phenomenal experience that is “Crysis 2.”

Teetering on the edge of photorealism, the graphically surreal sequel follows the escapade of Alcatraz, a force-recon marine who is synergized with a cybernetic combat armor known as the Nanosuit 2, and his death-defying task of saving New York City from the terrifying grasp of an alien invasion and a lethal plague epidemic.

Within the first 10 minutes any hopes of a continuing storyline utilizing “Crysis’s” main character, Prophet, are dispatched by having the original cybernetic soldier adorn Alcatraz with the Nanosuit 2 and then promptly commit suicide.

Nevertheless, author Richard Morgan delivers a stellar, but slightly confusing, plot within “Crysis 2” that mainly focuses on the importance and power of the Nanosuit 2.

While the storyline is above average for a 13-hour-long first-person-shooter game, its immersion could have been vastly improved with more development of the Ceph invasion and Crynet organization.

For the first couple hours of story development, Alcatraz is tossed into the pit of a flaming New York City as he eludes the Crynet agency by skillfully slaughtering hordes of C.E.L.L. soldiers in order to rendezvous with conspiracy-loving computer geek Nathan Gould.

During these two hours campaign developer Crytek GmbH’s allure of creative violence is clearly signified with “Crysis 2’s” unique combat featuring the Nanosuit 2 and staggeringly brilliant artificial intelligence.

Unlike the typical first-person-shooter, Alcatraz isn’t able to pull a “Rambo” and attack his enemies head-on, expecting to survive unscathed. Attempting an action movie firefight results in an incredibly swift demise because every enemy works together better than the most polished military unit by quickly seeking cover, aggressively flanking Alcatraz and silently slipping behind him for disastrous coordinated assaults.

The only hope of survival is properly employing the powerful Nanosuit 2’s modules that bestow inhuman strength and speed, invisibility, and increased armor; however, regardless of what Nanosuit 2 ability is used, expect an enemy team to remain one step ahead of Alcatraz.

Luckily, New York City is an urban jungle made for the cybernetic war suit and provides a variety of explosive toys and destructible cover necessary to turn the tide against perhaps the most impressive artificial intelligence in video game history.

However, even though the enemies are incredibly intelligent, once dead they still on occasion partially glitch into walls or hover in mid-air.

Despite the AI’s frustratingly impressive fighting abilities and occasional bug, several exploitable weaknesses appear by thinking outside of the box.

A personal favorite is turning invisible and throwing three gasoline-filled barrels into a crowed roadblock of seven C.E.L.L. infantry. Once the enemy unit deployed small squads to search for who threw the barrels, I attach C-4 to a taxi cab and then kick it from the top of a parking garage directly in front of the opposing forces, shoot the car’s fuel tank, and watch the glorious explosion of elimination.

Best of all, this action is doable in the multi-player as well.

Multi-player developer Crytek UK, the team formerly known as Free Radical who is recognized for the “TimeSplitters” series, created the best combative first-person-shooter multi-player available by incorporating the best aspects of the “Battlefield,” “Call of Duty,” and “Halo” franchises.

Every player is adorned with a Nanosuit 2 with most of the abilities found within the campaign, which allows everyone to have a unique combat style and revolutionizes the combative first-person-shooter environment.

A player who prefers assimilating with New York’s towering scenery as a sniper may choose to cloak, sprint and then climb to higher ground for the best possible vantage point, making Swiss cheese out of adversaries along the way. While perhaps someone prefers the personal connection of close-quarters combat will activate the sprint function, grappling rails and performing incredibly epic parkour feats until he or she is close enough to fire a well-placed slug into the target’s head.

Nearly every problem found within the previously released multi-player demonstrations has been fixed. The final product does, however, leave the maximum armor function feeling a bit underwhelming, leaving players to rely more upon stealth before engaging in combat.

The game features 12 very well made multiplayer maps, five unlockable preset and custom load outs, six different game modes, 20 Nanosuit modules, 50 ranks and 200 dog tags.

Even though “Crysis” still feels more at home on a PC, by pushing the technical limits of the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, “Crysis 2” provides a wider audience of players with an incredibly rewarding campaign and remarkable combative multi-player that will awe players as a revolutionary adventure. Splicing “Crysis 2’s” fantastic gameplay with its surreally beautiful graphics sets this title up to be 2011’s game of the year.

Reach the reporter at tdmcknig@asu.edu

'Bulletstorm' excitingly redefines destruction

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Preview: Hands on with Crysis 2 multiplayer

Travis McKnight

|The State Press|

(Photo courtesy of Electronic Arts)

As much of the competitive video gaming community is inconceivably transfixed by today’s newly released map pack for “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” a slightly less notorious game is about to snipe Activision’s love child back to the respawn point.

“Crysis 2” is a futuristic first person shooter set in an alien-ravaged New York City that offers an elegant form of satisfaction while annihilating opponents. Although the game immediately feels familiar by incorporating the best assets of the heavy hitting “Battlefield,” “Call of Duty,” and “Halo” franchises, it adds a unique layer of strategy through the Nanosuit and verticality.

Cybernetic combat armor known as a Nanosuit, originally featured in the award winning “Crysis,” adorns every player and bestows the ability of sprinting beyond Olympian speeds, becoming a bullet absorbing carnage wreaker, and turning invisible.

Each ability used drains an energy meter that slowly refills when it’s unexploited. Failure to properly manage this meter will result in an untimely demise.

Moreover, unique to “Crysis 2” players may combine particular armor abilities together, creating a new form of choices such as sliding attacks and an aerial ground-pound that incapacitates or kills any opponent caught in its shock wave.

While the invisibility capability is a bit overpowered, “Crysis 2” includes a kill-cam similar to the one introduced in “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” that, with a smidgen of teamwork, prevents invisible players from camping for too long.

Furthermore, unlike “Call of Duty,” the kill-cam isn’t longer than three seconds and provides a stellar slow-motion death cinematic when killed by a head shot.

Perhaps the best exclusive aspect of “Crysis 2” is verticality. The multiplayer maps are designed with New York City’s infamous skyscrapers in mind to utilize the Nanosuit’s ability to leap into the air and automatically grab onto any nearby ledge, swiftly mantle it, and continue fighting.

The hyper-jump function is irrefutably useful in countless situations and allows for every player to have a unique combat style.

A player who prefers assimilating with New York’s towering scenery as a sniper may choose to cloak, sprint and then climb to higher ground for the best possible vantage point, decapitating adversaries on the way. While perhaps someone who prefers the personal connection of close-quarters combat will activate the sprint function, grappling rails and performing incredibly epic parkour feats until he or she is close enough to assassinate the target.

A multiplayer beta demo was released on Jan. 25, exclusively for the Xbox 360. Included in the demo is the rooftop-garden map “Skyline” and a small taste of unlockable content.

The demo contained two playlists: Team Instant Action, a typical team death match, and Crash Site, a capture and hold variation.

While the public beta still has several technical issues, such as graphical inconsistencies pertaining to melee attacks and the outbalanced invisibility, the game is certainly a revolutionary first person shooting adventure.

With retina-melting visuals and fantastically fast-paced gameplay, “Cryis 2” will dominate 2011’s first quarter by easily identifying skilled players from novices, and swiftly becoming one of the best multiplayer experiences available.

The full game will feature 12 unique multiplayer maps, five preset and five custom load outs, six different game modes, more than 20 Nanosuit modules, 50 ranks and 200 dog tags.

Crytek UK, the team formerly known as Free Radical who are recognized for the “TimeSplitters” series, is solely dedicated to creating the “Crysis 2” multiplayer and has promised to observe the demo results and modify any combat inequalities.

“Crysis 2” publisher Electronic Arts and developers Crytek GmbH and Crytek UK announced that a PC version of the demo will be launched in the upcoming weeks.

“Crysis 2” is scheduled to release on March 22.

Reach the reporter at tdmcknig@asu.edu

Original 'The State Press' Article

In Review: "Dead Space 2"

Travis McKnight

|The State Press|

9/10

(Photo courtesy of Electronic Arts 


“Dead Space 2” is the unnerving sequel to an abominably violent escapade that will leave you flabbergasted and screaming with delightful terror.

Once again you play as Isaac Clarke, a deep-space engineer caught in a daunting fight for survival against gruesome parasitic corpse-reanimations called Necromorphs.

After narrowly escaping from the USG Ishimura, Isaac awakens from a coma in the hospital of a gargantuan space station called “The Sprawl,” a civilian-colony on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.

Unfortunately for Isaac, chaos has followed him to his new home.

Previously, Titan was a bustling colony. The new station features dangling ceiling lights dripping entrails onto convulsing bodies and the incessant wails of ravished survivors who litter the crumbling complex.

These transfixing sequences of awe-inspiring repugnance are a change of pace from the spaceship found in the first game. The “Dead Space 2” development studio, Visceral Games, traded in the Ishimura’s cramped atmosphere for an array of less enclosed apartment complexes, Laundromats, churches, shopping malls and an elementary school.

Although the change of pace is welcoming, much of the best game play still takes place in very claustrophobic hallways and air ducts.

Throughout the well-paced adventure, Isaac searches for a solution to the infestation, twiddles away time hacking computer consoles and tries to survive with the assistance from two mentors — each with his and her own goals.

Isaac is also haunted by the recent suicide of his girlfriend Nicole Brennan. Without warning, unplayable flashes of baleful hallucinations featuring his deceased lover flitter across the screen, alluding to the impression that Isaac is teetering over the line of insanity.

In the original game, Isaac felt far too slow and clunky; however, the protagonist has received a noticeable speed boost that allows for a nimbler character and a smoother gaming experience.

Moreover, the curb-stomp action in “Dead Space” was a painfully useless tactic; in “Dead Space 2,” curb-stomping an enemy is much more efficient and in many cases a necessity.

The previously showcased stasis ability was another rarely used tool in Isaac’s corpse-rendering arsenal. The sequel’s addition of constantly recharging Isaac’s stasis fuel allows the player to actually make use of the time-slowing tactic, employing it from a more strategic angle.

Stasis is especially useful against becoming a gooey pile of remains when confronting misleadingly cute infants — who just happen to explode on contact.

The days of Necromorphs lumbering after Isaac in single-file with limbs exposed are all but gone. An impressive and immediately obvious improvement is the way in which a Necromorph attacks Isaac.

Often following shrill taunts, Isaac is lured into a shadowy claustrophobic trap where a battle against one insidious monster will transform into a seven-on-one survival game, with every creature more vicious and bloodthirsty than the last.

Initially, excitement was abounding when Visceral Games announced that “Dead Space 2” includes competitive multi-player. However, the hopeful anticipation for a unique experience swiftly dissipated. Horror-survival junkies will immediately recognize the creature versus human survival scenario from “Left 4 Dead 2.”

A team of four humans is assigned the objective of activating a series of computer consoles, gathering a data pack and returning it to base. These tasks would be simple, if not for the four varieties of opposing Necromorphs who are unwaveringly intent on devouring a still-beating human heart.

Even though the multi-player experience is essentially a remake with a few modifications, the experience is still fantastic. The objective-based multi-player system alongside a traditional survival atmosphere leaves the multiplayer game memorable, unbelievably unsettling and quite enjoyable.

Commencing with its story-driven paralytic scenes of anxiety that lead you into a truly unique realm of sleep-depriving exhilaration, to the nostalgic but addicting multiplayer, “Dead Space 2” is a wonderfully twisted masterpiece executed in such a glorious way that it will revolt mothers worldwide, and snare any horror fan for years to come.

Original 'The State Press' Review