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Crysis 3
As much as I enjoy the Crysis series it often felt like the games were just benchmarks to show off the stunning visuals. The gameplay, while solid enough never really grabbed me as being exceptional. Crysis 2 was well received but by focusing on consoles, the visuals fell a bit short of what rabid fans were expecting. Now a scant two years later Crytek has once again dusted off the old nanosuite to parade it around in a new game that promises to fix all the issues with the last one.
The game opens with Prophet being freed from Cell by members of a local resistance. We find that it is now more than twenty years since the events of the last game and that Cell has been very busy in the meantime. A giant nanodome has been built over the city and Cell is now a mega corporation that has a monopoly on the world's power supply. Under the dome, New York has transformed into a tropical jungle, patrolled by Cell soldiers and a few remaining Ceph. While the resistance busted out Prophet in order to enlist his aid in freeing the world from Cell oppression, he is more concerned about disturbing visions of the Alpha Ceph. It took a few patches before I was able to play Crysis 3 on my system but once I got it up and running I was greeted by game that sported some of the best visuals to date. The opening level looked like it was ripped straight out of a Call of Duty game but things pick up considerably once you reach the overgrown ruins of the city. Lush vegetation and long grass along with flowing rivers showcases a city that has been taken back by nature. The sunlight streaming through the dome casts shadows everywhere and giant skyscrapers are overgrown with trees and plants. Ambient life like deer, squirrels and even spiders go about their business and Ceph, now reduced to little more than wild animals stalk the long grass. The outdoor areas are definite highlights and it is a pity that the game throws so many dull, brown interior areas into the mix as well. You need a pretty powerful graphic card to get the most out of Crysis 3 but it is definitely worth it if you want to see some eye candy. Character detail is also very good and you will have an opportunity to study this in detail as everyone you meet seems to insist on shoving their faces right into yours for a good look. The game only works on Direct-X 11 compatible cards which might irk some people but at least nobody can complain that the visuals were held back by consoles. While it looked like Crysis 3 would be a fusion of the first few games, once you get over the spectacular visuals and start playing the game it becomes clear that this goal was not quite achieved. As impressive as the environments are they are not as big as they first appear and the formula for each area is pretty much the same. You have a couple of Cell troopers or later, Ceph aliens patrolling and it is up to you to decide how to proceed. Prophet has a new high-tech bow at his disposal which can down most enemies in one shot and can even be used without compromising your stealth mode so sneaking is usually the preferred route. You can use your visor to mark targets and weapon caches before slinking in and eliminating your foes one at a time. You can also hack weapon turrets to against enemies but once you are spotted it is time to break out the big weapons. Enemies can spot you from a mile away if you are not in stealth mode but switching to armor mode makes you a walking tank. There is no shortage of weaponry at your disposal although you can still only carry two at a time. Your bow is always available however but has a limited supply of arrows so retrieving these after each shot is highly recommended. You can also customize your weaponry and even pick up some alien guns and use these until they run out of ammo. The problem is that your suite makes you so powerful that you can literally rush into an area and kill everyone in sight without too much problems. Playing the game in this fashion will see you watching the end credits in six hours or so with very little memorable set pieces to think back on. You can pick up "Intel" along the way which fleshes out the story a bit or take on secondary objectives in certain areas but overall the campaign feels very short. The cliched plot doesn't help matters either and neither does the very limited cast of characters. The game tries its best to up the drama but it feels very flat and forced. You are joined by Sergeant Michael "Psycho" Sykes, who players of Crysis and Crysis: Warhead will remember. Psycho was separated from his nanosuite in a process called "skinning" so he harbors a special hatred for Cell. Having him around is interesting but all the drama surrounding his skinning never feels like it's more than manufactured drama. The questioning of Prophet's visions and humanity is also a recurring but dull theme. The game throws in a few vehicle sections but these just highlight how much more cramped the gameworld feels. You can hunt for suite upgrades that are hidden on the maps and use these to upgrade your nanosuite making the game even easier. One thing that is still annoying is the checkpoints but the game is easy enough that you shouldn't have to worry too much about dying. The enemy A.I is not the greatest but it is fun to toy with them while invisible. The aliens are a little less fun to mess with than the humans which make the latter areas of the game somewhat boring. Crysis 3 continues the trend of shooter games to mimic big Hollywood blockbusters so expect plenty of big explosions and saving the world speeches. The voice acting is decent enough with Prophet being more talkative than ever but I never really empathized with any of the characters. Psycho tries his best to make you feel sorry for him but it doesn't always work. As the finale in the Crysis saga the game isn't bad but visuals aside I don't think anyone is going to be blown away by what is on offer. If all you want is something to melt your PC and show off to your friends then by all means give Crysis 3 a try. If you were expecting a sandbox style shooter on the other hand then Crysis 3 feels a little limited.
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System Requirements
TAGS: Crysis 3, Cell, Ceph, Prophet, Psycho, nanosuite, New York
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