Crytek Crysis Single Player Demo Review

Graphically: Solid A Step Above

Well it's out and barely a few hours old and I put some time into this long awaited FPS game for the PC.

Having enjoyed Far Cry on a number of levels visual, level design and game play) I was trying to minimize my expectations for Crysis. Partly because of the developers focus on the game engine for the past two years.

Taking on the enemy in the brush does elicit the shrub, branch and tree cutting we've seen in all the demos. Although I was able to take note, I was spending time scrambling to stay alive in the process.

Gameplay: Fun but Predictable

Unlike Far Cry you start out as part of a team. This doesn't really play into an NPC group as you soon find yourself going solo with the occasional team rendezvous.

Your "super powers" enabled by your suit never feel over empowering so there's a balance of tactical planning involved in knowing when and when not to use them. The tone is set by your squad leader at the start. Much as in Far Cry your stealth is key in staying alive which isn't a bad thing as you can flank enemies and decide to whether raise raise some hell. Getting the upper hand on the enemy and dispatching in creative ways is what Crysis looks to bring to the table.

In this way game play in this demo is in the tried and true mode of stealth or Guns- O -Blazin that has existed in previous FPS titles. Getting too aggressive with the enemy will get you pretty messed up and as your squad leader is ever so careful to remind you - the enemy will call in those reinforcements.

The game (DEMO) has its quirks. Being that you're a super soldier, the enemy at times can spot you at great distance. Getting peppered from off the coast by a gunboat I could barely see was one instance. Meanwhile the enemy at 5 paces didn't alert to fire in the brush where I was in a prone position. This is a demo and not the full game, but this is syndrome that happens in many FPS games and it happens in Crysis.

Some Welcome Addition and Some Omisions

OK I know this is not a sequel to Far Cry, but many of the ideas and objectives remain the same. Some ideas are new and another returns sans full implementation.

The quick key to alter your suit attributes is ideal in this game and is very easy to trigger. It has just the right amount of options without getting overwhelming in a tight situation. It's clear in this demo and how you decide to ultimately play the game that you will be jumping between modes often to accomplish your objectives.

Although it doesn't get contrived in the demo, I'm hoping it doesn't turn into a puzzle affair in the final release. Cloak - 20 steps - Super jump next 2 steps - Max Armor next yard - Cloak next yard etc. There's a difference in knowing when to use and being forced to use. Why this concern? Where Far Cry started out as an open ended adventure with multiple ways to approach or evade the enemy, the last levels ultimately turned into an on rails shooter

On the omision's side its a little more subtle. The zoomed binocular view in Far Cry to enable an audio feed of enemies at great distances. The things enemies were saying was often worth a good laugh and added a level of humor and even tactical advantage when enemies were aware of your presence. This is all gone and the binoculars are more straight forward. Your HUD now gives colored symbols to ascertain enemy awareness of your presence.

System Specs: 3 GHz Core 2Duo - 3 Gigs RAM ATI x1950

The game defaults to Medium settings at 1024x768 on my rig. The visuals aren't stellar by screen shot standards but hold their own against other fps titles out there. That being said I did experiment with increasing the resolution, and various settings above med only to get noticeably slower frame rates. So noticeable, its clear that the demos Crytek ran with were most likely run on Quad Cores like those mentioned in the Intel ad at the start of the demo. This is a bit of a let down as I know few people who game at 1280x1024 let alone 1024x768 which is where single core users may well be relegated to.

It's worth noting that STALKER held some promise with its real time effects and was able to maintain smother frame rates at higher resolutions than Crysis, but it's not entirely fair to compare the two engines. Crysis does offer vast levels of details in close areas where as STALKER was more open spaces.

Where is High End PC Gaming Heading?

It remains to be see how well Crysis does in sales. Crysis has a steep system requirement for PC gaming and PC gaming isn't what it used to be. Although Crytek is firm in their belief (now) in the high end PC market I'm sure they will be anxious to watch their financial returns.

Far Cry ended up becoming a PC benchmark favorite and a year after its release was bundles with hardware to showcase video competence. It's not hard to imagine that one or two years out that Crysis will be a benchmark favorite, but that isn't really what a game is meant to be.

Just like Epic, Id, and now Valve, the console market is exceedingly hard to ignore. High end PC gaming has always been niche and is suspect in supporting the financial requirements for next gen developers. PC gamings future for now is a majority of console game ports.

Demo Showcases a Good Game not the Greatest

The Crysis demo is a good solid game but not the best FPS game I've played. Visuals and hardware requirements aside there is not allot more that hasn't been brought to the table in other FPS games.

It should be interesting to see what the full game brings to the table.