Crysis 2

Time to strap on Nanosuit 2.0.

“Holy Crap” were the only words that left my mouth as the demo for Crysis 2 ended and with good reason. Crytek isn’t just creating a sequel they are building a game that looks like it will put a Michael Bay movie to shame.

Gone is the tropical island from the first game, no longer will you be maneuvering through the depths of a jungle facing off against an entrenched North Korean force, instead the demo introduced us to a war torn New York City. Your enemy however is not an invading nation but a violent alien force that were first introduced at the end game of the first Crysis. However unlike the first Crysis these were not the floating tripod/squid aliens that we fought on the island. Instead we are introduced to a whole cast of aliens, including the new “Stormtrooper” of the game. This soon to be familiar foe was a humanoid looking aliening in shimmering blue armor/skin that caused all kinds of hell.


Speaking of causing hell, the demo was split into two different parts. The first was you and a group of soldiers moving into the heart of the city to take back a train station. But first we had to make it to the station and the enemy wasn’t going to make it easy. Enemies could be found shooting from the windows of the surrounding buildings, requiring a solid rocket to the face to put them down. While the windows did shatter and pieces of the wall flew off, it wasn’t clear if the entire environment would have the same level of destructibility the first game did or it would only be moments like the one shown in the demo.

When the window shoppers had been taken care of we moved forward showing a broken and desolate New York. Firefights broke out often as the Nano suit soldier moved forward all the while these massive blue balls of energy scarred the night sky as they hammered the downtown skyline. I am guessing its artillery fire and looks like a combination of the plasma blast from a Wraith Tank in Halo or that blue gas the giant bugs in Starship Troopers use to fire. The combination of the enemy population, overhead madness and other nice touches made it successfully seem like this massive war was being waged throughout the city.

However if I am going to talk about a Crysis 2 demo I need to talk about the Nanosuit. All the powers you know and love are back but the game allows them to become more like gameplay styles then options. A good example of this was shown in the demo. You can decide to stalk your enemies, bypassing larger forces using the stealth power. While those of you (and me) who enjoy blowing up mom’s minivan and pulling off a baker’s dozen of headshots can use the armor power to absorb more damage or use the strength power to throw cars at an entrenched or oversized foes.

The fine presenter from Crytek explained to us as the second part of the demo was loaded up that the sections were meant to show the different position you will find yourself in, as either the hunter or hunted.

The second part of the demo took place within the massive station; the goal was to hold the area until all the civilians had been evacuated from the area. This meant taking the brunt of multiple assaults from waves of enemies and using the suits power in conjunction to pacify the nasties.


Near the climax of the demo we were introduced to a massive new enemy which made its entrance in the grandest of fashion. This unwanted guest however had one weakness. It could only attack what was making sound, as sound was its only way of “seeing.” We got to watch as the soldiers distracted the behemoth so that the Nano suit soldier could shove a few explosives up the enemy’s rear end.

Then it happened, the “holy crap” moment. The game crashed… No I am kidding! As the soldiers cheered at their victory over the massive foe, some of that deadly blue energy smashed into the overhead skyscraper that sat beside the station. It was very convenient that the stations roof was made of glass so everyone could see that the latest barrage of fire had all but broken the building in half. It began to moan as it buckled under its own weight and we were privy to seeing a chaotic scramble by the good guys on Humvees.

Once outside, the player’s Humvee is waved down by a man trying to free his wife from some rubble at one of the stations entrances. One look up as the titanic building came down forced the troopers to leave the man behind. To watch a building of this size come down and completely crush the station was one of the coolest and awe creating moments I have ever had.

It was here that the demo ended and I one through came into my head. Day one purchase.