Mike Sharkey, News Editor: You went hands on with the multiplayer for Crytek's upcoming sci-fi shooter, Crysis 2, last week (the same demo Xbox 360 gamers will be able to download starting today). What did it feel like to put on the Nanosuit and play future guns in New York City?
Will Tuttle, Editor in Chief: It felt pretty darn good, actually. I found it interesting that EA/Crytek chose to lead with a multiplayer demo, as the Crysis series has always had a decidedly single-player focus (at least to this editor). It's funny, because the demo is technically listed as "closed beta", but that would insinuate that someone is tweaking the multiplayer based on what's happening and how people are playing. I'm not sure that that is what's actually happening.
Mike Sharkey: Beta or not, nice to hear the multiplayer feels good. I'm a shooter junkie hoping a developer will step up and inject a bit of the old innovation in the not-quite-stale-but-getting-there-fast FPS genre. Splash Damage's Brink and Crytek's Crysis 2 appear to be the best candidates to do the injecting in 2011. What does Crysis 2 bring to the table that can be considered new and/or different?
Will Tuttle: Well, it's definitely a not-quite-stale shooter through and through, albeit one with some nifty gimmicks to keep players coming back for more. The most obvious of these are the suit powers, which allowed me to approach different situations in different manners. As in the case with the single-player game, I was able to use Stealth during situations when I wanted to get the jump on an enemy and Armor when I wanted to just rush in with gun a-blazin'. The rest of the time, I just ran around with my Power ability equipped, which allowed me to run faster and jump higher than normal. This constant back-and-forth-and-back takes a while to get used to, especially since there's only a limited pool of energy to pull from. It drove me nuts when I suddenly popped into view right as an enemy was bearing down on my stealth-enabled behind, but it was always my own damn fault for not watching my energy gauge more closely.
Mike Sharkey: The Halo comparisons are inevitable, and it sounds like Crysis 2 takes a page from Reach's armor abilities book with Nanosuit powers. Is that a fair comparison? What makes Crysis 2's Nanosuit different?
Will Tuttle: Well, for one, you'll be able to seamlessly switch abilities rather than determining which one you'll use via loadout. As an example, there was a sequence in which I saw an enemy, enabled Power Sprint to chase him down, quickly popped into Stealth before he saw me, then switched to Armor mode when it was time to take him down. Crysis 2 is absolutely exhilarating when everything comes together like that. The suit also allowed me to navigate the environments with ease, as I automatically vaulted over short walls and leapt great distances whenever I wanted. One other neat feature: the ability to do a ground pound of sorts when in midair, stunning any enemies that are nearby. Again, when it works and you can pull it off correctly, it's awesome.
Mike Sharkey: An uber melee attack. Very nice. I can't help but think of Mario's ass attack. Nice to see an old-school arcade move get incorporated into an modern-day FPS. Let's talk weapons: When you weren't putting the Nanosuit's powers to good use, what types of guns did Crytek put in your hands?
Will Tuttle: I played with a fairly standard assortment of class-based weapons, including a satisfyingly hefty shotgun and a devastating sniper rifle. It looks like the development team borrowed some elements heavily from the recent Call of Duty games, including killstreak rewards and unlockable emblems. I didn't really have enough time to fully explore the various class rewards or high-level perks, but there was one thing that intrigued me. As you gain points or get kills, you'll earn XP toward whichever ability you're using. I'm looking forward to spending some more time with Crysis 2, there seems to be a lot of interesting tracked stats and a wide variety of experience systems.
Mike Sharkey: Nanosuit powers, lock, stock, and two smoking barrels, and your friendly neighborhood FPS class system. Sounds like a potent combo. And of course, with Crytek and CryEngine 3, I've got to ask how the game stands up against the competition visually.
Will Tuttle: Well, I saw the game running on the Xbox 360, so I can't speak to the PC version's visuals. The game looks very, very nice and features some pretty nifty graphical (water splashed on my visor, walking from shade to sun blinded me temporarily, etc.) tricks that'll help it stand out from the crowded multiplayer shooter pack. The big question is whether those snazzy visuals come at the expense of a smooth, satisfying experience. I noticed some weird aiming lag and occasional framerate hiccups during my brief time with Crysis 2, though I'm hopeful that all of the kinks will be ironed out by the time the game is released in April.
