When I upgraded my almost-dead computer last December, I was thinking of only one game in mind when I did it and that was Crysis. Apart from being able to experience the loads of games that are going to be released this year in their entire graphical splendor, Crysis was one game that convinced me that a new computer was in order. Of course, soon after buying said system, I also bought Crysis and after steadily progressing through it, I was finally able to beat it today.

Most of the initial screenshots and videos suggested the game would be set on a tropical island in a very similar setting to Crytek’s debut effort Far Cry. But what I did not expect was the amount of variety in gameplay the combination of the setting and the game’s nanosuit would offer. The Nanosuit is one of the best new gimmicks I have experienced in a game in a long time. Apart from serving to enhance the gameplay there were some situations where I would have ended up dying if not for the special abilities that the suit offers.

The levels featuring large open-ended areas and difficult battles against the Koreans were clearly the best. The enemy AI was very good and I was surprised quite a few times by Korean Soldiers flanking me when hiding amongst the bushes. The game rewarded slow and steady gameplay making you think like a Special Ops soldier stranded in the middle of nowhere. The later levels featuring the aliens, though linear, were very good and inserted a great deal of urgency into the proceedings making the action very fast and frenetic in contrary to the slow pace of earlier levels. The final battles against the huge aliens were awesome and had my adrenaline pumping the whole way through to the final cutscene.

Even though I had the ending spoiled for me, it was still surprising. Recent news suggests that the next game from Crytek is a few years away and I hope that they are talking about a new IP. The main story line in Crysis needs some finishing and I hope that they release the next one sooner rather than later.

Crysis is a game that made me feel proud of the fact that I play games and the last time I felt like that was when I finished Half Life 2 and Knights of the Old Republic. Before this game, there was only one developer whose games I could buy with my eyes closed and end up not getting disappointed and that was Valve. With Crysis, Crytek has been added to the list and I urge anyone with a system capable of handling it to give this game a go.