Crysis 3 Review (PC)

If there were ever a time when you thought that the Nanosuit was the main reason for the amount of fun you could have in Crysis, just wait until you try out the new one.

There has been a lot of media attention surrounding Crysis 3 and to be honest, most of it was from Cevat Yerli (Crytek CEO), who made some outlandish statements like “Crysis 3 looks better on PCs than on next-gen consoles”.

To be fair, he may actually be right because Crysis 3 does look phenomenal. I like to think that it has the same impact as the first Crysis. You know that feeling when you were stuck playing games from 2007, and then Crysis came along and made everything look like 8-bit graphics? That’s the kind of feeling I’ve received so far from Crysis 3. Although, some of the games yet to come this year may match Crysis 3 here.

Gamers take on the role of Prophet as he returns to New York City in 2047. Some years after the events of Crysis 2, you discover this “electrical energy” that has encased the city, known as a Nanodome, which was created by C.E.L.L. This then follows on from the events of Crysis 2, not exactly, but the history is definitely there.

The Nanosuit makes an expected but somewhat interesting return as things have changed mostly for the better. Players are now able to use the Nanosuit’s upgraded visor capabilities to spot enemies but, most of all, hacking electronic devices. It may sound like something you've seen before but it’s actually quite fun. The first few times you hack open doors, you are presented with a little mini-game that does a decent job of keeping you interested but it also allows you to take control of turrets. It’s always a lot of fun in a game like Crysis 3 where you are quite conditioned to shooting enemies in the face – it’s nice to take a break and clean off your suit while the turret takes care of business.

Something interesting I noticed about the hacking through the visor is that it’s just long enough to be a mini-game but not too long that you begin to despise it (I'm reminded of how much it irritated me in Deus Ex: Human Revolution).

Perhaps one of the more enjoyable things about Crysis 3 is the addition of the new Predator bow. This insta-gib bow has the ability to take down enemies in one shot and can be used silently with cloak engaged. The only downside is that you don’t have an unlimited amount of arrows. Thankfully though, if you play it smart, you can move in and around areas you plan out and then retrieve your arrows and use them for some additional target practice at a later date. I felt a little disappointed with the amount of secondary fire modes for the bow because you get some really amazing darts and arrows that almost negate the use for the rest of the high-powered arsenal on offer in the game.

Gamers can actually play Crysis 3 in a number of ways, which is really great. If you choose to be the stealthy type, then go ahead and do that but be aware that the AI is quite intelligent, especially on the more difficult levels. You can also go guns blazing, which is obviously a little more difficult but works just as well. This really stands out in the multiplayer because when cloaked, you aren’t exactly invisible but you are harder to see when quickly flicking the mouse. But if you have some decent aim, you should be okay.

The ultimate mode for me is the Hunter mode in multiplayer where two players will play as hunters and the remaining team will play as C.E.L.L operatives. As the Hunters, it’s your job to take down all the operatives in the time frame, whereas the C.E.L.L members are tasked to hunt the Hunters. When an operative is killed, he becomes a Hunter which makes it ultimately a lot more difficult as time goes on.

Telkom Do Gaming has ten servers up for Crysis 3 and the details on them can be found here.

One thing that stands out in Crysis 3 is the ease of use in the control system where players will be able to use the same hot keys to switch between maximum armour and stealth. But players will also be able to bring up a weapon system to quickly augment weapons with different sights, grips and modifications in a matter of seconds. It takes a little getting used to but once you have done it a few times, it becomes almost second nature and that is something that Crytek should be applauded for.

It has to be said that one of Crysis 3’s most full-frontal features is the visuals and the reason I haven’t yet tackled that in detail is because it may be difficult for some users to get the most out of their game. Don’t get me wrong, from what I’ve seen, Crysis 3 looks great on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 but the true Crysis comes out in the PC version as Crytek seems to feel like the best way about showing off their technology is by melting computers.

The game itself looks incredibly sleek and brilliant because there is so much going on in every sequence that you sometimes struggle to take it all in. There are some really breathtaking views in most parts of the game and when your team mate, “Psycho”, gets up close and personal, you can’t help but suggest some form of skin care cream because it just looks that real. Without having to use the power of dialogue and character development, the lines on faces can tell you the hardships and the tension that the characters have suffered and that in itself is impressive.

Speaking of dialogue and character development, Crysis 3 fares far better than the previous two games because the characters have now become people that you can actually care for. This was always hard to do in the previous games and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because the storyline was ultimately quite weak or perhaps you just struggle to care for killing-machines, but Crysis 3 definitely has a little something there.

Having said that, it’s an unfortunate affair that the actual storyline of Crysis 3 isn’t amazing: it’s captivating in its way, but I think if you aren’t ultimately a fan of the series you may struggle to get into this one. It’s also rather short and perhaps shorter than the previous two games. Crytek has countered this nicely though by means of mixing the level design between Crysis and Crysis 2 where players still have that open-world freedom from Crysis, but are able to stay on linear paths as was the case in Crysis 2.

Rob 'GrIdL0cK' Clegg has been in the gaming industry for over 15 years and has competed in both local and international tournaments at the highest level. He is also a respected gaming critic and is Telkom Do Gaming’s lead reviewer

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