Crysis was raved by critics everywhere when it was released last year. The non-stop action, excellent game play and ground breaking graphics helped it garner multiple game of the year awards. However the high system requirements made it out of reach for many PCs and kept it from being a top seller. Crysis Warhead picks up with the same heart pounding action and stunning visuals while keeping the system requirements in check.
Game Details
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Developer: Crytek
- ESRB Rating: "M" for Mature
- Genre: Action - First Person Shooter
- Theme: Modern Military/Sci-Fi
- Pros: Improved AI and overall performance; Environments, visual effects and models look even more stunning than original; More intense and action packed firefights; Excellent multiplayer game modes
- Cons: Short single player campaign.
As Nomad in Crysis it always seemed as though your squad mate named Psycho would pop in (or out) at the most in opportune times, either leaving too early or showing up just after you had finished off plowing through dozens of enemies. As you fought a seemingly endless North Korean and alien army did you ever wonder what Psycho could possibly be doing? Well it turns out he had his hands full on the other side of the island.
Without giving too much of the story away, in Crysis Warhead you assume the role of Sergeant "Psycho" Skykes your brash British, nanosuit wearing squad mate from Crysis. Crytek has always billed the Crysis storyline as a trilogy but Crysis Warhead is not a continuation of where things left off at the end of Crysis. Rather, it's story runs parallel to the timeline in Crysis and tells of what happens to Psycho on the other side of the island. You're not going to see much in the way of new environments in Warhead, but the same lush tropical settings should look ever better after the enhancements that have been made to the CryENGINE 2 game engine. Enemies in Warhead also remain unchanged, you'll still be fighting wave after wave of North Korean troops and aliens.
Like Nomad in Crysis, Psycho starts out with the Delta Force standard SCAR assault rifle, and much like in the first game, you're going to run out of ammunition within the first 5-10 minutes. This forces you to scavenge weapons and ammunition from dead enemies or KPA weapons cache in various North Korean stronghold areas. All of the same scopes, sights, and silencers can be found along the way which makes targeting enemies and getting through some of the missions much easier. Warhead also introduces some new weapons and munitions to the mix, most notably the dual wielding sub-machine guns which can be fired one at a time by clicking either left or right mouse button, or simultaneously be clicking both mouse buttons at the same time. Other new weapons in addition to the dual wielding submachine gun include the grenade launcher, claymore explosives and land mines. Vehicles in Warhead have also gone through a minor makeover, driving controls are much more responsive and maneuvering is more accurate. There are also new vehicles and mounted weapons at your disposal and plenty of opportunity to use them. A personal favorite is the armored car armed with explosive tipped rounds that make blowing up other vehicles and fuel drums a breeze while making swiss cheese out of nearly everything else it their path.
These new weapons and vehicles are put to good use. Right from the opening cut scene and the mayhem that follows it's clear that Crysis Warhead is more action pack and intense than the original, with only an occasional repreive in action that is long enough to stretch out your fingers before the next onslaught begins. The missions in Crysis Warhead are fairly linear each having and overall objective that needs to be completed before the story can move on. You're going to have to get from point A to point B or defeat enemies to move on to the next objective. There are side missions that are optional and give the game more of a sandbox mode feel to it. Another aspect that tends to disguise the overall linear feel of the missions is the fact that players can go about completing them in any way they see fit. You can choose to go in with guns blazing down the main road or you can try to sneak up and flank enemies using your nanosuit's cloak ability.
The biggest complaint when Crysis was released last year were it's high system requirements. While it was over blown that the game wouldn't run on anything other than top of the line gaming rigs, the highest detail settings and resolutions did wrestle even the best graphics cards into submission. With Crysis Warhead, Crytek set out to change this by optimizing it's CryENGINE 2 game engine to perform better over a wider range of hardware. The results have been excellent, not only does it run faster and more efficiently, it also looks better while doing so with stunning visuals, environments and character models.
Crysis Warhead also includes a multiplayer portion called Crysis Wars. Crysis Wars includes all of the multiplayer maps and game modes from Crysis as well as exclusive maps and modes such as Team Instant Action. The multiplayer mode gives the game extra life after you've completed the single player portion.
Bottom Line
The single player campaign for Crysis Warhead contains only about 5-10 hours of game play which is a bit short, but the multiplayer portion, improved performance and better graphics, make it well worth the lower than average price of a new game at $29.99. So if you need something to tide you over until Crysis 2 or if you missed out on Crysis altogether Warhead gives you a chance to jump in the game and experience a game with some of the best graphics and game play out there.
