Crysis 2
(Electronic Arts; PC, PS3, Xbox 360; rated mature)

Not all first-person shooter games are created equal, and Crysis 2 is on a different plane than many FPS releases. Even some hard-core gamers will find that it is just too much. But there are many out there who feel that the level of skill required to play this game is what separates the real FPS gamer from the posers.

So if you’re going to play Crysis 2, and enjoy it, you can count yourself among the elite.

Set in 2023, three years after the first game, you play as a marine known as Alcatraz who ends up wearing a special nanosuit designed for soldiers. It’s armoured, it has a stealth mode, and it gives players access to other physical upgrades. It also has a built-in AI that provides instructions, and a visor that you can use to assess a situation and decide on tactics before engaging the enemy. You can then choose to either run-and-gun or sneak, or adopt a different style entirely, depending on your play preferences.

A viral outbreak has New York under quarantine. Making matters worse, a battle between an alien race and a private military force rages in the streets. The story, written by English sci-fi author Richard Morgan, is serviceable, but is here to serve the battle sequences.

I played Crysis 2 on the Xbox 360 in the days just after release and found it to be extremely buggy. My character was unable to jump or grab ledges, and when I tried to hide behind barricades, he’d be sticking through them. A restart seemed to fix the problem, but it serves to illustrate the point that Crysis 2 was made for Windows first, and consoles second.

This comes as no surprise, as Crytek, the studio behind the game, made headlines with the first Crysis game by creating it to run on high-end computer systems only.

Crysis 2 is an accomplished game in many respects. But it was created for those who consider themselves among the elite of first-person-shooter gamers. Us mortals who want to play will need to steel ourselves to the challenge and be prepared for a little embarrassment.

Cross-posted at the Georgia Straight