Crysis 2

Posted by Xtrem Gaming Thursday, November 4, 2010

Today at Gamescom we got our first taste of Crysis 2's multiplayer component. Developer Crytek is going for a complete multiplayer experience that feels like its own game in addition to the single-player campaign. There are supposedly around 80 hours of multiplayer gameplay with plenty of stuff to unlock. A few of us IGN Editors played a couple rounds and had a good time. We played Crysis 2 on Xbox 360.

One of the unique aspects of Crysis that sets it apart from other shooters is the nanosuit you wear that grants you powerful abilities. In multiplayer you can activate two abilities at any time: Armor or Stealth. These modes let you play the game stealthily or in a guns blazing Rambo style. You can also select a variety of modules that will further modify your abilities.

Crysis 2 takes place in a bombed-out New York City. Being surround by crumbling tall buildings provides many opportunities for vertical exploration. Your nanosuit also makes you more agile that your average first-person shooter hero, allowing players to be more mobile than most games of this sort. A Crytek representative described it to us as "parkour with guns."

There will be six multiplayer modes in all, but today we were shown just two: Team Instant Action and Alien Crash Site. In each mode, your dealing with two warring factions: Marines vs. Cell.

Team Instant Action is a standard team deathmatch where you try to rack up more kills than the opposing team before time runs out. You've got a radar in the bottom left of your screen that will point out enemy units as red dots. We played Team Instant Action on a map called Impact. In the wake of the disaster that his NYC two buildings have crashed into one another. Impact sets you loose on the mixed guts of these two skyscrapers. One building is much older than the other, so you'll see much contrasted interior decorating styles as you move about. It's a great idea for a multiplayer map.

After our game of Team Instant Action (which my team lost) we played a game of Alien Crash Site (which my team won!). Here, alien dropships fly by and eject some sort of pod that essentially becomes a capture the flag location. Your team will want to make its way to the pod first and hold it as long as you can before the other guys show up. You'll earn points as long as you control the site.

We played Alien Crash Site on a map called Rooftop Garden, which should be pretty self-explanatory. The rooftop setting provides a nice opportunity to glance around the skyline and take in the view of a detonated NYC.

During a match, if you pull off a skillful kill (a headshot, for instance) the enemy will drop a dog tag. You can pick these up for Support Bonuses like increased radar range or the ability to see bullet trails from enemy fire, cluing you in to their location.

There are preset classes like Assault, Sniper, and Ranger (around five or six in all) that have individual weapon loadouts and you will unlock custom classes that you can tweak to your liking. During a multiplayer game you can switch classes whenever you respawn if you desire. There are 80 ranks to achieve, over 20 suit upgrades, over 20 weapons, and over 250 dogtags, all earned by racking up experience points during matches. At the end of a game you'll be given XP based on your style of play. For example, players who use their nanosuit's Stealth function a lot will earn more stealth points than those that prefer Assault.

Crysis 2 is being developed by Crytek UK, which consists of former members of Free Radical, the team responsible for the excellent Time Splitters games. Crysis has always been about technology over style, and we do think it's a fairly generic looking shooter. It felt good to play, though, and has a nice sense of speed. We were definitely enjoying ourselves, particularly during the interesting Alien Crash Site game.

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