Crysis 3

Platform: PS3

Genre: First person shooter with a sci-fi premise.

Setting:

Like Crysis 2, you're in New York City, which is in lockdown mode. The year is 2047, 24 years after Crysis 2.

Story:

Since this is final instalment of the Crysis series, it's obviously the conclusion of the human Nanosuit soldiers' war against the technologically advanced alien Ceph occupiers and the human Crynet organisation, which seeks to rule the Earth with absolute power. Nanosuits are technologically advanced suits which grant the wearer advantages in combat, like temporary invisibility, brute strength and other things of a similar nature.

Graphics:

* The usual high, Crysis series standard, but, on PS3, without the "Wow!" factor that I felt when first playing "Uncharted 2". Maybe "It's so good that you don't even notice it!"?

* Character models look excellent in the cutscenes.

* Illusion of wide open spaces in New York.

Audio:

B grade dialogue at times, e.g. Psycho's comments.

Good about the game:

* Unlike Crysis 2, this has replay value and I was actually interested in chasing trophies...using or upgrading the Nanosuit!

* The AI has improved over the comically bad at times implementation in Crysis 2. E.g. the CELL AI are in some ways smarter than they were in Crysis 2 and at least there aren't the glitches that the previous game had, either...well, there was just one Ceph which tried to walk through a blocked door continuously...maybe the developers put that in for people who wanted a bit of Crysis 2 nostalgia thrown in?

* The Ceph don't really work together to defeat you, which is a blessing, as on the harder difficulties I'd personally find it extremely challenging and frustrating if they did.

* Story information is provided by data which you can choose to read or listen (good) to but sometimes it's not quick enough to open and you can find yourself not being sure on how to find it again via the menu (bad).

Misjudgements in the game:

* 3 button presses to start the game! I think that you have to press a button which then brings up this sequence: "Press Start to begin", with the next option being "Resume game".

* No "Save" option for the game (it autosaves at checkpoints) and...sometimes you don't trust the game!

* Opaque on how to achieve Secondary Objective in the "Gods and monsters" section, as far as the cooling towers requirement went. There was nothing on the HUD to indicate where to go or what to do on that front.

* It could have been signalled better on how to progress at times. E.g. even though I had acquired the weapon to attack a communications tower, it wasn't obvious to me that I had everything that I needed and what I should do next...so I felt that I had to lookup up a video online which showed you what to do.

* For some reason the Ceph Stalkers attack you even when you are in stealth mode.

* The Alpha Ceph battle gets tedious with all the reloading of autosaves that I found myself doing (due to dying) but fortunately the game does enough checkpoint saves to prevent it from becoming an intolerable imposition on the poor player. I thought I'd need to look at an online video to help me progress past this section but fortunately I didn't need to do that. I think that my note on this section says that an object which provides you with power-ups necessary to progress past this section are hard to see.

Bad about the game:

* Glitched trophies. I didn't get the trophy for having all weapons and attachments. Even though I'm sure I satisfied the requirements for this trophy, it seems that there is some (unmentioned) method of confirming that you have the weapon attachment which you do in fact have. Extremely irritating. Presumably I'd have to replay the game from scratch (no saved progress) in order to do this...and only by slavishly following an online video on how to do this "properly"...i.e. watching the ENTIRE game on video and following it PRECISELY. Absolutely pathetic. It's the worst kind of grinding, scavenger hunt which games can employ.

* Feeling that I needed to look up videos online on how to progress at some points. E.g. for killing the Ceph Mastermind. Also, I need to consult a video to get to the Control Tower...twice!

* Interminable VTOL sequence (a flying gunship)...it gets frustrating trying to progress to the next stage of the game when you keep dying in it! I.e. some more checkpoints in this sequence would have been appreciated.

* Annoying hack at the part to do with the Nexus (for the turrets, I think)...I found it impossible.

General observations:

Initially I found the controls daunting and wondered if they were different to the previous games, but I must have come to terms with them anyway (I'm writing this review almost a year after I completed the game).

After my negative review of Crysis 2, it was pleasing that the final game in this series marks the high point of this series. Unlike Crysis 2, with it's interminable length, Crysis 3 encourages replays due to its much shorter running time (hmm...but actually...looking at my trophies for these two games, it seems that I completed Crysis 2 quicker than I did Crysis 3...but maybe I put more hours into the former?). In any case, Crysis 2 FELT interminable, which is my complaint). Also, I could be bothered going after trophies in Crysis 3, unlike for Crysis 2, which were of a "Who cares?" variety.

Miscellaneous:

* An in game NPC's ID card expires in 2099...about 52 years from the game's present!

* Easter egg after the end credits.

I think that Crysis 3 is more like an Expansion Pack for Crysis 2. Crysis 3 continues the story, the game is not too long, that made me quite sad, because I really enjoyed it. Graphics look quite better, the textures are a lot better and the world/level design is purely amazing. The game-play is good, not too much changed from Crysis 2. The Predator Bow is a really nice weapon to use in game. The multi-player is not too good in my opinion. Most game modes are really boring, I just can't play with these weapons in the beginning too well. The only thing I really enjoy in multi-player is Hunter Mode. Hunter Mode is really nice, even if it's a bit annoying that most survivors camp and don't move for the rest of the round. Now, this is quite bad if you have a DX10 graphics card. The game supports only DX11 graphics card. Most recent graphics cards have DX11 though.. The last thing that isn't too good is the lag... I like the game overall. 9/10.

For a game that has set a standard in the gaming industry, Crysis 3 doesn't fail to deliver what it is meant to deliver- Mesmerizing visuals, great game play and excellent sound track.

But there is a sting in the tail! If your Graphics card doesn't support DX11 then you'll be disappointed because Crysis 3 only works with DX11 enabled devices.. The developers could have at least provided means for it to work on existing Graphic cards(maybe they are already working on a patch or something).

So, on a positive note, I would like to say that Crysis 3 has been an affair to remember and it just gets better and better..

9/10

Crysis 3 tells the fate of the final clash between an intelligent race of aliens - the Cepids, and the Earthlings, led by Major Laurence "The Prophet" Barnes, known from the previous two parts.

When you first contact a Crytek production, a graphic bomb hits. At that time, the game was ahead of all other productions by whole graphic eons, pushing its possibilities to almost unattainable levels. Nine years after the premiere, Crysis 3 looks like it came out two years ago. Meticulousness, graphic richness, particle effects, graphic momentum make an electrifying impression. The game is supposed to please the eye with a cascade of graphic colors and details and it does it perfectly.

The second, after the graphic design, element that brings the most satisfaction is eliminating enemies. The creators took care of a diverse arsenal of weapons, and with the help of a nanosuit, enemies can be exterminated both silently and as a full-fledged killing machine.

The gameplay, its momentum, possibilities and operability beat all CoDs, Battlefields and Far Cry. If you are looking for a juicy, full-fledged FPS, Crysis 3 is filled to the brim with action and combat product.

The only drawback that can be noticed is the random drops in frames per second in this powerful world and a bit wooden cutscenes. Plus, it's the best part of the entire trilogy, crowning the epic finale from the Lingsham Islands to the depths of New York City.

Rating: 8/10.

Beautiful violence. That is what Crysis really is.

It's the first Crysis game I've tried on a console instead of PC and I must say it looks beautiful.

Crysis was never just about graphics for me, but gameplay and story. Gameplay doesn't exactly change from Crysis 2, with few additions like the predator bow but the storyline is this iteration's strong point now it's more personal, quoting the game, "it's never been just about the suit", with a great memorable ending.

Level design is also a major improvement, with 7 beautiful and non-linear levels, which are larger than in Crysis 2, but (of course) smaller than in the original. As for multiplayer, it is quite engaging, and the Hunter mode is brilliant.

One big letdown is the game's length even with all the side missions and some datapad hunting, the slow and steady stealth playthrough took me only 7 hours 20 minutes. By the way, the datapads contain some very interesting background information with some plot base for possible future games.

To sum up, the overall impression is that the game is more of a standalone expansion like Warhead was to original Crysis, and not the actual third part of the trilogy, with its shortness and few gameplay changes. However, it's a damn good game, improving on Crysis 2 in everything but the game's length, and it's a damn good game overall. They called him Prophet. And I will remember him.

Crysis 3 is really a beautiful game. The visuals are just stunning. The textures have been improved to the max and the lighting is memorable. The AI is easy only on casual but Veteran is a perfect difficulty. Super Soldier and Post Human Warrior are INSANE. I do not know why some critics are saying that the AI is bad? That is just ridiculous.

Crysis 3 is a fantastic game. It really is.

For the best experience, get the PC version (if you have the right computer that is) but the console version is still good.

9/10