The dust has barely settled from the first Crysis, now Crytec brings you the second instalment in the saga with the release of Crysis Warhead. The North Koreans and the Alien race are back, with more intense action, weapons and adrenaline. To those unfamiliar with the original story, you are a Special Forces soldier in the year 2020 with an advanced nano-suit that gives you extra strength, armour, speed and cloaking abilities.
The story follows Nomad's British squad mate Sergeant 'Psycho' Sykes through the same events in the previous game but on the other side of the island. You' will defiantly be entertained with action cutaway scenes and a rolling storyline like no other.
The North Koreans are busy working on a nuclear weapons project and other sinister goals as the nano suit clad team are sent in to neutralize the problem. Psycho is captured by a Colonel Lee and taken to a submarine and beaten to a pulp, when the submarine submerges, the island is frozen by a strange alien race. Often teaming up with an old buddy and F-35 / VTOL pilot Sean O'Neil, as well as other nano-suit wearing Special Forces teams, you battle through the ice cold jungle chasing the Korean Colonel trying to stop him from retrieving a mysterious container, while battling a countless army of invading aliens.
There are many features and fixes added in this stand alone expansion. Extra weapons and vehicles including a six shot grenade launcher that can carry electromagnetic bullets stun the enemy while a few bursts finish them off. Armoured vehicles and Tanks are scattered around that offer different firepower to the standard vehicles of the original. There is a noticeable increase in the vehicles handling. There are a few different variations on the aliens too, noticeably different colours and weapons. Taking them out can be difficult at first, but easily managed with the right equipment. One added feature is the ability to run over weapons to pick up ammunition, where you once had to stop and press F, you save alot of time especially if you’re in the middle of a fire fight.
The Multiplayer on the second disk is called “Crysis Wars”. Featuring "Power Struggle", "Instant Action", "Team Instant Action", there are 21 maps installed separately to the main game. "Team Death Match" has been added which was unfortunately omitted in the original.
Cytec’s "CryEngine 2" is certainly paying off. The graphics are far better than the previous game. The small problems experienced before have been fixed, while it requires the same hardware, you'll still need a high spec computer to get the full experience. The atmosphere is stunning with realistic backgrounds, moving and interactive foliage, lighting and shadows. You can often stop and look around at the scenic vistas like the rugged mountainside, the yellow sand of the beaches, or the rivers surrounded in jungle. The sound is absolutely stunning with running water effects, weapons fire and explosions greatly adding to the realism. The musical score is what you’d expect in a blockbuster feature film.
While its alot shorter than most would expect, the price isn't as high as a standard release. Crysis showed off some of the best gaming graphics ever seen, Warhead out does itself greatly improving on excellence. If your hardware can handle it, this game should definatly be in your collection.
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