Cruel and unfair, as it turns out. I've never played Crysis 1, but I thoroughly enjoyed Crysis 2. It isn't the most inventive FPS out there but it certainly isn't the stupidest either. It does fall into the "follow this guy" template favored by so many other games from time to time, but far more of the game is spent navigating your way around more open areas - and this is where Crysis 2 comes into its own.
The Crysis 2 USP is not groundbreaking either, but it is well implemented and helps to make the experience slightly more cerebral - special skills which are essential to getting things done. These all use a recharging reserve of energy, so while tapping a bumper will briefly apply a period of high damage resistance or invisibility, usage needs to be carefully managed to avoid leaving yourself exposed in the thick of battle. Your melee and jump moves also use this energy reserve, and this provides a nice tactical edge to the proceedings.
Charging into battle a-la Call of Duty will not work too well, so you will need to adapt to the environment and find a more creative route through the rather beautiful environments on offer. There is a lot of variety here and it certainly looks great - Crysis 1 was famously good looking and Crysis 2 does not disappoint. The frame rate falters from time to time but I had no real issues here.
Perhaps the main area of disappointment is the fairly hackneyed and somewhat confusing sci-fi story underpinning everything. It's no worse than many other games, but this perhaps says more about the general low quality of storytelling in this medium than anything else. It gets the job done and allows for various plot and gameplay devices, but it isn't something I would offer up as an example of games as an emerging art form. Clearly, we still have some way to go here.
At its core though, Crysis 2 is consistently enjoyable, looks and sounds great, and even comes with a competent multiplayer component if that's your thing. More than the sum of its parts, then. And who can say fairer than that.
7/10
Available now for PC, XBox 360 and Playstation 3.
