Crysis
Encyclopedia
Crysis is a science fiction
first-person shooter
video game developed by Crytek
(Frankfurt
, Germany
), published by Electronic Arts
for Microsoft Windows
, and released in November 2007. It is the first game of a trilogy
. A separate game entitled Crysis Warhead
was released on September 12, 2008, and follows similar events as Crysis but from a different narrative perspective. Crysis, Crysis Warhead and a multiplayer expansion called Crysis Wars were re-released as a compilation pack titled Crysis Maximum Edition on 5 May 2009. At the time Crysis was released, and years thereafter, it has been praised for its milestones in graphical design (commensurate with high hardware requirements).
The game is based in a future where a massive ancient Alien
structure has been discovered buried inside a mountain on an island in the fictional Lingshan Islands, near the coast of the East Philippines. The single-player campaign has the player assume the role of United States Delta Force
operator Jake Dunn, referred to in-game by his call sign, Nomad. Nomad is armed with various futuristic weapons and equipment, most notably a "Nano Suit
" which was inspired by a real-life military concept
. In Crysis, the player fights both North Korean
and extraterrestrial
enemies in various environments on and around the island.
, Crysis is an open-ended first-person shooter game with many ways to meet objectives.
The player controls a special forces soldier codenamed Nomad. The player's weapons can be customized without pausing the flow of time, for example changing firing modes, changing scopes or adding sound suppressors. The player is also capable of selecting various modes in Nomad's military "Nanosuit
" which draw power from the suit's energy. When the suit's energy is depleted, no modes can be used and the player is more vulnerable to damage before the suit recharges. One of four modes can be selected: Armour
deflects damage and recharges the suit's energy faster; Strength
allows stronger hand-to-hand combat, the ability to throw objects and enemies with deadly force, higher jumps, steadier aiming and reduced weapon recoil; Speed
increases running and swimming speed, as well as other forms of motion such as reloading weapons; and Cloak
, which renders Nomad almost completely invisible and suppresses movement noise.
The suit's integral facemask has its own HUD
, displaying typical data including a tactical map, health, current energy levels, and weapons information. The view is electronic in nature, shown in-game through things such as a booting
readout and visual distortion during abnormal operation. A particularly useful utility is the binocular function, which allows the player to zoom in and electronically tag enemies and vehicles from afar, thereby tracking their movement on the tactical display.
The player can engage enemies in a variety of ways; using stealth or aggression, bullets or non-lethal tranquilizers, ranged rifles or short-range weaponry, and so on. Enemy soldiers employ tactical maneuvers and work as squads. AI soldiers will respond to noise caused by the player, including using signal flares
to call for reinforcements. If the player has not been detected in the area, enemies will exhibit relaxed behaviour, but if aware of the player they will draw weapons and become combative.
s, sub-machine guns, pistols, missile launchers, shotguns, minigun
s, sniper rifles, gauss rifles (or coilgun
), the MOAC (a machine-gun-like Alien weapon which fires high-velocity ice shards), and the TAC gun (a hand-held nuclear grenade launcher). Most weapons can be modified with attachments; these attachments may be given to the player by default, acquired from picked-up weapons, or purchased in multiplayer. Attachment options are given a fair amount of leeway even if the end result may seem strange. For instance, a 4x/10x sniper
scope can be attached to the buckshot
-firing shotgun
, though obviously there is no practical use for such a combination. Additionally, most weapons have multiple firing modes (single/automatic fire) and different ammo types; for example, the KPA's FY-71 can fire both conventional bullets as well as incendiary bullets, which increase damage. Crysis also incorporates some features that have appeared in other recent shooters such as accounting for already-chambered rounds when a reload occurs.
s to tank
s, while naval vessels range from motorboat
s to light military hovercraft. A larger Patrol Boat is available in custom-made multiplayer maps using the Sandbox editor
. All vehicles, including Humvees, pickup trucks, even tanks, have a turbo mode that can be activated via the Shift key (by default). The aircraft selection is limited to the North Korean attack helicopter and a fictional American VTOL
(each of which can transport six passengers and two crew). Crytek also included an Amphibious APC
, a wheeled version of the APC
that can travel on water and land, although this vehicle was only available for those who pre-ordered the game.
Damage modeling, although limited in vehicles, is most noticeable in the ability to burst tire
s, although wheeled vehicles can still move even if all the tires are gone, slowly rolling along on the rims. Tracked vehicles such as tanks or APCs can lose their tracks as a result of damage, but may continue moving even though there is no way for the drive sprockets to propel the vehicle. Exposed gas cans on Humvees can be shot in order to detonate their contents, which usually results in the explosion of the vehicle. While burning, destroyed vehicles will cause proximity heat damage to objects and characters. Unavailable vehicles shown in-game include jet aircraft
, excavator
, forklift and for reasons of scale, destroyers. None of the alien machines can be commandeered by players. Interestingly, the wheeled carts which would presumably be used to move aircraft or heavy vehicles, can also be moved by the player, but movement is very slow and useful for little more than entertainment/novelty.
type mode; and Power Struggle, which is played by two opposing teams, each trying to destroy the other's headquarters.
Power Struggle features the American Delta Force
soldiers fighting the North Korean Army
; both sides, however, have nanosuits. All players begin armed with only a pistol and a nanosuit. Weapons and vehicles can be found throughout the map, but generally must be bought by using "Prestige Points," which are earned by killing enemies or capturing buildings.
The aim of Power Struggle is to destroy the enemy headquarters, a task which is achieved using nuclear weapon
s in the form of a TAC Tank, a TAC launcher, or by using a Singularity Tank, which generates a temporary black hole in the target area. To gain access to nuclear or singularity weapons, you must first capture the "prototype facility" which is used to make them, and then use the alien crash sites which feed the facility with energy necessary to build up enough energy to build weapons of mass destruction
.
One must earn Prestige Points, attained by killing enemies and taking over Bunkers, Power Stations, and Factories, to buy weapons and vehicles, including any of the aforementioned superweapons. Some of the weapons available in the game are machine guns, pistols, a shotgun, a precision rifle, ammo, a rocket launcher, explosives, and a gauss rifle (a sniper-type weapon able to kill another player in one shot).
The advanced weapons available for purchase from the Prototype Factory (aside from nuclear and singularity weapons) require 50% energy. Weapons that you can buy are the handheld minigun, the MOAC which has infinite ammo and fires ice shards, and the MOAR, which is an upgrade that can be attached to the MOAC causing it to fire a beam that will instantly freeze all enemies and some vehicles.
Capture The Flag, originally planned to be included in the game, is no longer part of the game mode line up, due to its similarity to Power Struggle. Even so, Jack Mamais, lead designer, stated that Crytek hopes that this mode will be developed by the modding community. Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli also said that Team Action would not be included as a multiplayer mode, because players would gravitate towards either Instant Action, or Power Struggle.
led by General Ri-Chan Kyong take control of the Lingshan Islands. A team of American civilian archaeologists
, led by Dr. Rosenthal, send out a distress call
indicating that they discovered something that could change the world. Thus Raptor Team was dispatched to the islands, with the core mission of evacuating them out and securing any valuable information that they have. The team consists of Nomad, Psycho, Aztec, Jester and team leader Prophet (all under codenames); they are outfitted with Nanosuits
, which help protect them from gunfire and explosions, as well as giving them superhuman strength and abilities. As they perform a high-altitude jump onto one of the islands, an unknown flying entity disrupts the jump by smashing into Nomad, and the team is separated. The crash deactivates Nomad's Nanosuit and destroys his parachute
, but he is saved because he lands on water and his suit absorbs the impact of the landing. After he makes his way to shore, Prophet is able to reset Nomad's suit, restoring its normal function.
As Raptor Team regroups after the jump, Aztec is killed by an unknown entity. When the team finds him, they discover that whatever killed him also killed and dismembered a nearby squad of KPA
. The remaining members of Raptor Team proceed with the mission, and find the hostages' boat frozen near the coast of the island. They also get their first look at the aliens who have been attacking their team, when a flying alien machine sneaks up on them and snatches Jester, killing him shortly thereafter. The first hostage the team rescues turns out to be a CIA
agent who was sent to monitor Dr. Rosenthal's work. In the jungle, Nomad finds another hostage named Badowski dead with ice shards in his back, as the KPA battle an alien machine nearby. After Nomad regroups with Prophet, Prophet is suddenly snatched by another flying machine, which flies away with him in its grasp. Shortly after, Nomad is contacted over the radio by the American military asking if he wishes to abort the mission since most of his team has been killed or missing; Nomad refuses, saying that he can still complete the mission.
Nomad makes his way to Dr. Rosenthal's research complex, where he has found a rare fossil
ized artifact predating humanity by two million years. The partially excavated artifact resembles one of the flying machines (designated "exosuits") that has been attacking the team. Rosenthal also references other discoveries of similar artifacts in Afghanistan and Siberia, suggesting that the aliens have a global presence, and are not just confined to the island. While Rosenthal is running a scan on the artifact, it emits a powerful energy pulse that freezes Dr. Rosenthal solid. Nomad's Nanosuit is able to maintain his internal temperature, saving his life. Nomad then rendezvous with a VTOL, after eliminating a Nanosuit-equipped four-man KPA special forces
team near the landing site. He notifies his superiors about this, because the U.S. military had hoped to prevent the Koreans from acquiring Nanosuit technology.
The U.S. military then begins a full-scale invasion of the island, led by Major Strickland. As the U.S. forces continue to the main excavation site, the central mountain on the island begins to fall apart, revealing a huge alien structure inside, which is nearly the size of the mountain itself. Nomad enters the excavation site at the mountain's base, but is captured by Kyong's men. Kyong deactivates Nomad's Nanosuit, and Nomad watches, helpless, as Kyong shoots one of the hostages in the head and then detonates explosive charges to open the structure. An energy pulse emanates from the structure and kills Kyong's men; the pulse also reactivates Nomad's Nanosuit. Kyong is also wearing a Nanosuit and attacks Nomad, until Nomad is able to kill him. As the mountain continues to collapse, a VTOL
evacuates the last hostage, who is Dr. Rosenthal's daughter Helena, but is unable to rescue Nomad.
Nomad is trapped and decides to continue into the alien structure. It soon turns into a zero gravity
environment. Nomad uses his hydro-thrusters to maneuver and encounters hostile sentient aliens. He also sees a possible invasion force consisting of many Alien machines
. Nomad manages to escape, but the structure creates a massive sphere of energy that freezes everything outside to -200°F (-129C). Once outside, Nomad is attacked by various Alien machines before finding Prophet. Prophet was able to engineer a weapon using the aliens' technology, the Molecular Accelerator (MOAC). Prophet's Nanosuit is malfunctioning, and he frequently has to stop and recharge it using heat sources, such as the burning wrecks of military vehicles. The two leave the ice sphere and rescue Helena, whose VTOL crashed. Prophet leaves with Helena on another VTOL. At the U.S. evacuation point, one of the last VTOLs rescues Nomad from an unstoppable quadrupedal alien exosuit. Just as the exosuit is about to destroy the VTOL, Major Strickland draws its attention by firing at it using a mounted machinegun and the exosuit kills Strickland instead. As they leave the island, the VTOL's pilot is killed and Nomad must fly back to the USS Constitution carrier strike group, fighting off aliens along the way.
Once there, he is debriefed by Admiral Richard Morrison who explains that a nuclear strike
has been ordered against the ice sphere. Helena warns him that the aliens might absorb the energy, but the Admiral ignores her. Prophet flies a VTOL back to the island against orders. Despite Prophet's departure, the nuclear missile is launched at the ice sphere. The explosion causes the ice sphere to expand and prompts a massive alien counterattack.
Nomad is ordered to repair one of the carrier's damaged nuclear reactors
. The Nanosuit is resistant to high levels of radiation
, although prolonged exposure proves deadly. While Nomad is in the reactor room, Helena sends an experimental signal through Nomad's suit that causes several alien machines to absorb too much power and overload, destroying them. As Nomad returns to the flight deck
, Admiral Morrison is killed and Nomad takes the prototype TAC-Cannon. On the flight deck, Nomad fights an alien exosuit similar to the one that killed Strickland. A massive alien warship then emerges from the sea, and Helena manages to deactivate its shields by sending a signal through Nomad's Nanosuit. Nomad then uses the TAC-Cannon to destroy the alien warship, which falls on the carrier and begins to sink it. Nomad runs across the flight deck and jumps off the carrier into the waiting VTOL, which is piloted by Psycho. As they fly away, Helena is nearly pulled out of the aircraft by the energy field created by the destroyed alien warship. Psycho then receives a transmission that there is another Carrier Strike Group
en-route to the island and suggests meeting them. Nomad protests, claiming that since they now know how to defeat the aliens, they need to continue fighting. A transmission from Prophet, who is inside the energy field on the island, is then received. The VTOL is then seen turning around and heading back to the island.
Delta Force
unit to which the protagonist
, Nomad, belongs. At full strength, it consisted of five men: Aztec, Jester, Psycho, Nomad and the team leader, Prophet. The true names of the characters are revealed in the CryEngine 2 Sandbox 2
editor that comes with the game. Aztec and Jester die quickly during the course of the game, with Aztec being ripped apart by an unknown enemy, along with a surrounding squad of enemy Koreans. Jester suffers the same fate after being snatched by a similar alien after the team reaches Rosenthal's boat later in the game. The three remaining men are contacted by Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)—their ultimate overseer, though later in the game they are more directly in touch with USS Constitution personnel.
Strickland, the United States Marine Corps
contributes most of the military hardware and manpower. They operate from the USS Constitution carrier strike group
, deploying via a sizable number of United States Navy
VTOL aircraft
and tanks
. Major Strickland takes over mission command after Prophet goes missing. He is killed in battle later on, sacrificing himself in order to distract a massive quadrupedal alien exosuit while Nomad and others evacuate on a VTOL. Major Strickland was voiced by Andre Sogliuzzo
.
Represented in-game by the USS Constitution (CVN-80) carrier strike group
, the United States Navy
is led by Admiral
Richard Morrison. All of the American aircraft seen throughout the game presumably belong to the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Navy also seem to be in possession of considerable ordnance, as seen when they deploy an F-36C fighter jet armed with a nuclear missile. The carrier strike group meets its ultimate demise at the hands of a relentless waves of alien machines and a massive alien "War Ship". At the end of the game, Helena informs Nomad that there is another fleet of U.S. Navy ships en route from Japan
that will arrive within the hour. Admiral Morrison was voiced by Bill Roberts.
, and Dr. Rosenthal was voiced by Doug James.
n leader Kim Jong-Il
was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-chul
sometime after 2008. Jong-chul revolutionizes the North Korean economy, making it one of the wealthiest and most technologically advanced countries in the world. Using this new wealth, the KPA buys the newest military hardware from China
, making North Korea a formidable military power. In the game, it is also mentioned that North Korea has a fully developed nuclear program. The North Korean military forces in the game are led by Colonel General
Ri-Chan Kyong, a North Korean military officer who was responsible for a massacre of civilians a few years before the game takes place. The North Koreans' intent to hang onto the islands is clear, shown by the significant allocation of forces ranging from infantry
to tanks and aircraft
. According to Kyong, the North Koreans are interested in the archaeological findings because of the potential of the alien technology for use as a profitable power source. It is later revealed that they too have Nanosuit technology, however, their Nanosuits are used solely by Kyong himself and his elite units. Kyong is encountered midway during the game as a boss character
. Most of the fortifications on the island are built by the KPA, including machine guns and concussion mines. General Kyong was voiced by Hyunsoo Han.
" through the weightless internal environment. Some of the Aliens are armed with projectile weapons which fire ice-based projectiles similar to those fired by Prophet's modified MOAC Alien weapon. Their organic-looking robots and exosuits comprise the bulk of their forces outside of their structure in the mountain. Several varieties of alien exosuits are seen in the game. Troopers are small, autonomous man-sized quadrupedal drones which are able to manoeuvre indoors and fire projectiles formed of ice. Scouts are flying machines which are able to fire ice-based projectiles as well as project an energy beam which damages the player. Scouts also have tentacle-like arms which trail behind them when they fly; they use those arms to pick up, carry, and destroy objects and people. Hunters are large quadrupedal machines which utilize shielding technology and fire a beam capable of temporarily freezing and immobilizing the player, as well as being able to fire a powerful "Singularity gun" that can kill the player with a single blast. In the last level, the player comes face to face with a flying alien warship, the "Warrior", which is so large that it can attack U.S. Navy Destroyer
s by ramming them, and is armed with larger versions of the Singularity cannon, one shot of which inflicts massive damage to the superstructure
of the USS Constitution (CVN-80) in the final level. The massive number of machines that deploy at the end of the game, along with filler text for multiplayer maps, indicate that the Aliens' interest in Earth is on a global scale. In Crysis 2
, they are called Cephalopods and they have upgraded much of their technology, looking nothing like they did in Crysis.
Crysis uses Microsoft
's API
, Direct3D
for graphics rendering, and includes the same editor that was used by Crytek to create the game. The game runs on a new engine (CryEngine 2) that is the successor to Far Cry
s CryEngine
. CryEngine 2 was among the first engines to use the Direct3D 10 (DirectX 10) framework of Windows Vista
, but was designed primarily to run using DirectX 9, both on Vista and Windows XP
.
Roy Taylor, Vice President of Content Relations at NVIDIA
, has spoken on the subject of the engine's complexity, stating that Crysis has over a million lines of code
, 1 GB of texture data
, 85,000 shader
s, and nearly three thousand pages of straight-up coding using loops.
Crysis is often used as a benchmark in computer tests, as Crysis at the highest settings and resolutions required processing power from computers that was unfeasible when it was first released. In its time, the game was so demanding on previous computer hardware that the catchphrase "Yeah, but can it run Crysis?" was frequently added to graphics card reviews.
announced a single-player demo would be released on September 25; however, the date was pushed back to October 26. The demo featured the entire first level, Contact, as well as the sand box editor. On October 26, Crytek
announced that the demo would be postponed for at least one more day and was released to the public on October 27. However, on many sites it was provided a day early, and an oversight allowed people to grab the file directly off an EA server earlier than intended.
Shortly after the demo's release some enthusiasts found that, by manipulating the configuration files, most of the "very high" graphics settings (normally reserved for DX10) could be activated under DX9. The "very high" DX9 graphics mode looks almost identical to the DX10 mode, with certain graphical features not being able to be reproduced correctly under DX9, such as Object Motion Blur
.
called Sandbox
, much like Far Cry
s, in which new levels can be created and edited. Such levels will have full support in all multiplayer modes. This will allow the player to easily build their own levels, seeing everything in real time within the editor. The player can also jump into the map they are working on at any time to test it. The editor is the same one that was used by Crytek to create the game.
As stated in the readme file accompanying Sandbox, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
or Windows Vista
x64 are the only officially supported operating systems for running the editor. According to Crytek, using a 32-bit OS can lead to instabilities with production size levels due to the low amount of virtual memory available and is therefore not supported.
* The Amphibious APC is currently unavailable to most pre-orders and Special Edition owners. Electronic Arts is still working out a solution.
and Xbox 360
.
On September 8, a trailer with real-time in-game footage was released on Crytek's Twitter page. It showed brand new features for consoles including all new lighting, new effects and new Nanosuit controls, fine-tuned combat and full stereoscopic 3D support. This version is download-only. "We are extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish with Crysis," said Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli. "We set out to create a next-generation FPS and delivered a PC experience that became a benchmark for quality- and still is for many gamers even four years later. "By bringing the single-player campaign to console, we believe we are again setting a new standard for quality in downloadable gaming," he added. However, unlike the original, the PSN/XBL versions of the game lack online multiplayer component. Also, neither Warhead nor Wars expansions are included. It was released on October 4, 2011.
, and released on November 27, 2007.
Crysis (Original Game Soundtrack)
, the NPD Group
reported that Crysis moved 86,633 retail units in the first two weeks of its release in North America, but while it beat their expectations, the sales were considered disappointing overall. Two months later, on Electronic Arts' earnings conference of the quarter, it was reported that Crysis had reached the 1 million units mark, and that it had exceeded their expectations. On the other hand, Cevat Yerli stated during an interview with PC Play in April 2008 that he was disappointed to see the game leading the charts in piracy and because of that his studio would not produce any more PC exclusives, as he believed a game such as Crysis would sell four to five times more copies if it was released on consoles. Piracy figures released by TorrentFreak indicate that Crysis was indeed one of the most pirated PC games of the year. In June 2008 Cevat stated that while their hopes have not been met, the game has reached their real expectations and in August he added that despite of its $22 million budget the game has turned profitable for them. By May 2010 the game has sold over 3 million units (and its standalone expansion
about 1.5 million units) making it one of the best selling PC games of all time.
U.S. Holiday 2007 issue, making it one of the highest rated games ever in PC Gamer, tying with Half-Life 2
and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
. The UK edition of the magazine awarded the game 92%, describing the game as "A spectacular and beautiful sci-fi epic." GameSpot
awarded Crysis a score of 9.5 out of 10, describing it as "easily one of the greatest shooters ever made." GameSpy
gave it a 4.5 out of 5 stating that the suit powers were fun but also criticizing the multiplayer portion of the game for not having a team deathmatch. X-Play
gave it a 3 out of 5 on its "Holiday Buyer's Guide" special episode, praising the graphics and physics, but criticized the steep hardware requirements as well as stating that the game is overhyped with average gameplay. GamePro
honored Crysis with a score of 4.75 out of 5, saying it was "a great step forward for PC gaming," but criticized the steep hardware requirements. IGN
awarded it a 9.4 out of 10, hailing it as "one of the more entertaining ballistic showdowns in quite some time." A retrospective review for bit-tech.net in June 2010 criticized the game for failing to deliver on its pre-release promise, saying that the art direction was "boring and monotonous," that the nanosuit was underwhelming and that the plot could be summarized as "Rescue these people who look to be being held captive by Koreans. Oh no Aliens!" The review concluded by saying, "Crysis was the epitome of style over substance."
awarded Crysis "Best Shooter" in its "Best of 2007" awards, saying that "It was this open-ended, emergent gameplay--the ability to let us tackle our challenges in whatever way we wished." They also awarded it with "Best Graphics: Technical" and "Best PC Game" stating that "The firefights in the game are beautiful to look at, but extremely intense affairs that force you to think quickly--and reward you for doing so. It's a dynamic game, one that you can play several times to discover new things and to experiment with different approaches."
PC Gamer
awarded Crysis its "Game of the Year" and "Action Game of the Year" in its March 2008, "Games of the Year Awards" issue. PC Gamer also remarked that "Crysis has pushed PC gaming to a new plateau, marrying the most advanced graphics engine ever created with phenomenal gameplay. From the cinematic opening to credits to its cliffhanger ending, Crysis is mesmerizing."
Gamereactor
gave Crysis a perfect ten, and awarded it with its "Best Action Game of 2007", saying that "the action genre is forever changed."
IGN
awarded Crysis its "Editor's Choice Award", saying that "the Halo 2
-type ending... wasn't enough to deter me from heartily recommending action fans pick this one up."
by Crytek
. Despite this, the next game released under the Crysis name was not the second chapter in the trilogy. Released for Microsoft Windows
on September 16, 2008 in North America
and September 19, 2008 in Europe
, Crysis Warhead
is a stand-alone expansion that allows the player to play the story told in the original Crysis, but this time from the viewpoint of Sgt. Michael Sykes, also known as "Psycho". The multiplayer element in Crysis Warhead is now called Crysis Wars. On May 30, 2009, Crytek announced the second chapter in the Crysis trilogy, which will continue where the first game ended. Released on March 22, 2011, Crysis 2
was developed for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In addition to seeking a United States trademark
on the name Crysis, Crytek
is seeking to trademark the names Crysis Wars, World in Crysis, and Crysis Warhead.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game developed by Crytek
Crytek
Crytek is a German video game company founded in 1999 by three Turkish brothers: Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli. Crytek's main headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany, with five other studios in Kiev, Budapest, Nottingham, Sofia and Seoul. The company is best known for developing the game Far Cry and...
(Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
), published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, and released in November 2007. It is the first game of a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
. A separate game entitled Crysis Warhead
Crysis Warhead
Crysis Warhead is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game developed by the studio Crytek Budapest, Hungary, and published by Electronic Arts. Crysis Warhead is a stand-alone expansion game and does not require Crysis installed to play...
was released on September 12, 2008, and follows similar events as Crysis but from a different narrative perspective. Crysis, Crysis Warhead and a multiplayer expansion called Crysis Wars were re-released as a compilation pack titled Crysis Maximum Edition on 5 May 2009. At the time Crysis was released, and years thereafter, it has been praised for its milestones in graphical design (commensurate with high hardware requirements).
The game is based in a future where a massive ancient Alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
structure has been discovered buried inside a mountain on an island in the fictional Lingshan Islands, near the coast of the East Philippines. The single-player campaign has the player assume the role of United States Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
operator Jake Dunn, referred to in-game by his call sign, Nomad. Nomad is armed with various futuristic weapons and equipment, most notably a "Nano Suit
Powered exoskeleton
A powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, or exoframe, is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of an exoskeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist...
" which was inspired by a real-life military concept
Future Force Warrior
Future Force Warrior is a United States military advanced technology demonstration project that is part of the Future Combat Systems project. The FFW project seeks to create a lightweight, fully integrated infantryman combat system. It is one technology demonstration project in a series of...
. In Crysis, the player fights both North Korean
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army , also known as the Inmin Gun, are the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defence Commission...
and extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
enemies in various environments on and around the island.
Gameplay
As with Crytek's previous game Far CryFar Cry
Far Cry is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek Studios from Germany and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004, for Microsoft Windows. Far Cry sold 730,000 units within four months of release. It received positive reviews upon release...
, Crysis is an open-ended first-person shooter game with many ways to meet objectives.
The player controls a special forces soldier codenamed Nomad. The player's weapons can be customized without pausing the flow of time, for example changing firing modes, changing scopes or adding sound suppressors. The player is also capable of selecting various modes in Nomad's military "Nanosuit
Powered exoskeleton
A powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, or exoframe, is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of an exoskeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist...
" which draw power from the suit's energy. When the suit's energy is depleted, no modes can be used and the player is more vulnerable to damage before the suit recharges. One of four modes can be selected: Armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
deflects damage and recharges the suit's energy faster; Strength
Physical strength
Physical strength is the ability of a person or animal to exert force on physical objects using muscles. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training.-Overview:...
allows stronger hand-to-hand combat, the ability to throw objects and enemies with deadly force, higher jumps, steadier aiming and reduced weapon recoil; Speed
Speed
In kinematics, the speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity ; it is thus a scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance traveled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as...
increases running and swimming speed, as well as other forms of motion such as reloading weapons; and Cloak
Cloaking device
Cloaking devices are advanced stealth technologies still in development that will cause objects, such as spaceships or individuals, to be partially or wholly invisible to parts of the electromagnetic spectrum...
, which renders Nomad almost completely invisible and suppresses movement noise.
The suit's integral facemask has its own HUD
HUD (computer gaming)
In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
, displaying typical data including a tactical map, health, current energy levels, and weapons information. The view is electronic in nature, shown in-game through things such as a booting
Booting
In computing, booting is a process that begins when a user turns on a computer system and prepares the computer to perform its normal operations. On modern computers, this typically involves loading and starting an operating system. The boot sequence is the initial set of operations that the...
readout and visual distortion during abnormal operation. A particularly useful utility is the binocular function, which allows the player to zoom in and electronically tag enemies and vehicles from afar, thereby tracking their movement on the tactical display.
The player can engage enemies in a variety of ways; using stealth or aggression, bullets or non-lethal tranquilizers, ranged rifles or short-range weaponry, and so on. Enemy soldiers employ tactical maneuvers and work as squads. AI soldiers will respond to noise caused by the player, including using signal flares
Flare gun
A flare gun is a firearm that launches flares. It is typically used for signalling, as distress signalling, at sea or from the ground to aircraft...
to call for reinforcements. If the player has not been detected in the area, enemies will exhibit relaxed behaviour, but if aware of the player they will draw weapons and become combative.
Weapons
The game features assault rifleAssault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
s, sub-machine guns, pistols, missile launchers, shotguns, minigun
Minigun
The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...
s, sniper rifles, gauss rifles (or coilgun
Coilgun
A coilgun is a type of projectile accelerator that consists of one or more coils used as electromagnets in the configuration of a synchronous linear motor which accelerate a magnetic projectile to high velocity...
), the MOAC (a machine-gun-like Alien weapon which fires high-velocity ice shards), and the TAC gun (a hand-held nuclear grenade launcher). Most weapons can be modified with attachments; these attachments may be given to the player by default, acquired from picked-up weapons, or purchased in multiplayer. Attachment options are given a fair amount of leeway even if the end result may seem strange. For instance, a 4x/10x sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
scope can be attached to the buckshot
Lead shot
Lead shot is a collective term for small balls of lead. These were the original projectiles for muskets and early rifles, but today lead shot is fired primarily from shotguns. It is also used for a variety of other purposes...
-firing shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
, though obviously there is no practical use for such a combination. Additionally, most weapons have multiple firing modes (single/automatic fire) and different ammo types; for example, the KPA's FY-71 can fire both conventional bullets as well as incendiary bullets, which increase damage. Crysis also incorporates some features that have appeared in other recent shooters such as accounting for already-chambered rounds when a reload occurs.
Vehicles
A large selection of vehicles are present, most of which are usable by the player. Available ground vehicles range from pickup truckPickup truck
A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...
s to tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s, while naval vessels range from motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
s to light military hovercraft. A larger Patrol Boat is available in custom-made multiplayer maps using the Sandbox editor
Sandbox (video game editor)
Sandbox is the level editor used to create levels for the CryEngine line of game engines by Crytek. Tools are also provided within the software to facilitate scripting, animation, and object creation...
. All vehicles, including Humvees, pickup trucks, even tanks, have a turbo mode that can be activated via the Shift key (by default). The aircraft selection is limited to the North Korean attack helicopter and a fictional American VTOL
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...
(each of which can transport six passengers and two crew). Crytek also included an Amphibious APC
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
, a wheeled version of the APC
Infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle , also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle , is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide fire support for them...
that can travel on water and land, although this vehicle was only available for those who pre-ordered the game.
Damage modeling, although limited in vehicles, is most noticeable in the ability to burst tire
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...
s, although wheeled vehicles can still move even if all the tires are gone, slowly rolling along on the rims. Tracked vehicles such as tanks or APCs can lose their tracks as a result of damage, but may continue moving even though there is no way for the drive sprockets to propel the vehicle. Exposed gas cans on Humvees can be shot in order to detonate their contents, which usually results in the explosion of the vehicle. While burning, destroyed vehicles will cause proximity heat damage to objects and characters. Unavailable vehicles shown in-game include jet aircraft
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
, excavator
Excavator
Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and cab on a rotating platform . The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. A cable-operated excavator uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements. They are a natural progression from the...
, forklift and for reasons of scale, destroyers. None of the alien machines can be commandeered by players. Interestingly, the wheeled carts which would presumably be used to move aircraft or heavy vehicles, can also be moved by the player, but movement is very slow and useful for little more than entertainment/novelty.
Multiplayer
Up to 32 players are supported in each multiplayer match in Crysis Multiplayer, which uses the Gamespy Network and requires the user to have an existing userid or otherwise create a new one. There are two different modes, each with six available maps: Instant Action, a deathmatchDeathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
type mode; and Power Struggle, which is played by two opposing teams, each trying to destroy the other's headquarters.
Power Struggle features the American Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
soldiers fighting the North Korean Army
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army , also known as the Inmin Gun, are the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defence Commission...
; both sides, however, have nanosuits. All players begin armed with only a pistol and a nanosuit. Weapons and vehicles can be found throughout the map, but generally must be bought by using "Prestige Points," which are earned by killing enemies or capturing buildings.
The aim of Power Struggle is to destroy the enemy headquarters, a task which is achieved using nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s in the form of a TAC Tank, a TAC launcher, or by using a Singularity Tank, which generates a temporary black hole in the target area. To gain access to nuclear or singularity weapons, you must first capture the "prototype facility" which is used to make them, and then use the alien crash sites which feed the facility with energy necessary to build up enough energy to build weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
.
One must earn Prestige Points, attained by killing enemies and taking over Bunkers, Power Stations, and Factories, to buy weapons and vehicles, including any of the aforementioned superweapons. Some of the weapons available in the game are machine guns, pistols, a shotgun, a precision rifle, ammo, a rocket launcher, explosives, and a gauss rifle (a sniper-type weapon able to kill another player in one shot).
The advanced weapons available for purchase from the Prototype Factory (aside from nuclear and singularity weapons) require 50% energy. Weapons that you can buy are the handheld minigun, the MOAC which has infinite ammo and fires ice shards, and the MOAR, which is an upgrade that can be attached to the MOAC causing it to fire a beam that will instantly freeze all enemies and some vehicles.
Capture The Flag, originally planned to be included in the game, is no longer part of the game mode line up, due to its similarity to Power Struggle. Even so, Jack Mamais, lead designer, stated that Crytek hopes that this mode will be developed by the modding community. Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli also said that Team Action would not be included as a multiplayer mode, because players would gravitate towards either Instant Action, or Power Struggle.
Plot
The game begins in 2020 when North Korean forcesKorean People's Army
The Korean People's Army , also known as the Inmin Gun, are the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defence Commission...
led by General Ri-Chan Kyong take control of the Lingshan Islands. A team of American civilian archaeologists
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, led by Dr. Rosenthal, send out a distress call
Distress signal
A distress signal is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals take the form of or are commonly made by using radio signals, displaying a visually detected item or illumination, or making an audible sound, from a distance....
indicating that they discovered something that could change the world. Thus Raptor Team was dispatched to the islands, with the core mission of evacuating them out and securing any valuable information that they have. The team consists of Nomad, Psycho, Aztec, Jester and team leader Prophet (all under codenames); they are outfitted with Nanosuits
Powered exoskeleton
A powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, or exoframe, is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of an exoskeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist...
, which help protect them from gunfire and explosions, as well as giving them superhuman strength and abilities. As they perform a high-altitude jump onto one of the islands, an unknown flying entity disrupts the jump by smashing into Nomad, and the team is separated. The crash deactivates Nomad's Nanosuit and destroys his parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
, but he is saved because he lands on water and his suit absorbs the impact of the landing. After he makes his way to shore, Prophet is able to reset Nomad's suit, restoring its normal function.
As Raptor Team regroups after the jump, Aztec is killed by an unknown entity. When the team finds him, they discover that whatever killed him also killed and dismembered a nearby squad of KPA
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army , also known as the Inmin Gun, are the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defence Commission...
. The remaining members of Raptor Team proceed with the mission, and find the hostages' boat frozen near the coast of the island. They also get their first look at the aliens who have been attacking their team, when a flying alien machine sneaks up on them and snatches Jester, killing him shortly thereafter. The first hostage the team rescues turns out to be a CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
agent who was sent to monitor Dr. Rosenthal's work. In the jungle, Nomad finds another hostage named Badowski dead with ice shards in his back, as the KPA battle an alien machine nearby. After Nomad regroups with Prophet, Prophet is suddenly snatched by another flying machine, which flies away with him in its grasp. Shortly after, Nomad is contacted over the radio by the American military asking if he wishes to abort the mission since most of his team has been killed or missing; Nomad refuses, saying that he can still complete the mission.
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
ized artifact predating humanity by two million years. The partially excavated artifact resembles one of the flying machines (designated "exosuits") that has been attacking the team. Rosenthal also references other discoveries of similar artifacts in Afghanistan and Siberia, suggesting that the aliens have a global presence, and are not just confined to the island. While Rosenthal is running a scan on the artifact, it emits a powerful energy pulse that freezes Dr. Rosenthal solid. Nomad's Nanosuit is able to maintain his internal temperature, saving his life. Nomad then rendezvous with a VTOL, after eliminating a Nanosuit-equipped four-man KPA special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
team near the landing site. He notifies his superiors about this, because the U.S. military had hoped to prevent the Koreans from acquiring Nanosuit technology.
The U.S. military then begins a full-scale invasion of the island, led by Major Strickland. As the U.S. forces continue to the main excavation site, the central mountain on the island begins to fall apart, revealing a huge alien structure inside, which is nearly the size of the mountain itself. Nomad enters the excavation site at the mountain's base, but is captured by Kyong's men. Kyong deactivates Nomad's Nanosuit, and Nomad watches, helpless, as Kyong shoots one of the hostages in the head and then detonates explosive charges to open the structure. An energy pulse emanates from the structure and kills Kyong's men; the pulse also reactivates Nomad's Nanosuit. Kyong is also wearing a Nanosuit and attacks Nomad, until Nomad is able to kill him. As the mountain continues to collapse, a VTOL
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...
evacuates the last hostage, who is Dr. Rosenthal's daughter Helena, but is unable to rescue Nomad.
Nomad is trapped and decides to continue into the alien structure. It soon turns into a zero gravity
Weightlessness
Weightlessness is the condition that exists for an object or person when they experience little or no acceleration except the acceleration that defines their inertial trajectory, or the trajectory of pure free-fall...
environment. Nomad uses his hydro-thrusters to maneuver and encounters hostile sentient aliens. He also sees a possible invasion force consisting of many Alien machines
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
. Nomad manages to escape, but the structure creates a massive sphere of energy that freezes everything outside to -200°F (-129C). Once outside, Nomad is attacked by various Alien machines before finding Prophet. Prophet was able to engineer a weapon using the aliens' technology, the Molecular Accelerator (MOAC). Prophet's Nanosuit is malfunctioning, and he frequently has to stop and recharge it using heat sources, such as the burning wrecks of military vehicles. The two leave the ice sphere and rescue Helena, whose VTOL crashed. Prophet leaves with Helena on another VTOL. At the U.S. evacuation point, one of the last VTOLs rescues Nomad from an unstoppable quadrupedal alien exosuit. Just as the exosuit is about to destroy the VTOL, Major Strickland draws its attention by firing at it using a mounted machinegun and the exosuit kills Strickland instead. As they leave the island, the VTOL's pilot is killed and Nomad must fly back to the USS Constitution carrier strike group, fighting off aliens along the way.
Once there, he is debriefed by Admiral Richard Morrison who explains that a nuclear strike
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
has been ordered against the ice sphere. Helena warns him that the aliens might absorb the energy, but the Admiral ignores her. Prophet flies a VTOL back to the island against orders. Despite Prophet's departure, the nuclear missile is launched at the ice sphere. The explosion causes the ice sphere to expand and prompts a massive alien counterattack.
Nomad is ordered to repair one of the carrier's damaged nuclear reactors
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
. The Nanosuit is resistant to high levels of radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
, although prolonged exposure proves deadly. While Nomad is in the reactor room, Helena sends an experimental signal through Nomad's suit that causes several alien machines to absorb too much power and overload, destroying them. As Nomad returns to the flight deck
Flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...
, Admiral Morrison is killed and Nomad takes the prototype TAC-Cannon. On the flight deck, Nomad fights an alien exosuit similar to the one that killed Strickland. A massive alien warship then emerges from the sea, and Helena manages to deactivate its shields by sending a signal through Nomad's Nanosuit. Nomad then uses the TAC-Cannon to destroy the alien warship, which falls on the carrier and begins to sink it. Nomad runs across the flight deck and jumps off the carrier into the waiting VTOL, which is piloted by Psycho. As they fly away, Helena is nearly pulled out of the aircraft by the energy field created by the destroyed alien warship. Psycho then receives a transmission that there is another Carrier Strike Group
Carrier Strike Group
A carrier strike group is an operational formation of the United States Navy. It is composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least two destroyers and/or frigates, and a carrier air wing of 65 to 70 aircraft...
en-route to the island and suggests meeting them. Nomad protests, claiming that since they now know how to defeat the aliens, they need to continue fighting. A transmission from Prophet, who is inside the energy field on the island, is then received. The VTOL is then seen turning around and heading back to the island.
United States Army
Raptor Team is the U.S. ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
unit to which the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, Nomad, belongs. At full strength, it consisted of five men: Aztec, Jester, Psycho, Nomad and the team leader, Prophet. The true names of the characters are revealed in the CryEngine 2 Sandbox 2
Sandbox (video game editor)
Sandbox is the level editor used to create levels for the CryEngine line of game engines by Crytek. Tools are also provided within the software to facilitate scripting, animation, and object creation...
editor that comes with the game. Aztec and Jester die quickly during the course of the game, with Aztec being ripped apart by an unknown enemy, along with a surrounding squad of enemy Koreans. Jester suffers the same fate after being snatched by a similar alien after the team reaches Rosenthal's boat later in the game. The three remaining men are contacted by Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)—their ultimate overseer, though later in the game they are more directly in touch with USS Constitution personnel.
- Nomad (First Lieutenant Jake Dunn): The player character. His face is unseen throughout the game, and he pursues mission goals with single-minded fervor. The player assumes this role throughout the game, and other than the beginning of the first cutscene and the end of the last cutscene, the entire game is viewed from Nomad's perspective. Voiced by Greg Sunmark.
- Psycho (Sergeant Michael Sykes): A former BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
SASSpecial Air ServiceSpecial Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
Operative, who later joined Delta Force, hence the SAS insignia tattooed on the back of his head. Psycho survives the initial events and assists Nomad for the rest of the game, dropping in and out to attend to other objectives, allowing Nomad to continue with the brunt of the single player campaign. Psycho's solo adventures form the basis of the standalone expansion, Crysis WarheadCrysis WarheadCrysis Warhead is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game developed by the studio Crytek Budapest, Hungary, and published by Electronic Arts. Crysis Warhead is a stand-alone expansion game and does not require Crysis installed to play...
, in which he assumes the role of the protagonist. Voiced by Sean ChapmanSean ChapmanSean Chapman is an English-born actor. He is best known for playing Frank Cotton in Clive Barker's Hellraiser, and its sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II. He is also known for voicing the character Sgt...
.
- Prophet (MajorMajor (United States)In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
Laurence Barnes): Raptor Team's leader, who later in the game is kidnapped and presumed killed by an alien machine; at that point, Major Strickland assumes mission command. Prophet miraculously reappears shortly after Nomad exits the alien structure in the mountain, but exhibits strange behavior. After this he seems to have a much deeper understanding of the aliens than anyone else, having jury-rigged a complex alien turret into a man-portable weapon similar to a minigunMinigunThe Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...
. At the end of the game, he heads back to the island directly against orders, announcing that he intends to destroy the aliens himself, stating, "I'm going to finish this." He is again assumed to be killed when the U.S. Navy nukesNuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
the island, but at the end of the game Nomad and Psycho receive a transmission from Prophet, who is still alive inside the alien energy sphere on the island, and they head back to find him. When he is last seen in the carrier's armory, it is mentioned that he upgraded his hydro-thrusters, which Nomad used while in the alien structure to balance himself and move around in zero gravity. Prophet appears in Crysis 2Crysis 2Crysis 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek, published by Electronic Arts and released in North America, Australia, and Europe in March 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...
, Delta Force officer Prophet saves Alcatraz, and is distressed with the situation, expecting the squad to support him. Left with no other choice since he himself has been infected by the Manhattan virus, Prophet gives Alcatraz his suit, the futuristic and high-tech Nanosuit 2.0. He then kills himself so that the Nanosuit will stop associating itself with him and be able to assimilate with Alcatraz. Voiced by James Vincent Meredith.
- Aztec (Harold Cortez): Part of the initial team. His parachuteParachuteA parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
becomes tangled in the trees during the landing, and he and a four-man KPAKorean People's ArmyThe Korean People's Army , also known as the Inmin Gun, are the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defence Commission...
patrol are brutally killed by an unknown alien, before the rest of Raptor Team can get to him. His heavily-mutilated body is vaporized by Prophet in order to prevent the Koreans from acquiring Nanosuit technology. Voiced by Rene LeDesma.
- Jester (Martin Hawker): Also part of the initial team. During the discovery of Dr. Rosenthal's boat, he is snatched by a flying alien which sneaks up on the team from the other side of the boat. It carries him a short distance away before discarding him. When he is found dead his body is vaporized to make sure the North Koreans won't acquire his nanosuit. Voiced by Lahmard TateLahmard TateLahmard J. Tate aka Cuba Jr. is an American actor and is the older brother of famed actor Larenz Tate.Lahmard Tate is famously known for his roles in Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood as Ashtray's father and Sabretooth as Leon.Another famous role was in...
.
United States Marine Corps
Locally led by MajorMajor (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
Strickland, the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
contributes most of the military hardware and manpower. They operate from the USS Constitution carrier strike group
Carrier Strike Group
A carrier strike group is an operational formation of the United States Navy. It is composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least two destroyers and/or frigates, and a carrier air wing of 65 to 70 aircraft...
, deploying via a sizable number of United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
VTOL aircraft
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...
and tanks
Main battle tank
A main battle tank , also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of many modern armies. They were originally conceived to replace the light, medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks. Development was spurred onwards in the Cold War with the development...
. Major Strickland takes over mission command after Prophet goes missing. He is killed in battle later on, sacrificing himself in order to distract a massive quadrupedal alien exosuit while Nomad and others evacuate on a VTOL. Major Strickland was voiced by Andre Sogliuzzo
André Sogliuzzo
André Sogliuzzo is an Italian-American voice actor, comedian, and actor.-Animated roles:* American Dad! – Dill* Avatar: The Last Airbender – King Bumi, Hakoda, Haru* The Batman – Duncan* Brandy & Mr...
.
United States Navy
Carrier Strike Group
A carrier strike group is an operational formation of the United States Navy. It is composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least two destroyers and/or frigates, and a carrier air wing of 65 to 70 aircraft...
, the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
is led by Admiral
Admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, admiral is a four-star flag officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below Fleet Admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health...
Richard Morrison. All of the American aircraft seen throughout the game presumably belong to the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Navy also seem to be in possession of considerable ordnance, as seen when they deploy an F-36C fighter jet armed with a nuclear missile. The carrier strike group meets its ultimate demise at the hands of a relentless waves of alien machines and a massive alien "War Ship". At the end of the game, Helena informs Nomad that there is another fleet of U.S. Navy ships en route from Japan
United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka
U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, or Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base, in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, U.S. 7th Fleet and...
that will arrive within the hour. Admiral Morrison was voiced by Bill Roberts.
Civilians
Doctor Rosenthal's archeology team is on the island at the behest of North Korea to search for remnants of the alien race he discovered clues of elsewhere in the world. He brings with him his daughter Helena (also a scientist), another scientist named Badowski, an unnamed scientist and, unknowingly, a CIA agent sent to secretly monitor him and his work. The CIA agent is captured by the KPA, but is rescued by Raptor Team. During the rescue, the alien hidden in the mountain rumbles ominously. After the rescue, she is not seen again. Badowski is the first of the archaeology team to be killed. While talking to Raptor Team, the rescued CIA agent tells Raptor Team, "Badowski, it... Something tore him to pieces". Nomad later discovers Badowski's body in the jungle with numerous ice shards embedded in his back. Dr. Rosenthal is killed when he is flash-frozen by a partially excavated flying alien machine which he inadvertently activates. Before his demise he exclaimed, "The fossils! They're still alive!" The unnamed archaeologist is shot in the head by General Kyong after Kyong becomes angry at the team's inability to stabilize the electric current to the machinery (presumably because the aliens are draining energy from it). Helena survives after being rescued by Nomad. She also greatly assists Nomad in destroying the alien exosuits which attack the USS Constitution (CVN-80), by overloading them while recharging and deactivating their shields using a signal which she transmits using Nomad's Nanosuit. Helena was voiced by Claudia BlackClaudia Black
Claudia Lee Black is an Australian actress and voice actor, known for her portrayals of Aeryn Sun in the science fiction television series Farscape, Vala Mal Doran in the science fiction series Stargate SG-1, Chloe Frazer in the Uncharted series, the witch Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins and...
, and Dr. Rosenthal was voiced by Doug James.
North Korean Army
The Korean People's Army (KPA), is the primary antagonist during the first half of the game, up until Nomad enters the alien structure in the mountain. In the game's fictional setting, North KoreaNorth Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n leader Kim Jong-Il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-chul
Kim Jong-chul
Kim Jong-chul is the middle son of Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea . His older half-brother is Kim Jong-nam. His younger brother is Kim Jong-un, supposed heir-apparent to North Korea's de facto leadership.In 2007, Jong-chul was appointed deputy chief of a leadership division of the Workers' Party...
sometime after 2008. Jong-chul revolutionizes the North Korean economy, making it one of the wealthiest and most technologically advanced countries in the world. Using this new wealth, the KPA buys the newest military hardware from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, making North Korea a formidable military power. In the game, it is also mentioned that North Korea has a fully developed nuclear program. The North Korean military forces in the game are led by Colonel General
Colonel General
Colonel General is a senior rank of General. North Korea and Russia are two countries which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories...
Ri-Chan Kyong, a North Korean military officer who was responsible for a massacre of civilians a few years before the game takes place. The North Koreans' intent to hang onto the islands is clear, shown by the significant allocation of forces ranging from infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
to tanks and aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
. According to Kyong, the North Koreans are interested in the archaeological findings because of the potential of the alien technology for use as a profitable power source. It is later revealed that they too have Nanosuit technology, however, their Nanosuits are used solely by Kyong himself and his elite units. Kyong is encountered midway during the game as a boss character
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
. Most of the fortifications on the island are built by the KPA, including machine guns and concussion mines. General Kyong was voiced by Hyunsoo Han.
Aliens
Operating out of their massive structure embedded in the mountain, the Aliens themselves have streamlined bodies with which they "swimAquatic locomotion
Swimming is biologically propelled motion through a liquid medium. Swimming has evolved a number of times in a range of organisms ranging from arthropods to fish to molluscs.-Evolution of swimming:...
" through the weightless internal environment. Some of the Aliens are armed with projectile weapons which fire ice-based projectiles similar to those fired by Prophet's modified MOAC Alien weapon. Their organic-looking robots and exosuits comprise the bulk of their forces outside of their structure in the mountain. Several varieties of alien exosuits are seen in the game. Troopers are small, autonomous man-sized quadrupedal drones which are able to manoeuvre indoors and fire projectiles formed of ice. Scouts are flying machines which are able to fire ice-based projectiles as well as project an energy beam which damages the player. Scouts also have tentacle-like arms which trail behind them when they fly; they use those arms to pick up, carry, and destroy objects and people. Hunters are large quadrupedal machines which utilize shielding technology and fire a beam capable of temporarily freezing and immobilizing the player, as well as being able to fire a powerful "Singularity gun" that can kill the player with a single blast. In the last level, the player comes face to face with a flying alien warship, the "Warrior", which is so large that it can attack U.S. Navy Destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s by ramming them, and is armed with larger versions of the Singularity cannon, one shot of which inflicts massive damage to the superstructure
Superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
of the USS Constitution (CVN-80) in the final level. The massive number of machines that deploy at the end of the game, along with filler text for multiplayer maps, indicate that the Aliens' interest in Earth is on a global scale. In Crysis 2
Crysis 2
Crysis 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek, published by Electronic Arts and released in North America, Australia, and Europe in March 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...
, they are called Cephalopods and they have upgraded much of their technology, looking nothing like they did in Crysis.
Development
Game engine
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
, Direct3D
Direct3D
Direct3D is part of Microsoft's DirectX application programming interface . Direct3D is available for Microsoft Windows operating systems , and for other platforms through the open source software Wine. It is the base for the graphics API on the Xbox and Xbox 360 console systems...
for graphics rendering, and includes the same editor that was used by Crytek to create the game. The game runs on a new engine (CryEngine 2) that is the successor to Far Cry
Far Cry
Far Cry is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek Studios from Germany and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004, for Microsoft Windows. Far Cry sold 730,000 units within four months of release. It received positive reviews upon release...
s CryEngine
CryENGINE
CryEngine is a game engine used for the first-person shooter computer game Far Cry. It was originally developed by Crytek as a technology demo for Nvidia and, when the company saw its potential, it was turned into a game....
. CryEngine 2 was among the first engines to use the Direct3D 10 (DirectX 10) framework of Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, but was designed primarily to run using DirectX 9, both on Vista and Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
.
Roy Taylor, Vice President of Content Relations at NVIDIA
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
, has spoken on the subject of the engine's complexity, stating that Crysis has over a million lines of code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
, 1 GB of texture data
Texture mapping
Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
, 85,000 shader
Shader
In the field of computer graphics, a shader is a computer program that is used primarily to calculate rendering effects on graphics hardware with a high degree of flexibility...
s, and nearly three thousand pages of straight-up coding using loops.
Crysis is often used as a benchmark in computer tests, as Crysis at the highest settings and resolutions required processing power from computers that was unfeasible when it was first released. In its time, the game was so demanding on previous computer hardware that the catchphrase "Yeah, but can it run Crysis?" was frequently added to graphics card reviews.
Demo
On August 27, 2007, CrytekCrytek
Crytek is a German video game company founded in 1999 by three Turkish brothers: Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli. Crytek's main headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany, with five other studios in Kiev, Budapest, Nottingham, Sofia and Seoul. The company is best known for developing the game Far Cry and...
announced a single-player demo would be released on September 25; however, the date was pushed back to October 26. The demo featured the entire first level, Contact, as well as the sand box editor. On October 26, Crytek
Crytek
Crytek is a German video game company founded in 1999 by three Turkish brothers: Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli. Crytek's main headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany, with five other studios in Kiev, Budapest, Nottingham, Sofia and Seoul. The company is best known for developing the game Far Cry and...
announced that the demo would be postponed for at least one more day and was released to the public on October 27. However, on many sites it was provided a day early, and an oversight allowed people to grab the file directly off an EA server earlier than intended.
Shortly after the demo's release some enthusiasts found that, by manipulating the configuration files, most of the "very high" graphics settings (normally reserved for DX10) could be activated under DX9. The "very high" DX9 graphics mode looks almost identical to the DX10 mode, with certain graphical features not being able to be reproduced correctly under DX9, such as Object Motion Blur
Motion blur
Motion blur is the apparent streaking of rapidly moving objects in a still image or a sequence of images such as a movie or animation. It results when the image being recorded changes during the recording of a single frame, either due to rapid movement or long exposure.- Photography :When a camera...
.
Sandbox editor
Crysis contains a level editorLevel editor
A level editor is a software tool used to design levels, maps, campaigns, etc and virtual worlds for a video game. In some cases the creator of a video game releases an official level editor for a game, but other times the community of fans step in to fill the void...
called Sandbox
Sandbox (video game editor)
Sandbox is the level editor used to create levels for the CryEngine line of game engines by Crytek. Tools are also provided within the software to facilitate scripting, animation, and object creation...
, much like Far Cry
Far Cry
Far Cry is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek Studios from Germany and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004, for Microsoft Windows. Far Cry sold 730,000 units within four months of release. It received positive reviews upon release...
s, in which new levels can be created and edited. Such levels will have full support in all multiplayer modes. This will allow the player to easily build their own levels, seeing everything in real time within the editor. The player can also jump into the map they are working on at any time to test it. The editor is the same one that was used by Crytek to create the game.
As stated in the readme file accompanying Sandbox, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition released on April 25, 2005 is an edition of Windows XP for x86-64 personal computers. It is designed to use the expanded 64-bit memory address space provided by the x86-64 architecture....
or Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
x64 are the only officially supported operating systems for running the editor. According to Crytek, using a 32-bit OS can lead to instabilities with production size levels due to the low amount of virtual memory available and is therefore not supported.
Special Edition
The limited or collector's edition of Crysis is called Special Edition. The three-disc Crysis Special Edition contains the following:- Steelbook casing (Not available in American Version)
- Crysis game DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
- Crysis Bonus Content DVD including:
- "Making of Crysis" & "Meet the Developers" featurette
- Initial Crysis concept video
- Additional "key trailers"
- Showreel of original concept and production artwork
- High-resolution screenshotScreenshotA screenshot , screen capture , screen dump, screengrab , or print screen is an image taken by a computer to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, television, or another visual output device...
s - StoryboardStoryboardStoryboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
s
- A 28-page game manual
- A 16-page concept artConcept artConcept art is a form of illustration where the main goal is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, and/or mood for use in films, video games, animation, or comic books before it is put into the final product. Concept art is also referred to as visual development and/or concept design...
bookBookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
let - An exclusive in-game multiplayer "AmphibiousAmphibious vehicleAn amphibious vehicle , is a vehicle or craft, that is a means of transport, viable on land as well as on water – just like an amphibian....
APCArmoured personnel carrierAn armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
" vehicle* - Official soundtrack CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by composer Inon ZurInon ZurInon Zur is an Israeli American music composer who has won several awards for his work. Originally writing for movies and television, he later moved into composing for video games. He has been described as being "internationally recognized as one of the A-list orchestral composers in the video... - South African release also included an EA CRYSIS T-shirt.
Console versions
In July 2011, it was revealed that both the ESRB and the equivalent Korean ratings board have rated the original Crysis for the PlayStation 3PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
On September 8, a trailer with real-time in-game footage was released on Crytek's Twitter page. It showed brand new features for consoles including all new lighting, new effects and new Nanosuit controls, fine-tuned combat and full stereoscopic 3D support. This version is download-only. "We are extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish with Crysis," said Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli. "We set out to create a next-generation FPS and delivered a PC experience that became a benchmark for quality- and still is for many gamers even four years later. "By bringing the single-player campaign to console, we believe we are again setting a new standard for quality in downloadable gaming," he added. However, unlike the original, the PSN/XBL versions of the game lack online multiplayer component. Also, neither Warhead nor Wars expansions are included. It was released on October 4, 2011.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Crysis was composed by Inon ZurInon Zur
Inon Zur is an Israeli American music composer who has won several awards for his work. Originally writing for movies and television, he later moved into composing for video games. He has been described as being "internationally recognized as one of the A-list orchestral composers in the video...
, and released on November 27, 2007.
Crysis (Original Game Soundtrack)
Commercial
According to The simExchangeThe simExchange
The simExchange is a web-based prediction market in which players use virtual money to buy and sell stocks and futures contracts in upcoming video game properties. The main purpose of the web site is to predict trends in the video game industry, particularly how upcoming products will sell and how...
, the NPD Group
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
reported that Crysis moved 86,633 retail units in the first two weeks of its release in North America, but while it beat their expectations, the sales were considered disappointing overall. Two months later, on Electronic Arts' earnings conference of the quarter, it was reported that Crysis had reached the 1 million units mark, and that it had exceeded their expectations. On the other hand, Cevat Yerli stated during an interview with PC Play in April 2008 that he was disappointed to see the game leading the charts in piracy and because of that his studio would not produce any more PC exclusives, as he believed a game such as Crysis would sell four to five times more copies if it was released on consoles. Piracy figures released by TorrentFreak indicate that Crysis was indeed one of the most pirated PC games of the year. In June 2008 Cevat stated that while their hopes have not been met, the game has reached their real expectations and in August he added that despite of its $22 million budget the game has turned profitable for them. By May 2010 the game has sold over 3 million units (and its standalone expansion
Crysis Warhead
Crysis Warhead is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game developed by the studio Crytek Budapest, Hungary, and published by Electronic Arts. Crysis Warhead is a stand-alone expansion game and does not require Crysis installed to play...
about 1.5 million units) making it one of the best selling PC games of all time.
Critical reception
Upon its release, Crysis was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews. The game was awarded a 98% in the PC GamerPC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
U.S. Holiday 2007 issue, making it one of the highest rated games ever in PC Gamer, tying with Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...
and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is the critically acclaimed science fiction 4X turn-based strategy video game sequel to the Civilization series. Sid Meier, designer of Civilization, and Brian Reynolds, designer of Civilization II, developed Alpha Centauri after they left MicroProse to join the newly...
. The UK edition of the magazine awarded the game 92%, describing the game as "A spectacular and beautiful sci-fi epic." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
awarded Crysis a score of 9.5 out of 10, describing it as "easily one of the greatest shooters ever made." GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
gave it a 4.5 out of 5 stating that the suit powers were fun but also criticizing the multiplayer portion of the game for not having a team deathmatch. X-Play
X-Play
X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits...
gave it a 3 out of 5 on its "Holiday Buyer's Guide" special episode, praising the graphics and physics, but criticized the steep hardware requirements as well as stating that the game is overhyped with average gameplay. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
honored Crysis with a score of 4.75 out of 5, saying it was "a great step forward for PC gaming," but criticized the steep hardware requirements. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded it a 9.4 out of 10, hailing it as "one of the more entertaining ballistic showdowns in quite some time." A retrospective review for bit-tech.net in June 2010 criticized the game for failing to deliver on its pre-release promise, saying that the art direction was "boring and monotonous," that the nanosuit was underwhelming and that the plot could be summarized as "Rescue these people who look to be being held captive by Koreans. Oh no Aliens!" The review concluded by saying, "Crysis was the epitome of style over substance."
Awards
GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
awarded Crysis "Best Shooter" in its "Best of 2007" awards, saying that "It was this open-ended, emergent gameplay--the ability to let us tackle our challenges in whatever way we wished." They also awarded it with "Best Graphics: Technical" and "Best PC Game" stating that "The firefights in the game are beautiful to look at, but extremely intense affairs that force you to think quickly--and reward you for doing so. It's a dynamic game, one that you can play several times to discover new things and to experiment with different approaches."
PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
awarded Crysis its "Game of the Year" and "Action Game of the Year" in its March 2008, "Games of the Year Awards" issue. PC Gamer also remarked that "Crysis has pushed PC gaming to a new plateau, marrying the most advanced graphics engine ever created with phenomenal gameplay. From the cinematic opening to credits to its cliffhanger ending, Crysis is mesmerizing."
Gamereactor
Gamereactor
Gamereactor is one of Northern Europe's biggest game magazine and Gaming sites that covers video- and computer games as well as mobile phone-games and indie-titles. It started in Denmark in 1998 by Morten Reichel and Claus Reichel - first years under the name Gamez.dk. The Magazine and Online...
gave Crysis a perfect ten, and awarded it with its "Best Action Game of 2007", saying that "the action genre is forever changed."
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded Crysis its "Editor's Choice Award", saying that "the Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
-type ending... wasn't enough to deter me from heartily recommending action fans pick this one up."
Sequels
Crysis was announced to be the first game in a trilogyTrilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
by Crytek
Crytek
Crytek is a German video game company founded in 1999 by three Turkish brothers: Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli. Crytek's main headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany, with five other studios in Kiev, Budapest, Nottingham, Sofia and Seoul. The company is best known for developing the game Far Cry and...
. Despite this, the next game released under the Crysis name was not the second chapter in the trilogy. Released for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
on September 16, 2008 in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and September 19, 2008 in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Crysis Warhead
Crysis Warhead
Crysis Warhead is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game developed by the studio Crytek Budapest, Hungary, and published by Electronic Arts. Crysis Warhead is a stand-alone expansion game and does not require Crysis installed to play...
is a stand-alone expansion that allows the player to play the story told in the original Crysis, but this time from the viewpoint of Sgt. Michael Sykes, also known as "Psycho". The multiplayer element in Crysis Warhead is now called Crysis Wars. On May 30, 2009, Crytek announced the second chapter in the Crysis trilogy, which will continue where the first game ended. Released on March 22, 2011, Crysis 2
Crysis 2
Crysis 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek, published by Electronic Arts and released in North America, Australia, and Europe in March 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...
was developed for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In addition to seeking a United States trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
on the name Crysis, Crytek
Crytek
Crytek is a German video game company founded in 1999 by three Turkish brothers: Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli. Crytek's main headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany, with five other studios in Kiev, Budapest, Nottingham, Sofia and Seoul. The company is best known for developing the game Far Cry and...
is seeking to trademark the names Crysis Wars, World in Crysis, and Crysis Warhead.