Crysis 2 - Maximum Edition

Last time I played Crysis 2 was at release, back when I was still in school. I didn’t like it back then - and turns out I had good reason. I’ve just finished it again, and my impressions haven’t changed. I always liked Crytek’s earlier games, Far Cry and Crysis, for their open levels and the freedom to approach objectives in multiple ways. Vehicles added variety and let you create your own epic moments - storming a camp by boat, crashing into a shack in a jeep while jumping on the mounted gun and shooting down anything that moves. Sure, those games didn’t have engaging story - but who cared? Crysis 2 became a generic corridor shooter. The levels are drastically small, often offering just a single route. There are a couple of vehicles - a jeep and a tank - but there’s nowhere to use them, as you're constantly locked in small arenas The nanosuit was also simplified. In the first game, you manually switched between modes, adapting to each situation and feeling like you are indeed an operator that must constantly balance the power of different subsystems. In the sequel - one button for "armor" and that's all you need. The gameplay lost its depth. Making levels small didn’t do anything to help the AI either - they still run around randomly or get stuck in textures just like before. Back then, the story felt strange and incomprehensible to me. Now I understand why: the story structure is fragmented. The protagonist teleports across huge parts of the city between missions without explanation. You play as an errand boy - helping one character, then suddenly working for another, and none of it really connects. It seems like Crytek was trying to catch success of Call of Duty, stuffing the game with scripted events and dramatic sequences. 13 years later, it feels more comical than epic. That was the moment the series lost its identity - and it’s no surprise that it ended up forgotten