As GeekVibes has been looking back in different PC Games of the past, we have recently centered on the evolutions of the first person shooter. From Wolfenstein 3D, to Half-life and now to a game that tested your reflexes and your PC gaming system: 2007’s Crysis.
This could be happening NOW
The fun thing about this one is it is set in the mythical time of 2020. THAT sounds vaguely familiar. Crysis was developed by German developer Crytek and published by Electronic Arts. The series revolves around a group of military protagonists with “nanosuits.” These were technologically advanced suits of armor. They allowed the wearer to gain enhanced physical strength, speed, defense, and cloaking abilities. Where can I get one? They must be real, it IS 2020 after all.
In the game, the US government dispatches the “nanosuit” clad Raptor Team to face off against hostile North Korean soldiers. But that’s not all. They also face heavily armed mercenaries, and a race of technologically advanced aliens known as the Ceph. These invaders had arrived on Earth millions of years ago but have recently been awakened. We just couldn’t leave sleeping aliens lie? So how does this all start?
The Plot
Crysis‘ plot follows Lieutenant Jake Dunn codenamed “Nomad.” He is a United States Army Delta Force operator. The part of Nomad will be played by YOU! As the story unfolds, an American team of archaeologists are taken captive by the North Korean Army. The United States responds by deploying a team of Spec Ops—supported by the USS Constitution—who take part in the fighting between the United States and North Korea. Soon, it becomes apparent that the North Koreans have built large military installations.
Welcome to the Jungle
During this phase of the game, the setting is a tropical environment, similar to Crytek’s previous game Far Cry. But as the game progresses, it becomes clear that the Korean People’s Army (also known as the KPA) isn’t the most dangerous threat. Soon members of the special forces team start to get dragged into the deep jungles, later to be found dead (giving major Predator Vibes). When the spec-ops leader Prophet gets captured by the unknown force there’s only two members left in the special forces team. (Fortunately Nomad is one of them). As the conflict escalates, the United States army enters the scene to fight off the Koreans.
The first part of the game ends as the mountain at the center of the island begins to crumble. This reveals a 2 km high alien structure beneath the surface. From which, aliens begin attacking both the US Military and the Koreans. Nomad decides to enter the alien ship in this section and proceeds to explore the weightless environment.
Alien Encounters
During his investigations, he retrieves valuable information about the alien invaders. All the while fighting them off during intermittent attacks. Upon Nomad’s exit, the ship xeno-forms the area around the island by creating a sphere. Inside the dome, the temperature is a balmy -200 degrees. The results of which are flash freezing which kills every living thing within it. All except the nanosuit clad infantry. (I really need one of those suits).
Nomad also located Prophet, who was found trapped within the sphere. His suit was damaged and was losing heat quickly. Thus Nomad had to escort him from heat source to heat source during their journey.
Bring in the Nukes
Finally, Nomad escapes the island, and makes his way to the USS Constitution. Once aboard, the admiral reveals that he has permission to commence a nuclear assault on the island. It is believed that the powerful weapon will wipe out the aliens. During this time, Prophet steals a VTOL & returns to the island to fight the aliens. Just as the nuke is launched.
However, after the weapon detonates on the surface of the sphere, it only appears to give it more power. With the blast expanding, an army of aliens arrive to attack the USS Constitution. The final battle takes place against a giant alien warship on top of the ship. Nomad destroys the alien ship, causing it to crash onto the USS Constitution, sinking both into the sea. Nomad manages to jump-ship onto the VTOL transport with Pyscho and Helena Rosenthal on it. Shortly after this, a radio transmission from Prophet is received & Nomad insists upon going back to the island to join him. Leading to the next game in the series.
Great Game but…
Crysis was well received for the most part. It was awarded a 98% in the PC Gamer U.S. Holiday 2007 issue. This made it one of the highest rated games in PC Gamer‘s history of rating games. Tying it with Half-Life 2 and Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri. GameSpot awarded Crysis a score of 9.5 out of 10, describing it as “easily one of the greatest shooters ever made.”
If there were criticisms of the game, it generally focused on two things. The lack of a multiplayer team deathmatch venue and its steep system requirements. The game requirements were indeed substantial. I build my own machines and try to find a happy medium between power and cost. Crysis put my PC through its paces. (My current rig plays it pretty well). Here were the basic and recommended system requirements at that time as per Game-Debate.Com
Minimum Requirements
- OS: Win Xp 32
- Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz / AMD Athlon XP 2800+
- Graphics: AMD Radeon 9800 Pro or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB
- System Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Storage: 12 GB Hard drive space
- DirectX 9 Compatible Graphics Card
Recommended Requirements
- OS: Win Xp 32
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+
- Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 3850 or NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS
- System Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Storage: 12 GB Hard drive space
I Can’t Play this, Can I?
That basically removed most off the shelf PC’s from qualifying at the time. You could still play the game but you would not get all the eye candy and at a reduced frame rate. But if your system was up to the task, it was an impressive looking game. With the Crysis Warhead (2008) addition, the deathmatch was added but the system requirements remained.
Regardless, it was still a groundbreaking first person shooter and paved the way for two sequels. With the more advanced off the shelf PC’s, you may be able play the game in the manner in which it was meant to be played. Although a discrete GPU may still be required. Built in graphics might not get it done. Crysis is still available for play. If you want to see what was the next step in the first person evolution, you might want to check it out.
If you have played it let us know your thoughts about the game. We have reached its point in time after all. Share your playing experience with us at Geek Vibes Nation.
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Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.