rand0m
09-13-2008, 09:13 AM
IGN review = 9.4/10
Outstanding (http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/909/909584p1.html)
US, September 12, 2008 - Crysis Warhead is the videogame equivalent of a summer action movie, and while it's more action-heavy than its highly acclaimed predecessor, it still retains its brains. Like Crysis, Warhead is a sandbox shooter that gives you large amounts of freedom as to how you approach each tactical situation. And there are plenty of tactical situations, because Warhead seems aimed at those who felt that Crysis was a bit too slow-paced and cerebral at times. But while it doesn't quite match the over-the-top insanity of a Call of Duty game, Warhead does prove that Crytek can deliver an intense action game.
Finally, we get to the part of the review everyone wants to know about: performance. Crytek claims that Warhead is better optimized than Crysis, and everything I experienced confirms this. In fact, what's amazing is that Warhead not only runs better than Crysis, it looks better than Crysis. Keep in mind, a year has passed since Crysis shipped and there still isn't a non-Crytek game that approaches it in terms of visuals. Warhead features more definition to the terrain, and the lighting and particle effects have gotten big boosts. I found myself walking through jungle with the morning light piercing the canopy and had to stop and just absorb the moment. It had a level of atmosphere that I can't recall from the first game.
9.0 Presentation
The story is a bit overwrought at times, but, in Warhead, action is more important than words. The atmosphere is better than before, and it's still great to tweak graphics settings in mid-game.
10 Graphics
Crysis Warhead raises the bar that its predecessor established while at the same time offering better performance.The visuals remain unmatched.
9.0 Sound
The voice work and sound are on par with the first game, and the driving musical score will make you think Hollywood.
9.5 Gameplay
The gameplay still rewards thinking on your feet, but it ramps up the intensity with a lot more action. Warhead still has the capability to surprise you, too, with some cool sequences.
9.0 Lasting Appeal
The sandbox gameplay and the nanosuit offer plenty of replay value, and the multiplayer is a lot more engaging than before.
Eurogamer = 9/10 (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=235563)
Let's start with the bad news, because there isn't really very much of it. Crysis Warhead is not a particularly long game - in fact, if you're playing on normal settings, and you're familiar with the first entry in the series, you can probably clock this at somewhere between five and seven hours.
But is that really bad news? Because although Warhead isn't the most time-consuming initial playthrough - it's a side-story rather than a true sequel, after all - it manages to throw in a surprising amount of variety, and, with that, a considerable degree of replayability. It may not take days of your life to complete, but it never asks you to do the same thing twice, and the chances are that, as with the original, each subsequent playthrough will reveal an unexpected side to most of the set-pieces.
But despite these seemingly impossible constraints, Warhead manages to address practically every issue players had with the original game. It may fit inside the same story, but as it follows a different character ("Psycho" Sykes, the original game's Statham-alike, and a man specifically designed, in the words of the developers, "to make you want to blow s*** up") through different encounters, the pacing has been radically altered for the better, with the big freeze arriving far earlier, and a far more satisfying finale than the slightly hurried and abrupt conclusion of the first Crysis.
To end on a tenuous analogy, Crysis Warhead is probably the Back to the Future II of videogames: rather than totally transform the story and setting, it returns to the original narrative, exploring it from a different angle; once again, the results are sharper, meaner, and have a lot more for you to think about (although, thankfully, there are no dodgy CGI sharks or Elisabeth Shue performances). The original Crysis may have given you the basic tools, but Warhead allows you to really use them, and while its previous titles made it clear that Crytek knew technology like few others, it's this strange off-shoot Warhead that proves it's no slouch when it comes to level design and set-pieces either.
HolyshitIneedthisgamenow
Outstanding (http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/909/909584p1.html)
US, September 12, 2008 - Crysis Warhead is the videogame equivalent of a summer action movie, and while it's more action-heavy than its highly acclaimed predecessor, it still retains its brains. Like Crysis, Warhead is a sandbox shooter that gives you large amounts of freedom as to how you approach each tactical situation. And there are plenty of tactical situations, because Warhead seems aimed at those who felt that Crysis was a bit too slow-paced and cerebral at times. But while it doesn't quite match the over-the-top insanity of a Call of Duty game, Warhead does prove that Crytek can deliver an intense action game.
Finally, we get to the part of the review everyone wants to know about: performance. Crytek claims that Warhead is better optimized than Crysis, and everything I experienced confirms this. In fact, what's amazing is that Warhead not only runs better than Crysis, it looks better than Crysis. Keep in mind, a year has passed since Crysis shipped and there still isn't a non-Crytek game that approaches it in terms of visuals. Warhead features more definition to the terrain, and the lighting and particle effects have gotten big boosts. I found myself walking through jungle with the morning light piercing the canopy and had to stop and just absorb the moment. It had a level of atmosphere that I can't recall from the first game.
9.0 Presentation
The story is a bit overwrought at times, but, in Warhead, action is more important than words. The atmosphere is better than before, and it's still great to tweak graphics settings in mid-game.
10 Graphics
Crysis Warhead raises the bar that its predecessor established while at the same time offering better performance.The visuals remain unmatched.
9.0 Sound
The voice work and sound are on par with the first game, and the driving musical score will make you think Hollywood.
9.5 Gameplay
The gameplay still rewards thinking on your feet, but it ramps up the intensity with a lot more action. Warhead still has the capability to surprise you, too, with some cool sequences.
9.0 Lasting Appeal
The sandbox gameplay and the nanosuit offer plenty of replay value, and the multiplayer is a lot more engaging than before.
Eurogamer = 9/10 (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=235563)
Let's start with the bad news, because there isn't really very much of it. Crysis Warhead is not a particularly long game - in fact, if you're playing on normal settings, and you're familiar with the first entry in the series, you can probably clock this at somewhere between five and seven hours.
But is that really bad news? Because although Warhead isn't the most time-consuming initial playthrough - it's a side-story rather than a true sequel, after all - it manages to throw in a surprising amount of variety, and, with that, a considerable degree of replayability. It may not take days of your life to complete, but it never asks you to do the same thing twice, and the chances are that, as with the original, each subsequent playthrough will reveal an unexpected side to most of the set-pieces.
But despite these seemingly impossible constraints, Warhead manages to address practically every issue players had with the original game. It may fit inside the same story, but as it follows a different character ("Psycho" Sykes, the original game's Statham-alike, and a man specifically designed, in the words of the developers, "to make you want to blow s*** up") through different encounters, the pacing has been radically altered for the better, with the big freeze arriving far earlier, and a far more satisfying finale than the slightly hurried and abrupt conclusion of the first Crysis.
To end on a tenuous analogy, Crysis Warhead is probably the Back to the Future II of videogames: rather than totally transform the story and setting, it returns to the original narrative, exploring it from a different angle; once again, the results are sharper, meaner, and have a lot more for you to think about (although, thankfully, there are no dodgy CGI sharks or Elisabeth Shue performances). The original Crysis may have given you the basic tools, but Warhead allows you to really use them, and while its previous titles made it clear that Crytek knew technology like few others, it's this strange off-shoot Warhead that proves it's no slouch when it comes to level design and set-pieces either.
HolyshitIneedthisgamenow