Well, whenever Crytek releases a new version of Crysis it is time to play a game of "will it run or will you have to run and buy a new graphics card?" Crysis 3 requires a DX11 capable graphics card just to run and so this will rule out many owners of older cards. I find this a little stupid, since some older high-end cards should be able to run the game had it only been DX10 enabled. But so it ain't, so off to the hardware store you run.
My current config is this, for comparison:
- Intel Core I7 2.66ghz
- 2 EVGA GTX 660 TI SC in SLI
- 12 Gb RAM
- OCZ Agility3 SSD disc
The game ran very well on my setup. There's a short slow "startup period" at the beginning of every level - like the engine has to find itself and get everything completely loaded, but apart from that it runs like a motherfucker. I had the settings on "High" and it looks absolutely amazing in 1920x1080. Even if you lower the graphics settings, it still looks amazing.
I have never seen anything in a computer game that comes even close to the level of detail in Crysis 3. It absolutely sets the standard now. I bet it will look like shite on a console compared to the detail on a PC. The game surely puts some stress on the GPU(s) and while many games let the CPU sleep for most of the time it is not the case here, it will have to work hard as well.
The single player campaign has 7 levels and it probably takes about 7 or 8 hours to play from beginning to end - depending on how many times you plan on dying and how much time you expect to spend on enjoying the stunning view of New York turned into a jungle.
You play as Prophet (yes, him again - the game will explain how that is possible) and good old Psycho is your sidekick. It is not a perfect single player campaign though. Several of the first levels felt like "Call of Duty" clones. They are quite linear and with lots of cutscenes and video sequences that you don't play a part of. There are also some driving sequences where you have to drive a buggy. It stinks. It's totally bumpy and the controls are terrible - not so fun. I was actually rather negative after the first few hours of gameplay.
Luckily though, things get a lot better. Some of the last levels are such a blast of entertaining gameplay and out-of-this-world graphics that you'll drop your jaw. There's a sequence where you fly around in New York and shoot alien spacecrafts and it is hard to aim because you are so busy enjoying the view instead. If you set the difficulty rather low then it never gets impossible while it is still fun to play. Even the bosses are beatable without too many problems.
I didn't experience any bugs for most of the game. Playing one level though, I did fall in a crack and fell below the actual gameplay level. I could run around and look up at the actual level, but I couldn't get back up there. I had to kill my player to get out of that funny situation.
The worst problem is however in the very last bit of the game. Prophet will get sucked into a wormhole and then the game crashes to the desktop. The game isn't totally over yet but there is no way past that point. I have checked various forums and I can see I am certainly not alone. It happens for many players on both PC and consoles. I hope they get this shit fixed soon. I'd certainly like to see the last minutes of the game I have paid for. Bit of a let down to play thru the entire game without being able to see the last bit of it.
When they get the bug fixed I'll play it again. I didn't really use the new Predator compound bow much, because I had my hands full of other fun weapons. Maybe I'll also see how far a "Rambo style" of playing will get me - compared to the quite effective cloaked "stealth style" which is the safer approach.
I usually don't deal with multiplayer games but I gave it a short try earlier today and it runs like a charm with the same stunning graphics. Maybe I should check MP out more, even if I'm sure it will piss me off if I do.
To sum it up: if you've got the PC hardware to play it on then you should. The single player campaign is a bit of a mixed experience but it would be a damn shame skipping the outstanding graphics this game has to offer.
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Content Type: Game Review
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Updated: 2013-03-14 15:14
Created: 2013-03-12 11:33
