Crysis 2 Remastered Review (Letande)
“This is some bullsh*t!”
~“Harry Vanderspeigle”, Resident Alien
Crysis 2 was an interesting case—and a pretty sad one, in a way. See, the series was born to become a PC icon. Huge open maps, top-notch visuals that demanded the best hardware on the market to run at the highest settings, multiplayer that supported fewer players at once than Battlefield 2 but offered advanced features like nanosuits in return... It was something only possible on PCs. A "PC mustard race" thing. Sure, the story about North Korea and aliens wasn’t great, but who cared? It was for people who loved comparing their FPS while enjoying their freedom on massive open maps. Unfortunately, the PC market was just that—a PC market. At the time, nearly everything was going cross-platform. You can probably guess the rest. Yes, Crysis 2 went cross-platform, and it was nothing like the original.
Not that it was unrecognizable, of course. We still had that Predator-inspired nanosuit, letting us run faster and turn invisible (Crysis 2 even went further, adding the alien hunter’s signature thermal vision from the movies and games). Weapon modifications remained, and yes, there were still aliens to kill. It also looked pretty good—not as stunning as the original (the setting shifted from jungles to New York to avoid performance-heavy vegetation), but still impressive. Some even called it "the best-looking game on consoles." It was spectacular, too. Nearly everything around us was collapsing (hello, Uncharted), and let’s be honest, showing a ruined Lady Liberty never gets old.
At the same time, though, Crysis 2 was 100% console-oriented. Those vast open spaces vanished, replaced by typical corridor-like levels. Vehicles were mostly gone, and when they did appear, the game never let you drive freely (either by using bridges or tunnel-like roads). Even the multiplayer became far more generic, resembling other AAA shooters. And that was the game’s biggest problem. Did I hate it for not being a niche PC title? No, not at all. But at the same time, there was nothing truly special about it. Sure, the nanosuits were still there, and they worked decently with the smaller maps. Both single-player and multiplayer modes were fun. But we already had tons of competitors (like F.3.A.R.), and shooters with special powers weren’t exactly rare. Heck, while playing Crysis 2, I kept thinking of the good ol' Project Snowblind (originally Deus Ex: Clan Wars). So yeah, it was a fine game—just not memorable. Played it back in the day? Cool. Missed it? Well, no big loss. The story was disappointing, too. Still, we got a remastered version, so... Let’s take a look?
The funny thing is... there isn’t much to say. For the most part, this is one of those boring remasters. You know, the kind that takes the original, upgrades the visuals for modern resolutions, and calls it a day. This version looks better than the original, and that’s it. Right? Well, no. First, there are a lot of pre-rendered cutscenes, and all of them look terrible. Playing in 4K only to be hit with blurry, artifact-filled footage is jarring. Sure, they might not have had the source files, but with today’s tech, they could’ve done better. Surprisingly, that’s the only major flaw. At least in the single-player mode. Because yes, if you’ve played (or read my review of) the previous game, you already know—the multiplayer was cut. Surprise!
Even though multiplayer was a big part of the game, complete with two DLC packs (Retaliation and Decimation) adding new maps, the remaster just drops it entirely. With the first game, the omission was somewhat forgivable (console ports never had multiplayer, and the remaster clearly targets consoles). But for Crysis 2? It’s pure "What the f*ck?!"* The game was made for consoles, had multiplayer on consoles, but now it’s gone. And we’re supposed to believe this is the "ultimate version." I smell bull.
Still, for the single-player campaign, this is a decent way to experience it. It won’t recreate the 2011 feeling (back then, it was one of the best-looking console games—today, it’s more like one of them common multiplatform ones), but at least you’ll get the idea without enduring dated, blurry textures. Compared to the original disc version? This one’s better—higher resolutions, improved visuals, and the old multiplayer is dead anyway. But this is far from the "ultimate" version, especially since the originals (PC and consoles) have workarounds to get multiplayer running—and people still play it. So, cutting multiplayer entirely? To quote "Harry Vanderspeigle" from Resident Alien: "This is some bullsh*t!"