Anyone else under whelmed by the Crysis Demo???

[Starbuck1975]

Played the Crysis demo over the weekend, and I have to say I am a bit underwhelmed by what I have seen of the game so far.

First the good...I don't even have a Vista rig, and the graphics impressed me in DirectX9...so I can imagine how amazing the game must look in DirectX10 on a rig that is powerful enough to enable all the eye candy.

The gameplay, however, is extremely lacking given the hype surrounding this game.

First the Crysis suit...I found the different modes more gimicky than anything else, as they play out a little like the Force powers from the Jedi Knights game...but not nearly as useful or effective.

Maximum Strength: Sure, the demo and in-game preview footage shows all the amazing things you can do with Maximum Strength, but the only use I really found for it was jumping higher and steadying the aim on my shooting. How many opportunities will you have to stop and choke/throw an enemy soldier?

Maximum Armor: I ended up defaulting to this mode 90% of the time just because firefights are very unforgiving.

Stealth: Not really useful for playing in Stealth mode, because the power on your suit drains down before you have a chance to move more than a few feet forward.

I didn't find the enemy AI all that challenging. The enemy bots do what enemy bots do in just about any FPS...move towards you shooting. I didn't witness any of the flanking maneuvers mentioned in most of the previews and reviews. A few times, I was shooting at an enemy bot, and it just stood there looking around, or ran in circles. Plenty of instances where the enemy bots didn't even react to a fallen comrade, or gunfire. Several cases where the enemy soldiers would engage me, I would stop returning fire, and they would seemingly forget about me and go back to their routines...especially the speedboats. I didn't think the enemy AI was all that revolutionary, or even evolutionary.

I also found the accuracy of the weapons extremely frustrating...you are supposed to be this highly elite Delta super soldier, yet your rifle cannot fire precision shots at a couple of hundred yards away? I was playing the part of the first mission where you get the side mission to take out the enemy radar jammer on the beach...I took up a position in the rocks over looking the enemy base, turned on Super Strength, and yet couldn't manage a head shot. I gave up trying to play stealth or stragically, and defaulted to the run and gun method.

I imagine those that enjoyed FarCry will enjoy Crysis. But from the demo, I didn't have a gameplaying experience that made me want to run out and buy the game. Given all the supposed options offered by the Crysis suit, it still played out as a standard run and gun shooter...at least what I experienced.

 

[pontifex]

you're a little late. everyone played the demo like 3 weeks ago when it came out. we all posted about it then.

the game is mediocre at best.

 

[mode101wpb]

My quick assumption was Far Cry meets Predator the film, instead of central or south america it's a tropical island with koreans. The strung up character "Aztec" and the distant screaming is straight from Predator the film.

I found the AI at the highest difficulty setting to be tough to kill, on the normal setting they would hide out around trees and objects. Even with iron sights there was no picking them off, I'm under the idea that the demo arsenal is only for close range action. Also when the AI flashes red does that mean they are in range??

The Demo only teased you with the Aliens, something I wonder will either make or break the game.

 

[Beev]

Originally posted by: pontifex
you're a little late. everyone played the demo like 3 weeks ago when it came out. we all posted about it then.

the game is mediocre at best.

The entire game is?

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Beev

Originally posted by: pontifex
you're a little late. everyone played the demo like 3 weeks ago when it came out. we all posted about it then.

the game is mediocre at best.

The entire game is?

based on the demo. i can only imagine it getting worse once you start fighting the aliens.
its mediocre just like far cry was, and this is just its unofficial sequel.

 

[Canai]

I really like the game, and I've had those boats follow me around the entire island Playing on delta difficulty, I can nail headshots pretty much as soon as I can see the enemies. I find myself constantly changing modes, as I die very quickly if I don't stay two steps ahead of the enemies.

 

[SexyK]

I think the OP's observations are too simplistic. If you think the cloak mode is useless, then you haven't thought through all the options the game offers. You also say you'll never be able to grab and throw enemies, again, wrong. For example, in cloak mode, the slower you move the slower your energy drains. Try cloaking, then crouch-walking from one rock to the next, recharging while you're hiding behind the rocks. Using this method you can get all the way into the middle of an enemy compound without being noticed, then you can cloak, sneak up behind an unsuspecting guard, switch to strength, grab and kill them without alerting the rest of the guards in the camp.

If you are patient, even the demo offers you so many ways to play the game. It remains to be seen what other goodies the full version will offer. It can be a run-and-gunner if that's what you make it, but it is by no means a run-and-gun only title.

 

[Beev]

Originally posted by: pontifex
based on the demo. i can only imagine it getting worse once you start fighting the aliens.
its mediocre just like far cry was, and this is just its unofficial sequel.

This is where my "different strokes..." comment from my post in another topic comes into play.

You didn't like Far Cry, yet you're super hyped about the new SoF, which will probably be mediocre at best... I enjoyed the single player for the first SoF, but not so much that I'll ever play through it again. The SoF series is just such... low caliber.

 

[Starbuck1975]

If you think the cloak mode is useless, then you haven't thought through all the options the game offers. You also say you'll never be able to grab and throw enemies, again, wrong. For example, in cloak mode, the slower you move the slower your energy drains. Try cloaking, then crouch-walking from one rock to the next, recharging while you're hiding behind the rocks. Using this method you can get all the way into the middle of an enemy compound without being noticed, then you can cloak, sneak up behind an unsuspecting guard, switch to strength, grab and kill them without alerting the rest of the guards in the camp.

Given the complexity of the steps you just outlined, that does not translate into an enjoyable, fluid or open ended gameplay experience...if anything, it seems that you are forcing the issue of using the in game options to replicate what the previews promised...gameplay should be reasonably intuitive...

I actually did try this method, and the enemy AI always spotted me once my cloak went down, even if I was not within their line of sight standing right behind them...also, most of the enemy compounds I encountered had at least two enemies soldiers, sometimes more...so even if I could quiet kill an enemy soldier, the others in the area would magically know I was there and come running over...and for beach areas, this was especially true for the speedboats.

I think the OP's observations are too simplistic.

Perhaps because the gameplay is a bit simplistic?

 

[mode101wpb]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Beev

Originally posted by: pontifex
you're a little late. everyone played the demo like 3 weeks ago when it came out. we all posted about it then.

the game is mediocre at best.

The entire game is?

based on the demo. i can only imagine it getting worse once you start fighting the aliens.
its mediocre just like far cry was, and this is just its unofficial sequel.

I actually thought Far Cry was a great game, being it was released in 2004 and I played it a year after. It still holds up as one of the top FPS of all time IMHO.

I wouldn't say it's a sequel to Far Cry but more of the same landscape, no mutations or genetic research going on so far from what I can tell.

The biggest thing is originality, what you see in Crysis was already done to a degree. Deus Ex gave you nano-augmentations much like the suit in Crysis gives the player. I don't miss mutations or genetic research, looks like Crysis will be devoid of it's Half Life/Far Cry mutations.

By far the graphics even on my dated system are a big improvement over anything else I saw so far.

 

[jonks]

See thread titled: Does Crysis live up to the hype?

(over 65% said yes)

Generally it seems that those who liked Far Cry have enjoyed Crysis, as I did.

 

[RZaakir]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975

If you think the cloak mode is useless, then you haven't thought through all the options the game offers. You also say you'll never be able to grab and throw enemies, again, wrong. For example, in cloak mode, the slower you move the slower your energy drains. Try cloaking, then crouch-walking from one rock to the next, recharging while you're hiding behind the rocks. Using this method you can get all the way into the middle of an enemy compound without being noticed, then you can cloak, sneak up behind an unsuspecting guard, switch to strength, grab and kill them without alerting the rest of the guards in the camp.

Given the complexity of the steps you just outlined, that does not translate into an enjoyable, fluid or open ended gameplay experience...if anything, it seems that you are forcing the issue of using the in game options to replicate what the previews promised...gameplay should be reasonably intuitive...

I actually did try this method, and the enemy AI always spotted me once my cloak went down, even if I was not within their line of sight standing right behind them...also, most of the enemy compounds I encountered had at least two enemies soldiers, sometimes more...so even if I could quiet kill an enemy soldier, the others in the area would magically know I was there and come running over...and for beach areas, this was especially true for the speedboats.

I think the OP's observations are too simplistic.

Perhaps because the gameplay is a bit simplistic?

What you have described here is the opposite of my experience. Not only was I able to sneak around and kill soldiers undetected, but the cloak was invaluable for the times when I was detected. If you get found, just go jump in the bushes and turn on the cloak. If you don't move - or crawl slowly - it will keep you hidden for minutes.

The gameplay is as simplistic as you make it. I played through it run-and-gun style killing every living thing on the island to using total stealth mode without firing a single shot and pretty much everything in between (vehicle focused, total rampage, etc). I found headshots difficult from the top of the hill too, but I snuck down a little closer and picked people off at will. I don't know how accurate you can expect to be at a distance with iron sights, and of course the silencer makes sniping pretty difficult as it nerfs your accuracy.

To each their own I suppose.

 

[Starbuck1975]

What you have described here is the opposite of my experience. Not only was I able to sneak around and kill soldiers undetected, but the cloak was invaluable for the times when I was detected. If you get found, just go jump in the bushes and turn on the cloak. If you don't move - or crawl slowly - it will keep you hidden for minutes.

Oh I experienced that as well...if I got detected, I would just run off, enable cloak, and find a nice rock to hide behind...what takes away the immersion is that the enemy AI went from full alert, to going about their usual routines as if a threat never emerged...if anything, the cloak function acts more as a reset button for taking on a set piece in the game...if a particular approach doesnt work, cloak, go hide, and come back a different way.

 

[Zenoth]

Everyone are entitled to their own opinion, and, basically, an opinion is useless. And additionally I find it amusing that people can judge an entire game based on a Demo, but I will admit that I myself am guilty of that principle, since the Hellgate: London Demo literally convinced NOT to buy it and avoid it at all costs, which I did with pleasure.

In the end, everyone can think what they want of Crysis, but it should and I hope will not affect anyone else's decisions.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Zenoth
Everyone are entitled to their own opinion, and, basically, an opinion is useless. And additionally I find it amusing that people can judge an entire game based on a Demo, but I will admit that I myself am guilty of that principle, since the Hellgate: London Demo literally convinced NOT to buy it and avoid it at all costs, which I did with pleasure.

In the end, everyone can think what they want of Crysis, but it should and I hope will not affect anyone else's decisions.

i won't be buying Crysis until its in the bargain bin, and maybe not even then.

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: Zenoth
Everyone are entitled to their own opinion, and, basically, an opinion is useless. And additionally I find it amusing that people can judge an entire game based on a Demo, but I will admit that I myself am guilty of that principle, since the Hellgate: London Demo literally convinced NOT to buy it and avoid it at all costs, which I did with pleasure.

In the end, everyone can think what they want of Crysis, but it should and I hope will not affect anyone else's decisions.

Depends on what you didn't like about the demo. I mean the point of a demo is supposedly to help you determine whether to buy the game. If you don't like the graphics and sound in a demo, its unlikely your mind will be changed in the final game. I also didn't care for Hellgate London. Found the interface annoying and was underwhelmed by everything else. Course, RPG demos are problematic simply due to the learning curve as opposed to shooters.

 

[jdoggg12]

Being underwhelmed is subjective... i was underwhelmed by HL2, but many/most gamers thought it wad the holy grail of its time

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: jdoggg12
Being underwhelmed is subjective... i was underwhelmed by HL2, but many/most gamers thought it wad the holy grail of its time

same here

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Zenoth
Everyone are entitled to their own opinion, and, basically, an opinion is useless. And additionally I find it amusing that people can judge an entire game based on a Demo, but I will admit that I myself am guilty of that principle, since the Hellgate: London Demo literally convinced NOT to buy it and avoid it at all costs, which I did with pleasure.

In the end, everyone can think what they want of Crysis, but it should and I hope will not affect anyone else's decisions.

i won't be buying Crysis until its in the bargain bin, and maybe not even then.

Lol I thought about this. I mean I can't run the game on very high and have a good time. That's what I want to do. Playing it through on just high or medium would make me never play it on very high. Missing out on everything.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Zenoth
Everyone are entitled to their own opinion, and, basically, an opinion is useless. And additionally I find it amusing that people can judge an entire game based on a Demo, but I will admit that I myself am guilty of that principle, since the Hellgate: London Demo literally convinced NOT to buy it and avoid it at all costs, which I did with pleasure.

In the end, everyone can think what they want of Crysis, but it should and I hope will not affect anyone else's decisions.

i won't be buying Crysis until its in the bargain bin, and maybe not even then.

Lol I thought about this. I mean I can't run the game on very high and have a good time. That's what I want to do. Playing it through on just high or medium would make me never play it on very high. Missing out on everything.

yeah but my reasoning has nothing to do with graphics

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Zenoth
Everyone are entitled to their own opinion, and, basically, an opinion is useless. And additionally I find it amusing that people can judge an entire game based on a Demo, but I will admit that I myself am guilty of that principle, since the Hellgate: London Demo literally convinced NOT to buy it and avoid it at all costs, which I did with pleasure.

In the end, everyone can think what they want of Crysis, but it should and I hope will not affect anyone else's decisions.

i won't be buying Crysis until its in the bargain bin, and maybe not even then.

Lol I thought about this. I mean I can't run the game on very high and have a good time. That's what I want to do. Playing it through on just high or medium would make me never play it on very high. Missing out on everything.

yeah but my reasoning has nothing to do with graphics

not enrirely my reason either, but what I mean is. I can't really enjoy the game now, and when I have the hardware to do so would I even want to play it? It would likely look old by that time.