iGR Insight - Crysis 3 3D Review

When you think of Crytek you assume you’ll be witness to state of the art, industry standard graphics, and Crysis 3 won’t change that assumption by any means. Let’s just pretend this is your first time suiting up in the Nanosuit (which is now 2.0) and you have no prior knowledge of the Crysis series. If that’s the case, read my Crysis 3 One Sheet Preview. You’re back? Never left? Well then let’s get to it.

Crysis 3 puts you into the oversized, Ceph infused boots of Prophet. Prophet’s had some issues lately, the first of which is pretty apparent as he’s rescued from CELL custody at the outset of Crysis 3 by Psycho (an acquaintance from the original). Once rescued the action ramps up rather quickly. Stealth modes are engaged, Nanovision’s are enabled, and CELL operatives start dropping like flies all in fantastically utilized 3D. To lay this out proper let’s try to break things down a bit.

As mentioned previously the visuals of Crysis 3 on the PS3 console are a sight to behold. It easily rivals, and in most cases trumps anything else I’ve played on the system. The literal concrete jungle Crytek created must have been painstakingly crafted as no detail was left behind. Everything from buildings, to vegetation, and lastly enemies are rendered beautifully. Now if you remember I mentioned something about three dimensions earlier. The 3D aspect of Crysis 3 helps you fully immerse yourself in the environment, and some of the larger action sequences when set pieces are fully utilized wouldn’t be the same without it. That being said it severely limited my play sessions. Either “I’m gettin’ too old for this $h!t”, or the 3D weighed heavily on my senses. I felt a bit of a sensory overload typically around the 90 minute mark. Crysis 3 managed to keep it’s graphics fidelity even with 3D engaged, which is not typical when it comes to third party titles. The scene that showcased the 3D potential of Crysis 3 can be summed up in just a few simple words. Tall grass, wind, and Ceph Hunters. It felt like I was Ahhnold in Predator! Crytek definitely knocked the ball out of the Liberty Dome in the area of graphics.

Now onto game play. The controls seemed just as tight as in previous iterations of Crysis, which was expected. However, some of the new aspects of Crysis 3 changed the game more than slightly. Early on Psycho hands you a patented “Predator Bow” which pretty much gives you the power to never break stealth mode unless you feel like it. The Predator Bow can be fired while in stealth mode without disrupting the module (unlike any other weapon in the game). This added what I believed to be an overly powerful advantage on my part, especially when dealing with CELL foes. So needless to say the Predator Bow broke the balance of power a bit. Other weapons available to you would be familiar to players with prior Crysis experience. The Feline, K-Volt, Grendel, and Scar are all back as part of the arsenal. New heavy weapons like the Incinerator, Pinch Rifle, and Reaper Cannon all come by way of Ceph technology. Needless to say your arsenal is not limited in any way. The Nanosuit saw a slight overhaul as well with sprinting no longer taxing the suits energy supply. There’s also suit upgrades along the way that offer boosts to stealth mode duration, hack assist, and maximum armor mode. Weapons can also be modded in various fashions to suit your needs. Most of my time was spent switching between arrow types (Green Arrow would be proud) offerings like Carbon Impact (standard), Electrical Charged, Super-Thermite, and Air Fragmentation played into Crysis 3′s sandbox aspect nicely. Your sandbox is also heavily expanded upon in Crysis 3. I never felt funneled into a certain area by the level design. I was pretty much free to dole out pain from any angle imaginable.

The Story is where another misstep occurs in which there’s absolutely no mention of Alcatraz (Crysis 2′s protagonist) Spoiler alert if you haven’t finished Crysis 2. It’s implied/shown that Prophet somehow was able to preserve his spirit in the Nanosuit after Blowing his own head off, but how does that translate into him being the only protagonist in the third installment? I was a bit hung up on that aspect of the story, but the graphics and game play allowed me to charge right through it. The other gripe I have with the story in Crysis 3 is that I never really felt as if the earth, and by extension myself was in any real danger. This was due to some pretty worthless voice acting by Prophet, and also the aforementioned game play aspects that made me feel close to invincible. The story ramps up pretty quickly from the get go allowing you access to the Liberty Dome within the first fifteen or so minutes. From there Prophet is tasked with taking down CELL with the help of Psycho and the resistance force withing the dome. All the while knowing the real altercation will be with the Alpha Ceph. The Ceph entity that’s responsible for some of the visions Prophet’s been privy to as of late. The poo hits the fan and Prophet is forced to further descend into Ceph influence to stop the Alpha Ceph threat.

The soundtrack of Crysis 3 is another really positive aspect of the experience. This FX is done fantastically throughout the game. In most cases I felt more connected to the story via the musical score than the over the top voice acting. Weapons sound a bit beefier, and the Ceph have an even more menacing sound to them.

The Playstation 3 3D element was a treat not available in most games. By no means am I saying “Go purchase a 3D television to play Crysis 3“, but if you have the television already than the PS3 should be your console of preference when it comes to Crysis 3. I found the extra dimension to be a bit disorientating in the early stages, but that feeling wore off relatively quickly. Your introduction to the Liberty Dome, and some of the larger action sequences wouldn’t be the same with out that third D. The down side as I mentioned previously is that it limits your ability to play for extended periods of time. I don’t typically have more than two hours to sit down and play regardless, so it wasn’t any real annoyance for me. But, if your not me and want to try and marathon Crysis 3; do it in standard format.

I enjoyed the multiplayer suite on Crysis 2 enough for it to extend my time with the game substantially. Crysis 3 doesn’t take any major risks, and we’re left with just about the same experience as last time around. There’s a couple of new modes thrown into the mix, and Crytek always does a great job of integrating the single player locations into the multiplayer fray. The newly added Hunter mode was probably the best takeaway from the multiplayer suite. If you’ve played Halo 4′s Flood mode you’ll be right at home here. Overall Crysis 3′s multiplayer is fun, but it’s not going to pose any kind of threat to FPS juggernauts like Call of Duty or Battlefield.

No more spoilers I promise. We at iGR like to give a detailed Insights into the positives and negatives that shaped our experience without completely ruining yours.

+ Best graphics on console

+ Sandbox is expanded with larger environments to utilize

+ Soundtrack emphasizes story elements and accentuates combat well

- Story elements never fully realized

- Voice acting

- Predator Bow in combination with stealth mode severely over powers the user (before you say anything, I’m not going to step over a dime to pick up a penny, if it’s there I’m going to use it within the confines of the game.)

Review Score: 7.5/10

Thanks for reading!