Crysis Trilogy Remastered: The Better Far Cry

[Dalisclock]

How was it on a carrier? I can't help but think it must have been 90% boredom for most people since day to day probably doesn't involve much beside drill.

Well, when you're not working or standing watch, there's not a ton to do besides sleeping(though getting a ton of sleep on a carrier is often difficult). When you do have off time, you can watch TV and a lot of people will bring games( I knew people who would set up a console and a tv in their bed to play in their off time, somehow) or they play a handheld. I would read or watch movies on my laptop a lot. I'm not even kidding I got so much reading done on deployment because it was so easy to crack a book when I had a few spare minutes or was waiting in line. There's a small library on board which was enough.

There were also events set up at times though I rarely had time off when they happened so I mostly never had a chance to participate.

It's cool at first but by the time to rotate to a shore assignment(basically not on a ship) I was more than happy to leave and never come back. It might have been just me though with the job I had on ship where we were always overworked and understaffed(perpetually understaffed)

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

So these remasters did nothing to fix anything? Sounds like that make this an easy skip for me then.

Well, about that -

Crysis 2 and Crysis 3 Remastered: how improved are the new games?

The complete Crysis Remastered Trilogy launched this week! Building on the existing launch of the original Crysis remas…

www.eurogamer.net

If you'll recall, Crysis 2 initially launched as a DirectX9 game, before receiving a substantial DX11 upgrade - and it's that subsequent version running at max settings that is our baseline comparison point for PC when assessing the remaster, and let's just say that the changes are profound. The aesthetic is very different, thanks in no small part to a new colour grade - the 'teal and orange' Transformers-style filter is now a thing of the past. This is combined with actual remastering on core artwork, allowing textures to better stand up on today's higher resolution displays.


Technology-wise, lighting is radically improved. The DX11 game's combination of cubemaps for diffuse and specular lighting is replaced with SVOGI - a software-based real-time global illumination technology - working in combination with hardware-accelerated ray tracing for reflections. In terms of GI, SVOGI works miracles when looking at the older, artist-driven, more simplified lighting, with the video going into depth on what a big difference this makes.

Hardware RT works beautifully on water, glass and transparencies, where static cubemaps are replaced with real-time, dynamic reflections, even reflecting the player. Transparency is not the only place where ray tracing helps, as it applies to all scenes objects, greatly enhancing the appearance of metals, plastics, wood, and really anything as Crysis 2 uses RT for any material with some degree of reflectivity. Given the amount of modern materials in Crysis 2, the ray traced reflections work wonders on top of the diffuse lighting delivered via SVOGI - greatly enhancing the visuals across the entire game in a more dramatic fashion than the RT seen in the first Crysis Remastered.

Effects work is improved and the odd-looking 30fps view weapon animations are also running now at full frame-rate. When combining the new lighting, the refined materials, the higher resolution textures and the improved colour schemes, Crysis 2 is a game renewed. Consoles cannot tap into the RT features this time around, but all other aspects of the remastering work factor into the equation. PS4 Pro, PS5, Xbox One X and Xbox Series X operate with a 1080p to 2160p dynamic resolution scaler, while Series S lowers the range down to a 900p-1440p window. 60fps is a tight lock on all new systems, bar minor instabilities on Series S and checkpoint stutter on PlayStation, with Pro and One X locked to 30fps instead. Last-gen base systems? It's 1080p on PS4, 900p on Xbox One with nips and tucks on LOD and tessellation - but again, it's a good, consistent 30fps.


Crysis 3 is interesting in that its 2013 release date saw its CryEngine evolve, adopting many of the technologies that would eventually find their way into triple-A titles. Its forward-looking nature, combined with specific elements in its technical make-up essentially mean that upgrades are more limited compared to Crysis 2. In fact, minor tweaks aside, the console builds (all of which have the same features and trades as Crysis 2) come across more as PC ports than actual remasters. They will look great, however, and performance is similarly robust - but again, checkpoint stutter and more of a propensity to crash make the PS4/PS5 builds less solid than Xbox equivalents.

However, the PC version of Crysis 3 Remastered does receive a lot more love. What we don't get is much in the way of remastered art, mind you, while SVOGI is off the table. The most obvious improvement is ray traced reflections, again improving the realism of materials and specular lighting overall. Crysis 3 is filled with a lot of organic surfaces and environments, however, and here, ray tracing helps by eliminating a lot of cubemap glow and light leakage.

For water though, ray traced reflections take a back seat in the PC version of Crysis 3 Remastered, as Crytek has elected to implement full planar reflections for all of the game's flat water surfaces. This is heavy on performance, but eliminates the inaccuracies of cubemaps and screen-space reflections. Here, we imagine Crytek decided to use planar reflections instead of RT reflections exclusively on water, since their RT reflections tend to be more specific in what geometry actually gets fully reflected.


Other purely graphical upgrades are few and far between in Crysis 3 remastered - for example, the grass now has the more accurate vegetation from later CryEngine versions - a small but appreciated upgrade. Bigger upgrades in general come with the game in motion, with DLSS doing a much better anti-aliasing job than the older game. Water physics are no longer locked to 30fps, which always gave them a 'framey' look. On top of that, grass animation is also now running at full frame-rate. This is another 30fps effect in the original game that didn't look great. Optimisations have taken place, however, so while the new Crysis 3 is far more GPU-intensive than the old one, the CPU side of the equation seems lighter - even though the 30fps grass was so processor-intensive on the older iteration of the game.

And ultimately, at the end of a week of analysis work requiring three Digital Foundry team members, the news is good. While not quite as exalted as the original game, Crysis 2 and its sequel did push back boundaries in gaming technology and while graphically demanding at the highest level, the remasters ensure that these titles will continue to scale with the PC hardware of the future. And as for the consoles, what users get are very attractive games with solid performance that serve to showcase that while very different from the first game, there's still some solid single-player campaign action to enjoy here.

 

[BrawlMan]

Well, I now made it through 2/3 of the game just now. I killed General Kyong Ri. I know the rest of the game is not as interesting and completely shifts in to a linear corridor shooter where you face flying squids. This is where the game starts losing its luster.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Well, I know made it through 2/3 of the game just now. I killed General Kyong Ri. I know the rest of the game is not as interesting and completely shifts in to a linear corridor shooter where you face flying squids. This is where the game starts losing its luster.

It's basically Xen from Half-Life. Confusing, ill-fitting and hastily thrown together.

 

[BrawlMan]

I finished Crysis 2 just now. I played this game a decade ago back in 2011. I vaguely remember completing it and trading it in not long afterward. This is a good game, even if it's not as open ended as the first game. It is better structured and more consistent overall. Most combat scenarios you can fight or sneak by, if you memorized the layouts and know how to stealth properly. Weapon variety and customization adds even more options than the first game. My total play time is 10:22:23. Not bad; did not realize I got through the game so quickly.

My only gripe again gameplay wise is the upgrade system. There is almost no point getting any of the lower upgrade options, and you are better off saving your Nano Points for the bigger upgrades. The bigger upgrades are too expensive and the first one you're going to want to acquire first is the Nano Recharge Rate. Makes the game a tons more easier. Another problem is the enemy AI can be stupid or glitchy at times, and I am surprised they still did not fix it. Also, there ways exploit the AI from certain positioning and layout. I did mostly stealth any way. From what I remember, the AI thinks they're in the jungle and not NYC, so they have a habit of constantly running stuck in to objects or on walls at the times. It didn't happen too often, but it was the most noticeable with the Ceph. They are more fun to hunt down, fight, or evade unlike their first introduction in 1.

The story I actually like and is one of my favorites from 7th gen gaming. The start from vulnerable solider in a new suit to almost near unstoppable bad ass is just done so well. It's simple and effective. Though I do feel sad that by the end Alcatraz gets assimilated and Prohpet comes back at the cost of the former's life. What up with that? I like Prophet, but he should have remained as sentient computer program inside the suit, while Alcatraz still lived. That would have been a fun dynamic for 3.

This game has the best soundtrack in my opinion too. Hans Zimmer did the entire soundtrack, so it's a given.

The game is a solid B+ for me. Now to play Crysis 3 for the first time.

 

[ObsidianJones]

I finished Crysis 2 just now. I played this game a decade ago back in 2011. I vaguely remember completing it and trading it in not long afterward. This is a good game, even if it's not as open ended as the first game. It is better structured and more consistent overall. Most combat scenarios you can fight or sneak by, if you memorized the layouts and know how to stealth properly. Weapon variety and customization adds even more options than the first game. My total play time is 10:22:23. Not bad; did not realize I got through the game so quickly.

My only gripe again gameplay wise is the upgrade system. There is almost no point getting any of the lower upgrade options, and you are better off saving your Nano Points for the bigger upgrades. The bigger upgrades are too expensive and the first one you're going to want to acquire first is the Nano Recharge Rate. Makes the game a tons more easier. Another problem is the enemy AI can be stupid or glitchy at times, and I am surprised they still did not fix it. Also, there ways exploit the AI from certain positioning and layout. I did mostly stealth any way. From what I remember, the AI thinks they're in the jungle and NYC, so they have a habit of constantly running stuck in to objects or on walls at the times. It didn't happen too often, but it was the most noticeable with the Ceph. They are more fun to hunt down, fight, or evade unlike their first introduction in 1.

The story I actually like and is one of my favorites from 7th gen gaming. The start from vulnerable solider in a new suit to almost near unstoppable bad ass is just done so well. It's simple and effective. Though I do feel sad that by the end Alcatraz gets assimilated and Prohpet comes back at the cost of the former's life. What up with that? I like Prophet, but he should have remained as sentient computer program inside the suit, while Alcatraz still lived. That would have been a fun dynamic for 3.

This game has the best soundtrack in my opinion too. Hans Zimmer did the entire soundtrack, so it's a given.

The game is a solid B+ for me. Now to play Crysis 3 for the first time.

You know what I've found odd. Lorewise, the Nanosuit supposedly crushes the Spartan Mjolnir, but it looks so unfinished compared to the UNSC's biggest project ever.

 

[BrawlMan]

You know what I've found odd. Lorewise, the Nanosuit supposedly crushes the Spartan Mjolnir, but it looks so unfinished compared to the UNSC's biggest project ever.

I did not know that either. I am assuming you're comparing the Nano Suit to the Spartan power armor used in Halo. I never bothered the extra details laid out on websites or tie-in novels for neither franchise.

 

[ObsidianJones]

I did not know that either. I am assuming you're comparing the Nano Suit to the Spartan power armor used in Halo. I never bothered the extra details laid out on a websites or tie-in novels for neither franchise.

Yeah, but it's really boils down to who has the biggest fanbase. Because they will win.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

You know what I've found odd. Lorewise, the Nanosuit supposedly crushes the Spartan Mjolnir, but it looks so unfinished compared to the UNSC's biggest project ever.

The nanosuit provides its own armor plating via molecular hardening, so I figure it doesn't need the visible plates of the Mjolnir suit. Though is this comparison with or without the adapted Covenant shield technology?

 

[BrawlMan]

I am already loving the extra game improvements to Crysis 3. Running uncloaked no longer drains the Nano suit. You can now do a few shots with a silenced weapon before de-cloaking, and the Predator Bow usage will not de-cloak you either. The upgrade system works by single digits and you can do three sets load outs for whatever perks you bought. I've done a few hours so far, and the pacing and level layout going good. There is even more open-ended levels that are larger than Crysis 2, but without feeling over bloated or too massive. They're clearly thought through the design philosophy of 3, by having more elements of the first game married with the second game. The more junglish and natural environments eating the remains of NYC. I'll add more later on.

 

[BrawlMan]

WWWOOOOOOOOOHHHHH! What a finale! That is how you end a trilogy! I find that this game has the best story on a personal level between characters. I honestly don't know what Whitelight was talking about when he said that Crysis 3 jumped the shark. I do "get it", but I am here having the time of my life. It's the finale, of course it's gonna be explosive in some type of way. For all I am concerned, the series went out with a bang.

I do like how during the next to last missions, you get this cool mini boss you have to fight and constantly attack in armor and then get in to cloak to fool him on where your last position was. The final boss, the Alpha Ceph is fine, but nothing special. Shoot at it, until the alien bastard is weakened, then do it two more times while enemies are spawned in each phase. My game did crash once during the final phase, but luckily, I got the check point before it happened. Blasting the final boss with a freakin' orbital satelite laser cannon is one of the most epic moments in gaming and FPS history!

The 3rd and final entry still has the best game play in my opinion. Though the Predator Bow is a game breaker. I heavily did stealth with the bow, and it was logged as my favorite weapon in the game.

Total play time is 7:17:44. Not a bad. The game is an A for me.

 

[Fallen Soldier]

WWWOOOOOOOOOHHHHH! What a finale! That is how you end a trilogy! I find that this game has the best story on a personal level between characters. I honestly don't know what Whitelight was talking about when he said that Crysis 3 jumped the shark. I do "get it", but I am here having the time of my life. It's the finale, of course it's gonna be explosive in some type of way. For all I am concerned, the series went out with a bang.

I do like how during the last few missions, you get this cool mini boss you have to fight and constantly attack in armor and then get in to cloak to fool him on where your last position was. The final boss, the Alpha Ceph is fine, but nothing special. Shoot at it, until the alien bastard is weakened, then do it two more times while enemies are spawned in each phase. My game did crash once during the final phase, but luckily, I got the check point before it happened. Blasting the final boss with a freakin' orbital satelite laser cannon is one of the most epic moments in gaming and FPS history!


The 3rd and final entry still has the best game play in my opinion. Though the Predator Bow is game breaker. I heavily stealthed with it, and it was logged as my favorite weapon in the game.

Glad you had fun! Do you think Crytek will make a fourth game eventually?

 

[BrawlMan]

Glad you had fun! Do you think Crytek will make a fourth game eventually?

No. They announced not making anymore Crysis games after the 3rd came out. The series has always been an acclaimed flop unfortunately, and each game only managed to barely break even. With the way 3 ends, the game has finality to the title, and ties up all of the loose ends. Heavy spoilers: There is even a secret ending, after 20 minutes worth of credits, where Psycho pretty much gets his revenge and is going to kill all of the CELL Board of Directors. Psycho and Prophet have each merged with their respective suits and can now cloak in human form without the need for it. The Ceph and Alpha Ceph have all been wiped out, so that it for the alien threat. I honestly don't need a fourth game. Unless they do a remake or re-imaging of the first game, maybe. I doubt it. I want Crytek to do whatever want is best, and odds are they want to do something different.

 

[Fallen Soldier]

Oh no, they announced not making anymore Crysis games after the 3rd came out. The series has always been an acclaimed flop unfortunately, and each game only managed to barely break even. With the way 3 ends, the game has finality to the title, and ties up all of the loose ends. Heavy spoilers: There is even a secret ending, after 20 minutes worth of credits, where Psycho pretty much gets his revenge and is going to kill all of the CELL Board of Directors. Psycho and Prophet have each merged with their respective suits and can now cloak in human form without the need for it. The Ceph and Alpha Ceph have all been wiped out, so that it for the alien threat. I honestly don't need a fourth game. Unless they do a remake or re-imaging of the first game, maybe. I doubt it. I want Crytek to do whatever want is best, and odds are they want to do something different.

It’s good to see it end properly. If this was Ubisoft handling it I’m sure we’ll Crysis 8 by now.

 

[BrawlMan]

It’s good to see it end properly. If this was Ubisoft handling it I’m sure we’ll Crysis 8 by now.

Now you know why I consider Crysis Trilogy the better Far Cry games. Glad Crytek left Ubisoft from the beginning.

Though hypothetically, let's say Crysis takes place in the same universe as Far Cry, and acted sequels to the original game (Pretend 2-6 never existed). Crysis 1 would be FC2, Crysis 2 would be FC3, and Crysis 3 would be FC4.

 

[Fallen Soldier]

Now you know why I consider Crysis Trilogy the better Far Cry games. Glad Crytek left Ubisoft from the beginning.

Though hypothetically, let's say Crysis takes place in the same universe as Far Cry and acted sequels to the original game (Pretend 2-6 never existed). Crysis 1 would be FC2, Crysis 2 would be FC3, and Crysis 3 would be FC4.

What would Crysis warhead be then?

 

[BrawlMan]

What would Crysis warhead be then?

Crysis: Warhead. It is an expansion pack and side story that runs parallel to what Nomad is doing. You're playing as Psycho and just seeing his side of the story, and parts of the island Nomad did not travel to.

 

[Fallen Soldier]

Crysis: Warhead. It is an expansion pack and side story that runs parallel to what Nomad is doing. You're playing as Psycho and just seeing his side of the story and parts of the island, Nomad did not travel to.

So it will be far cry blood dragon then?

 

[BrawlMan]

So it will be far cry blood dragon then?

Blood Dragon was more of a spin-off that took place in its own bizarro universe. Think about any expansion pack for the PC that came out in the 90s or early to mid 2000s, that acted as either side stories or took place immediately after the main campaign/base game. Warhead is basically F.E.A.R: Extraction Point and F.E.A.R: Perseus Mandate. The only difference is that Warhead is actually canon, and EP and PM are not. Though I've seen people try to use a broad strokes effect to fit EP in to the F.E.A.R Monolith Timeline. No even tries to defend PM, and most ignore the story entirely.

 

[Fallen Soldier]

Blood Dragon was more of a spin-off that took place in its own bizarro universe. Think about any expansion pack for the PC that came out in the 90s or early to mid 2000s, that acted as either side stories or took place immediately after the main campaign/base game. Warhead is basically F.E.A.R: Extraction Point and F.E.A.R: Perseus Mandate. The only difference is that Warhead is actually canon, and EP and PM are not. Though I've seen people try to use a broad strokes effect to fit EP in to the F.E.A.R Monolith Timeline. No even tries to defend PM, and most ignore the story entirely.

It’s weird how warhead hasn’t been ported to modern consoles yet.