Crysis 3 Review

This review is incomplete and is currently on the back-burner in order to make time for newer titles.

Video Review
Coming Soon...

Intro

Before delving too deeply into my review of Crysis 3, I want to say that I only played the Xbox 360 version. I would imagine the PC version would be the optimal choice. I should also mention that I have not really played the other two Crysis games, unless you count me beating a couple levels on Crysis 1 a year ago.  Luckily, I don't think me not having played the previous installments matters much in the overall scope of this review, especially considering the game has a "Previously On Crysis" cut-scene, which fills players in on important plot points. One sign that this is a good game is that, now having completed it, I have a strong urge to go out and buy the first two games.

Presentation/Structure

Crysis has always been known for being astonishing on the graphics front, and this newest entry is no different.  While my playing the Xbox 360 version prevented me from seeing this game in all its glory, that doesn't stop it from being one of the best-looking games on the console.  Pretty much everything about this game is gorgeous, but the feeling doesn't kick in until the first time you step outdoors. The environments are fairly varied throughout the campaign, but the overall theme seems to be overgrowing plant life trying to reclaim the world for its own.  These plants really make the graphics pop; actually I'd go so far as to say that this game has the most realistic looking grass I've seen in a game.  Some may find it odd or lame to be impressed by such small a thing as grass, but for some reason, watching it rustle from the wind in this game is much more intriguing than doing so in the real world where we take it for granted.

Crysis 3 is set up like your typical run-of-the-mill FPS game.  Its levels are very linear-based, but try to trick you into believing they're more expansive than they really are.  Some may say that this game is a little on the short side, offering only 6 missions at about an hour apiece, so on the normal difficulty, you're looking at a 6-hour game.  Aside from an online mode that I'll get into a little later, the only thing this game offers to increase its longevity is higher difficulty modes, along with a mission select feature.

Story/Gameplay

As I stated earlier, this is the first Crysis game I've really played, which is why it probably took me awhile to get into the story of the game.  For the first few levels of the game, I just wasn't that into what was actually happening, but I have to say that during its second half, I began to care for the characters and plotline a bit more.  Enough so that I want to go back and play the first two installments, so I can see first-hand how all the characters ended up where they are, and to help understand some of the references more.  A basic synopsis of the plot without major spoilers would be as follows.  Prophet, the sole remaining Nano Suit user, must battle his own humanity, which has been tainted/influenced by the Ceph (Alien Race), along with seeking revenge against CELL (Evil Organization).  The story events in this game are all done using in-game graphics, which is nice. It makes the game flow together better.  Character models in this game are extremely well done, and have very realistic-looking facial animations.  In turn, this makes the surprisingly good voice-acting come to life that much more.  Strangely, the only character's voice that at times seemed out of place, was that of Prophet's, who also just happens to be the guy you play as.  This was more of a personal issue, though.  I just expected the man behind the suit's voice to sound, I don't know...different.  To me, the voice just didn't match the character, but it's not a big deal.  Another thing that kind of surprised me about this game is it has some good supporting cast members.  The best was the good-humored Psycho character who, from my understanding, has been with the series since the beginning.  Also, the game has an interesting, if not slightly predictable plot twist towards the end.  I believe that this series was planned as a trilogy, which makes this the final entry, and although I may not have a lot of experience with this franchise I found the ending to be satisfying.

From a gameplay perspective, Crysis 3 plays very similarly to most FPS games on the market today, but it brings a few interesting qualities that help set it apart from the pack.  There are two major elements to your suit that affect the gameplay. These are your cloaking ability and your armor ability, which are mapped to the left and right bumpers on the Xbox 360 controller.  It's interesting how these two simple abilities can be used to drastically change the pacing of the game, allowing the player to play according to their personal preferences.  A player wanting to approach a situation stealthily has an option to do so by utilizing the cloaking ability to silently dispatch foes without ever being detected.  Stealth in this game works very well; my only real complaint is that, at times, I felt as if the enemies could detect me too easily.  For example, I could be a good distance from the enemies, come out of my cloaking, and yet as long as they had a clear line of sight towards me, they would instantly know my position, even though I had only just come out of cloaking.  Dispatching foes stealthily can be done through quick executions activated from behind with a click of the Right Joystick. On top of that, the player is granted with a compound bow that they have on them at all times.  This bow can be used for long-range stealth kills, and in my opinion is quite satisfying.  Not every player likes using stealth in games.  Players who prefer to just run 'n gun, ignoring all forms of strategy, will likely find themselves using the armor ability a lot, seeing as it grants Prophet with a extra layer of defense for a limited time period.  I believe that allowing the player to choose how to approach all areas in this game was a smart way to diversify the gameplay and also allow the player a sense of freedom.

Overall, I would have to say that this game felt very polished, which is to be expected, since this is the third entry into the series.  I did have some issues with gameplay, however. My first complaint is a very minor one.  At times, my character seemed to get stuck on the environment.  Sometimes it would be when I was crouching, trying to walk over some very small rubble in my path, and I couldn't get over it unless I was standing.   My second issue with this game is kind of a love/hate relationship in how the game's visor is handled.  In the game, you're able to flip your visor down. In doing so, it allows you to hover over important objects and enemies within range and mark them on your HUD.  I love this feature, because I feel that giving your character's visor a purpose was undeniably smart, along with kind of forcing the player to get an idea of the opposition laid out before them and strategize.  What I didn't like about it was that I almost felt too forced into using it, causing it to become a nuisance at times.  The reason I felt so forced into using it is because the enemies in Crysis 3 are ridiculously hard to see without a marker on them.  Even when the enemies are moderately close, they can be difficult to spot; they just don't stand out from the environment enough.  Because of this, I found myself getting into the habit of stopping before entering any new area and marking every enemy before engaging them in combat.  My third issue, probably the largest, is the segments involving vehicles.  Generally, a game would include vehicle segments to break up the combat, which this does. I just feel that the placement of these segments was poorly thought out. There aren't very many of them and they happen back to back at the very end of the game. Plus, the actual vehicle handling is terrible, which obviously causes a lot of frustration and defeats the purpose of including them at all.  Really, it's a missed opportunity, and the Halo series has proven that vehicular combat in First Person Shooters can work if done correctly.  Sadly, this game does not do it correctly.

Crysis 3 features a fairly entertaining online option, packing a fair share of different game modes and features.  Some may get addicted to it for awhile, but I honestly can't see myself ever getting hooked on it.  Nothing about it is really unique enough to set it apart from all the other shooters out there.  That being said, it is in no way bad.

Conclusion

Crysis 3 is an absolute graphical powerhouse.  Graphics aren't enough to save it from its flaws, no matter how few they are.  Issues such as atrocious vehicle segments, movement complaints, repetitive visor usage, and enemy detection.  Crysis 3 is a very polished first person shooter that has potential for perfection, but can't quite seem to be as dramatic or climatic as it aspires to be. This turns the game into a fun average shooter with a few unique ideas that aren't expanded on or implemented well enough.  The characters were surprisingly interesting, aided by some good voice acting and the plot brought about a mostly satisfactory conclusion.

Pros

+ Gorgeous
+ Stealth and armor abilities
+ Coolest use of a suit since the Halo series
+ Good characters and plot
+ Fun

Cons

- Vehicle segments suck
- Visor usage becomes repetitive
- Enemy detection isn't balanced right
- Despite its cool ideas and stellar graphics, fails to break from the pack

Rating

8 / 10

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Review

 "Never have I cut so many people up in such a short amount of time"

Video Review

Intro

Produced by a dream team collaboration between Kojima and Platinum, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance was destined for greatness.  Kojima enlisted Platinum for their expertise in the hack 'n slash genre, being the creators of the unique and sexy Bayonetta.  They felt that Platinum would be their best shot at being able to create a game solely based around the infamous blade wielding Raiden character. I must confess that I have actually only played Metal Gear Solid 4, but from my basic understanding of the franchise Raiden hasn't been a playable character since Metal Gear Solid 2.  It is also my understanding that Raiden wasn't a very well received character until MGS4.  I must say though in this new game Raiden is the epitome of awesomeness.

How many fingers am I holding up?

Presentation/Story

As previously mentioned this title focuses on Raiden, and his own little solo story.  On the timeline of the Metal Gear Franchise this game takes place after the events of Guns of the Patriots.  While the actual story is a bit lackluster and over the top.  The gorgeously animated cimematics and the level of character given, saves the story from becoming dull and boring.  For anyone curious though the basic plot revolves around Raiden trying to prevent the creation of child cyborgs.  Everything about this game is fast-paced and the feats Raiden performs are absolutely insane.  From jumping off the tops of missiles heading towards you, to literally running down sides of buildings dodging bits of debris.  Level designs offer a decent amount of variety, but usually range from fighting in the streets of a city to the confines of indoor advanced looking facilities.

The game is presented with a very gritty, dirty, faded colors look.  Which allows the game to look realistic, something that is very much needed considering the game is based around a futuristic version of our own world.  In the game there are actual references to catastrophic events that have already happened.  While I feel the overall presentation of the game had a very good vibe to it, the actual detail put into the graphics was a bit inconsistent.  At times I was impressed especially with the level of detail put into Raiden himself.  Then there were other times where certain things just failed to look anything more than decent.  I do have to say, that I was delighted with the quality and length of the many cut-scenes strewn through the course of this game.  Along with the beautiful in-game animations accompanied by the combat.

Missiles A' hoy

Gameplay/Fun Factor

Combat is where this game truly shines, which taking into consideration that this is a hack'n slash game makes this ideal.  Anyone who has followed anything about this game has probably heard about its (in my opinion) most desirable feature.  That feature is known as Blade Mode,  which grants the player the ability to cut foes and many environmental objects any which way.  Meaning, want to cut just a guys foot off?, well you're in luck because with one well aimed slice that foot can be severed, not only that but the severing is done at exactly at the same angle, direction, and placement directed by the slice.  This allows the player to be able to decimate any enemy into little tiny chunks.  It also allows the player to say slice a car in half or turn it into a convertible by cutting off the top.  The ability to cut the environment is mostly just added in to give the user a bit of fun.  At times though it can also advantageous, say to cut the support beams holding up a platform of enemies, or to cut a fence or doorway blocking ones path.

 Blade mode is activated by holding the left trigger after the meter is sufficiently charged, and using the dual joysticks to aim and direct the slicing. When activated time slows down allowing the player to begin their decimation.  The developers were very smart with the inclusion of this feature and turned it into a fun necessary action, instead of just a chore.  I wasn't joking when I said its necessary because performing a specific move called a Zandatsu whilst in blade mode, will replenish your health, along with the meter used to perform Blade Mode.  A Zandatsu is performed by slicing an opponent in a specific area displayed by a red box surrounding said area.  If sliced correctly the player can then press the button prompt flashing on the screen to rip out the core of the enemy and restore themselves to pristine condition.

Off with thy head

There are a few slight issues one could gripe about surrounding the combat.  None of these issues really bothered me, but I feel I should shed light on them.  First off, due to how pivotal Blade Mode is to the overall combat mechanics, the player is forced to use it a lot.  Some could possibly complain that having to activate this feature so often takes them out of the flow of combat.  On top of that the Zandatsu animation can become slightly annoying because essentially it's the same animation every time, with only slight variations when performing it on different enemy types.  I could see people finding this repetitious although I finished two play throughs and never really felt this way.  Another issue, again with the Blade Mode is that sometimes when slicing people, or objects some of the pieces of those objects occasionally will stay floating in the air instead of adhering to gravity.  This is a very small issue and seeing as this is the first I've seen the blade mode feature in a game ever, its originality impresses me enough to overlook its flaws.  Although if they make a sequel or decide to utilize this feature again in another game I expect it to be further polished, thus eliminating the small glitches accompanied with it.  The cut up objects also tend to disappear rather quickly, something that also has to be overlooked seeing as this is done to keep the game running properly.  Hopefully the next generation of consoles will allow for more tasks and objects on-screen at once to fix this. The final complaint one could have lies in the strange way the blocking/parrying is handled.  Before I get into that too much though I'll explain how the basic combat functions.  It's very typical consisting of light and heavy attacks restricted to two buttons, with timing and button combinations being the dictator of combos.  All of this is pretty basic and expected in a hack' n slash, but the Blocking/Parrying is handled solely by pressing the light attack button along with moving the Left Joystick in the direction the enemy is attacking from.  In the beginning I found my only form of defensive attached to the same button as my light attack to be rather cumbersome.  In some ways I still feel that way, but after playing the game more I saw the advantages of having block conveniently mapped to a button that my fingers rarely strayed from.  It kind of allowed for the combat to feel more fluid.

The biggest issue that most people can't deny is the iffy camera, mixed together with a very basic targeting system.  Personally I don't mind a game that has a slightly uncooperative camera, perhaps this is because I've spent a lot of time playing games that have atrocious cameras.  The camera featured in this game isn't all that bad it just has the occasional fixation with areas or enemies you do not wish to focus on, along with becoming bogged down when fighting near corners and walls.  I actually am still unsure whether this issue was completely the camera's fault or if it was aided by a jerky and at times inconsistent targeting system.  Now I don't want you to think this game has a terrible camera because it doesn't, but I also don't want you to think it's as smooth as butter.  Actually the closest game I can think of comparing this camera issue with is the Ninja Gaiden series.  Which, is perhaps why the camera in this game didn't frustrate me because I've dumped well over 100 hours into Ninja Gaiden 2.

Whatever you do don't move

This game doesn't just resemble Ninja Gaiden in terms of camera actually if someone asked me what this game played like, I'd have a hard time not comparing it to Ninja Gaiden.  It resembles it through difficulty, bosses, use and activation of sub weapons, basic combat structure, plus Raiden kinda in a way reminded me of Ryu.  I'm definitely not complaining that it has some resemblances to Ninja Gaiden, because that's perfectly fine by me seeing as Ninja Gaiden is perhaps my favorite hack 'n slash series.

Sub-weapons in this game range from Rocket Launchers to 3-D holgraphic devices that display a female model meant to distract enemies.  This is where the game begins to give some fan service, by attempting to blend stealth, and making references to the Metal Gear Solid series.  I believe that attempting to blend stealth with the over the top action was an extremely smart call.  In certain segments, where the enemies are not already aware of your presence.  Raiden is able to use his many sub-weapons inspired and taken from previous Metal Gear games to lure and dispatch his enemies stealthily with a Ninja Kill.  A Ninja Kill is simply a type of execution that can be activated from above or behind an unsuspecting foe, one that is shown by a quick cinematic.  It would have been nice if they would included a few more Ninja Kill animation in order to prevent repetition.  That's a very minor complaint though especially because, majority of player probably won't utilize stealth much, preferring to engage their foes head on.  As I said including stealth was very smart, but I feel like it could of been expanded on a bit more.  Trying to be stealthy in this game is almost too difficult seeing as the AI are very quick to detect you.  Because, of this most people won't utilize the stealth.  Perhaps I am wrong and thinking this, and they did this on purpose as to make people realize that this is supposed to be a full on action game with stealth being second.

Hey uhhhh I think you lost something

One thing I have to praise this game for is its awesome boss battles.  The bosses in this game particularly the bosses of lesser scale. Meaning the human like opponents, not the huge hulking robots are the most intense, fun to fight, and well thought out bosses I've encountered in a long time.  I've always preferred these types of boss battles where your enemy has a similar set of moves as you.  Leaving you to work out attack patterns that work.  These bosses reminded me of boss battles from older Devil May Cry games and from the first two Ninja Gaiden games.  Each boss has a lot of character, and is completely unique.  The fights have great pacing, and utilize the Blade Mode in some undeniably smart ways.  My only complaint is that there aren't many of these fights in the game.

Longevity/Audio/Rewarding

Another gripe that certain people will care more about than others is that the campaign is extraordinarily short.  I prefer to think of it as short and sweet, but that doesn't change the fact that an average normal play through will only range from 4-6 hours.  This is only really a deal breaker for people who only plan on doing one playthrough.  Luckily the game is designed to be played multiple times.  By that I mean that the upgrade system, which is used to enhance the various different weapons along with purchasing costumes etc, will take I'm guessing at least 3 playthroughs to purchase everything.  I am unsure of exactly how much extra content can be unlocked in the shop, but doing certain tasks such as collecting things will unlock special weapons, and costumes.  Some of the extra content unlocked can make the higher difficulties slightly easier.  For example there is a wig that enables an unlimited supply of all sub weapons.  Actually I enjoyed my second play through of the game more so than my first.  This was mostly because I had more powerful weapons at my disposal.  For those of you thinking that beefing up your character will make the highest difficulty a cakewalk would be wrong.  The highest difficulty will still be a pain, because from what I played of the Revengeance difficutly Raiden dies in 1 or 2 hits even from normal enemies.

Don't look down. Don't look down. Focus on her face. Dammit they're just so big

The voice over work in this game ranges from bad, decent, to great.  It really just depended on which character was talking.  Personally I loved Raiden's voice over work, while the acting wasn't without flaws, his voice is just so unique.  It really helps to define him as a character, if you heard that voice years from now you would instantly know it was Raiden.  Honestly, I have a hard time even trying to describe his voice.  It's sort of like a deep raspy gay robot sound yet at the same time it sounds bad ass, if that even possible from the way I just described it.  The background music that kicks in during the boss fights is absolutely awesome to listen to and help intensify the battle.  Much like the music from the recently released DmC.  Although, personally I liked the music in this game more.  Fans will be happy to know that the infamous sounds for getting spotted, along with the cell phone ring remain in this new entry.  All of these small bits of fan service were smartly included. Oh and before I forget yes you can still crawl around under a cardboard box in this game!

Conclusion

Swordplay has never been so engaging, gory, and fun.  Never have I cut so many people up in such a short amount of time.  Metal Gear Rising Revengeance successfully creates an over the top action action game.  One which is truly deserving of the Cyborg Raiden we saw strictly through cinematics in Metal Gear Solid 4. This is one of the best hack 'n slash games I have played in recent years.  The Blade Mode feature is above and beyond my original expectations, and is implemented surprisingly well into the structure of the game.  Actually, its going to be weird when I play my next hack 'n slash game, because I won't be able to slice and dice with such precision.  It makes me wish every game in this genre would include a similar feature.  In-game animations are a truly remarkable sight to behold, so smooth and fast.  While the plot itself is a bit lame the amount of character displayed in the gorgeous cinematics save it from being a bore-fest.  The game has the occasional graphical hiccup, along with a combat system that some may feel becomes repetitious or lacks fluidity.  The most notable issue in this game lies in the inconsistent camera and basic targeting system.  Revengeance attempts to blend stealth into its action, for the most part succeeds.  Fan service is placed throughout this game very well.  Which allows it to remain completely original, but still able to give a few nods towards its source material.  The game is undeniably short, but is rewarding enough to keep players playing, which in turn increase its overall length.  Metal Gear Rising Revengeance is an obvious purchase for fans of the genre or the Metal Gear Franchise.  Although due to its short campaign a lot of people could probably get what they want out of it in a rental.

Blood Fountain!

Pro's

+ Ground breaking Blade Mode feature, that's cleverly implemented into the combat
+ Awesome Boss Battles
+ Fan Service
+ Crazy Action
+ Rewarding
+ Gorgeous cinematics with great character
+ Raiden is a Bad Ass
+ Awesome Animations

Con's

- Short
- Camera and Targeting Issues
- Dull Plot
- Occasional Graphical Hiccups
- More Execution Animations would have been Ideal

Rating