Crysis 3 (Video Game Review)

Crysis is a series known for pushing graphical boundaries and producing some of the most entertaining first-person shooters the genre has ever seen. The latter has made the Crysis series incredibly popular among PC gamers whose high end processors can produce some of the best graphics seen in history of the gaming industry. With all of that said, developer Crytek and publisher EA had promised Crysis 3 would push the boundaries of what a game could look like even further, and from the early development stages when a simple frog amazed us to yet another explosion of a Cell operated war machine in the middle of the Crysis 3 campaign, it has become clear Crysis 3 is the best looking game of this generation and one of the most complete first-person shooters to date. Not only do the environments look tremendous, but many objects in the maps are interactive and will allow you to pick up and fling objects at your enemies or even kick cars over for additional cover. The New York City Liberty Dome is the ultimate virtual playground, and Crytek has invited you all over for the party.

Crysis 3 takes you to the futuristic world of 2047, set many years after the events of Crysis 2. The series' original protagonist, Prophet, has returned armed with the all powerful nanosuit and a new sense of urgency to get his revenge on the C.E.L.L. corporation while eliminating the remaining ceph aliens. C.E.L.L.'s corrupt reach has now gone global, and its stranglehold on the world's citizens has left major cities such as New York at its mercy, encased inside a giant nanodome where C.E.L.L.'s plans can continue uninterrupted. Prophet will enter the nanodome of New York and explore the Seven Wonders of the overgrown city whose landscape has changed from a bustling metropolis to a newly vegetated state full of swamps, grasslands and jungles that will provide Prophet with plenty of cover throughout the many missions of the game. Most of the gameplay of Crysis 3 is wrapped around the concept of the nanosuit technology that allows Prophet to activate armor boosts, cloaks and bursts of speed and strength as long as the rechargeable energy source still has enough power. Though the Crysis 3 campaign still suffers from some of the same issues as its predecessors, namely that you can bypass much of the game by simply cloaking yourself and running through many of the gunfights in the game, it's still a very solid storyline that mixes up mission objectives much better this time around and gives players a very rewarding ending when compared with the ending of Crysis 2.


The multiplayer of Crysis 3 contains 8 game modes including classics like Team Deathmatch and a revamped Crash-Site mode spread across 12 new multiplayer maps including new versions of some classic maps and a fond collection of rooftops for longtime fans of the series. One of the most entertaining new modes in Crysis 3 is the all new Hunter Mode that places a group of 14 C.E.L.L. survivors against two heavily armed nanosuit Hunters as they desperately seek evac. The mode is a lot of fun whether you're playing as a Hunter and slowly picking apart your outmatched prey and gaining new allies or as a Cell agent desperate to reach the evac point, and teamwork is key no matter which side you're currently playing. When playing the game online, console versions of Crysis 3 will only support up to 12-player matches, while PC owners can enjoy more robust 16-player sessions. While it's certainly not a deal breaker, it's just another feature the PC version holds over console gamers, if you've got a PC powerful enough to run the game at a high quality without melting. Of course, your standard first-person shooter features remain including a level up progression system with plenty of unlockable weapons and attachments, although you'll have plenty of new weapons to utilize in combat including the Composite Bow with multiple arrow types including explosive tips, electrified tips, armor-piercers good for taking enemy drones and more.



The technology of CryEngine 3 does allow Crysis 3 to be one of the best looking video game of all-time, but one of the few areas the game lags behind others in visuals is in facial expressions and animations, and there are many close interactions with other characters where this becomes obviously apparent. It's not so much a complaint as an acknowledgement that despite having some of the best looking environments and characters models, the face to face interactions lose a little bit of emphasis when we've obviously seen better recently in titles such as Halo 4 and L.A. Noire. The rest of Crysis 3's presentation is nearly flawless as well from the tight controls and accurate hit boxes, to the exciting soundtrack and relatively lag-free online multiplayer experience. Although it's still early in the year, it's easy to envision a scenario where Crysis 3 is going head-to-head with the likes of BioShock Infinite and Grand Theft Auto V for game of the year honors when all is said and done, and we get the feeling that Crysis 3 already has a leg up on its competition among PC gamers. Either way, Crysis 3 is a must own title that offers stylish gameplay with almost no complaints. The first great shooter of 2013 has arrived!

Crysis 3 is now available from all major retailers for the MSRP of $59.99 and can be purchased for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Crysis 3 is rated M by the ESRB for Blood, Partial Nudity, Strong Language & Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official Crysis 3 website.

Game Features:

Online Multiplayer 2-12

8 Game Modes & 12 Maps

Online Leaderboards

DLC Support

Trophy/Achievement Support

Game Information:
Developer: Crytek
Publisher: EA
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (reviewed) & PC
Release Date: February 19, 2013

Score: 9 out of 10