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The most stunning display of raw power yet in a first-person shooter.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They were wrong. Crytek, of Far Cry fame, has reintroduced us to beauty. They know what it really is. Albeit Crysis isn’t the freshest and most wonderful game we’ve seen, it certainly is the most visually appealing, and we’d be damned to say it wasn’t a heck of a lot of fun too.

As a (currently) PC only title, being able to play it on your machine may take a bit of work, and a lot of moolah. A mid-range PC from last year may run it at the lowest settings while a more current model will probably get up to medium. Regardless, the graphics still look great even bare-bones, but knowing what you are missing will make you beg for a new GPU this Christmas. Start now.

The resolution options are insane. Whatever your PC can muster, Crysis can show more. There is little doubt that if it were possible to have monitors surrounding a player 360 degrees, every screen would be filled with lush scenery.

Looks aren’t everything though. Crysis is an excellent shooter, though perhaps its biggest fault is the fact that it is so advanced that minor problems seem that much larger. However, Crytek cannot have brownie points taken away because they didn’t see these minor scruffs. Some claim slightly faulty AI makes for a lack of realism, though the fact that the game carries imperfections like some Koreans who can’t swim only makes it seem more realistic. Because hey, there are undoubtedly some Koreans who actually can’t swim.

What makes Crysis different is the suit. It’s unlike the standard suit of armor we know from most games. The ones with shields and a HUD that certain scientists and super-soldiers wear. There are serious power augmentations that players can use for whatever situation is at hand. Speed, Strength, Armor and Cloak are as they sound, but how they can be used is the interesting bit. Speed allows for quick maneuvering, like a quick getaway or making a surprise attack on a base. Strength lets you throw objects or people at great distances and jump very high, and gives a killer left hook. Armor and Cloak are obvious, though Cloak remains excellent for hiding in plain sight, so long as nobody looks directly at you.

These powers may sound superficial, but combine them with the very immersive and realistic world and there are more options for how to complete a mission than we’ve ever seen before. Put it this way: each level says ‘start here, finish here,’ and how you do it is entirely up to you. Go straight into battle with guns blazing, sneak through bases silently taking out enemies, forego the engagement entirely or make a diversion and sneak right through.