I thought the game was good overall. The gunplay was pretty much perfect - they mapped the actions almost impeccably to the Xbox 360 controller, so much so that I actually found it easier to utilise the Nanosuit compared to Crysis on a keyboard. Everything you ever need is only a bumper tap away. It has to be noted that Crytek really surprised me with how well they managed to get the user interface working with a controller. The only downside is that with a focus on the controller, you miss out on gameplay nuances like proper leaning, and I thought that having to equip grenades was a cumbersome replacement for a dedicated button - as great as it was, the humble controller was pushed to its absolute limits at times.
As for the rest of the gameplay mechanics, I enjoyed upgrading the suit with the catalyst but felt that it could have been deeper, and its presentation in the game made a bit less sterile (I disliked it being treated as 'currency'). Human AI was also terrible - there were a lot of scripting bugs such as guards patrolling into walls, standing idly doing nothing, and I didn't appreciate the laser beam precision they had over a long distance. They were pretty dim when it came to spotting you (which made the stealth a cake walk) but once they did they just didn't feel engaging at all. I played on normal though so perhaps it improves on higher difficulties. I was also disappointed that dual-wielding didn't make a return, but the arsenal being much better as a whole made up for it.
I was pleased with how open the game felt - not as much as Crysis, but there were still a lot of different ways to approach many of the set pieces. The difference here is that there is more annoying HUD elements to remind you what you can do, but you can ignore these and carve your own path. I don't feel that the game is dumbed down too much... I view it as a mixture of old and new directions which works well.
In terms of the story I started off liking the premise of Prophet sacrificing himself for you etc etc, but gradually ended up not caring after one too many clichés. There were a lot of parts which were questionably well developed, such as meeting with Gould, which should have been cut down in favour of the later parts - they need some better editors over at Crytek if they are going to go for the more scripted approach. I don't want to spoil anything or waste time talking at length about something I didn't like, so i'll just leave it by saying that the story became a clusterfuck of MGS4/Assassins Creed II/Halo 3 proportions of technobabble bullshit. It's a far cry from the more reserved plot of the original game, but I suppose that's what you get in a series now focused on a full-scale alien invasion.
At least the twisting, unfocused plot allowed them to derive a lot of varied gameplay from it - the long length was very refreshing amidst a sea of 5 hour campaigns. I wasn't enamoured with online, which was saddening because I was a vocal supporter of the demos and betas leading up to release. The problem is that it's fundamentally broken on a technical level thanks to Crytek's genius decision to skip any form of security - a real shame as I was looking forward to it.
Overall, if this where future entries in the series are heading then so be it, I have no qualms. Crytek: just make sure that for Crysis 3 you get your PC version right, and begin to take the training wheels back off now that the console gamers are accustomed to what Crysis is about.
8/10
