Jul 1, 2011

Crysis

The first Crysis game is coming to Xbox 360, judging by a Korean Ratings Board listing spotted by Kotaku.

Crytek's PC-only shooter has subsequently popped up on the ESRB site too, for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

Korean games site Inven has reportedly received confirmation from EA Korea that the port is happening, though a release date has yet to be confirmed.

We've asked EA for further clarification. Stay tuned for an update.

Crytek boss Cevat Yerli didn't seem too interested in bringing the game to consoles when he spoke to Digital Foundry earlier this year.

"We wanted to move on to our next game and come up with a fresh setting to further develop the Crysis franchise," said Yerli.

"A port to consoles wouldn't have been easier or cheaper necessarily and we always want to innovate and thus offer improved and refined gaming experiences."

Crysis originally launched on PC back in 2007, picking up a 9/10 from Eurogamer.

"Personally I'd like to see where this astounding world-forging technology will take us," wrote Jim Rossignol in his Crysis review. "I can't wait to see what Crytek will do next."

Jul 1, 2011

Rumor: Original Crysis Bound for Xbox 360? [Update]

Crysis

Rumor: Original Crysis Bound for Xbox 360? [Update] Today, the South Korea GRB (Game Rating Board) apparently approved Crysis for the Xbox 360. Crysis has not been released on the Xbox 360. It's a Windows-only title.

According to the Korea GRB, the game will be published by EA Korea. The rating page, which also went live today, specifically states the game is Crysis. Crysis 2 was already released in South Korea earlier this year. Does this all mean the Xbox 360 is getting a Crysis port?

Kotaku contacted EA and will update this post should the company comment.

Update: South Korean game site Inven apparently contacted EA Korea, who supposedly confirmed the Xbox 360 version of Crysis, adding that the release date was TBA.

MyCrysis • View topic - Rumor - Crysis for X360?! [MyCrysis, Thanks catmario1121!]

Jun 24, 2011

Crytek: Crysis 2′s Direction “Backfired”

Crysis - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Jim Rossignol)

Speaking with Gamasutra, Crytek bossman Cervat Yerli had this to say about the Crysis games: “Crysis 1′s intention was, if I were to play it three years later, it looks great. And it does, actually, it fulfilled that. But it made it difficult for entry-level players. So with Crysis 2, we took a different direction, and it backfired a little bit.” Yerli explained that the forthcoming high-end 1.9 patch for Crysis 2, which will introduce clevers such as tessellation, realistic shadows with variable penumbra, parallax occlusion mapping, and “Sprite Based Bokeh Depth of Field”, is a “gift” to the PC high-end community. “It lifts up Crysis 2 and gives a sneak peak of how PC gaming will evolve in the future,” says Yerli, “If you support a high-end preference.” I totally support a high-end preference>. That sounds like some kind of innuendo, right? Eh? Guys? Mm.

The high-end patch is out next Monday, June 27th.

Jun 23, 2011

Crytek Boss Says Crysis 2 "Backfired a Little Bit"

Crysis

The first Crysis was tailored directly towards the glorious PC master race. So the fact the sequel pared back the hardware demands in favour of something that would run on a console did not go down well.

The game's reception reflects this, and has perhaps led to a reassessment of the decision, Crytek boss Cevat Yerli telling Gamasutra "Crysis 1's intention was, if I were to play it three years later, it looks great. And it does, actually, it fulfilled that. But it made it difficult for entry-level players. So with Crysis 2, we took a different direction, and it backfired a little bit."

Next week's DX11 upgrade, for instance, is being viewed by Crytek as an olive branch of sorts, Yerli adding "This is much more like a gift to the high-end community. And I think gamers will appreciate that. It lifts up Crysis 2 and gives a sneak peak of how PC gaming will evolve in the future, if you support a high-end preference."

It'll be interesting to see if in the future people are saying "but will it run Crysis 2?" like they said "but will it run Crysis?" Because I've got a feeling they might be saying "but will it run Battlefield 3?" instead.

Crytek's Expensive 'Gift' To Its High-End Players [Gamasutra]

Jun 23, 2011

Crysis 2 patch 1.9 to add DirectX 11 features next week

Crysis

Yesterday we gave an overview of some of the DirectX 11 features we can expect to see in Crysis 2 in the next update. The patch will add advanced "parallax occlusion mapping," and improvements for shadows, water, particles, depth of field and motion blur.

There will also be additional DirectX 11 compatible tessellation and high-res texture packs, which can be downloaded separately to improve world geometry and surface detail throughout the game. The Crysis forums bring word that we can expect all of these updates to hit next week, and a report on Shacknews suggests Monday June 27.

To get an idea of what the new features will look like, check out these side-by-side comparison shots, found by forum member Vivec. You'll find the full 1.9 patch notes below.

Added Contact Shadows
Added DX11 benchmark level
Added DX11 support for Crysis 2 (the following features only work when downloading the optional DX11 package here):
Tessellation + Displacement Mapping
High Quality HDR Motion Blur
Realistic Shadows with Variable Penumbra
Sprite Based Bokeh Depth of Field
Parallax Occlusion Mapping
Particles Motion Blur, Shadows and Art Updates
Water Rendering improvements and using Tessellation + Displacement Mapping
Added Realtime Local Reflections
Added support for Higher Res Textures Package
Added various new console variables to whitelist
Fixed bullet penetration, which had been broken by a bug introduced with the DLC 2 patch
Fixed issue in MP where player stats weren't always saved at the end of a game
Fixed issue in MP where player stats would sometimes randomly reset
Fixed issue with MP time played statistic, which would sometimes be too low on leaderboards and in stats
Fixed issue with JAW rocket not firing through window's containing broken glass
Fixed rare issue where a user could not access MP with a valid CD key if they had previously used an invalid CD key
Improved advanced graphics options menu
Improved anti-cheat measurements: fixed exploit which could prevent vote kicking working against a user
Improved multi-GPU support
Improved Tone Mapping
Re-added possibility to enable r_StereoSupportAMD via config file (unsupported)

Jun 22, 2011

Crysis 2 is About to Look a Whole Lot Better

Crysis

If you can handle it, that is.

When first released earlier this year, Crysis 2 disappointed many hardcore PC gamers, who had hoped the game would, like the first Crysis, be something that could really make an expensive rig sing.

Instead, it shipped so pared back there were Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, and the PC edition didn't even support DirectX 10, let alone the more contemporary DirectX 11.

All that changes next week, when developers Crytek release a big patch for the game that brings full DirectX 11 support, along with new shadow effects, motion blur effects, improved water effects and a new high resolution texture pack.

If your PC can handle all that, the patch will go live next Monday, June 27.

Crysis 2 Patch 1.9 Notes [Crysis]

Jun 15, 2011

Eh? Crysis 2 Steam Axe “Not an EA decision”

Crysis - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alec Meer)

THINGS ARE GETTING REALLY STRANGE NOW. Now being outside of UK office hours mean we’re yet to get our own EA response to why Crysis 2 vanished from Steam yesterday, but across-the-ponders have now received one. The upshot? Despite all this ‘only on Origin’ stuff, EA didn’t do it. So: who did?
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Jun 15, 2011

Crysis 2 Pulled From Steam?

Crysis - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alec Meer)

“Where were you when the war began, Daddy?”
“Well, little Ignatius H. Meer III, I was at my PC, staring vacantly at Twitter. Probably eating some crisps as I did. I’ll never forget that dark, terrible day. The day that EA decided they could fight Steam.”
“Daddy? Why are you crying, Daddy?”>

Crysis 2 has disappeared from Steam, and is now described as being “Origin only.” Origin is, you may recall, EA’s newly-relaunched download store. Uh-oh.
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Jun 3, 2011

Giveaway winners: Crysis 2 soundtrack [US only]

Crysis

Maximum music. That's what the ten winners of the Crysis 2 soundtrack giveaway will be receiving shortly. If you missed out on the initial post, might we recommend that you "Like" us on Facebook? You never know when we'll give something away on a whim, especially if it involves forcing the intern to draw a laughably-bad music sheet for a sight gag. Read on to see if you won, and what Nano the winners want to see in the Crysis universe.

Congrats to the following 10 winners! The winners will be contacted shortly—soon they'll be jamming to some soundtrack goodness while they wistfully dream of their Nano inventions becoming a reality. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Josh Collison: Nanopig, maximum bacon.
Samuel Hyde: Nanofacepalm. Invisible, extra strong, and extra fast. Perfect for parties with idiots.
Sean Lincoln: Nano banana. Shortened to Nanonana
Dan Lee: Nanoburger. That cloak will prevent it from being stolen by my asshole roommate.
JJ Hernandez: Nano-Toothpaste, Maximum Freshness.
Corbin S.B.: Nano-PEZ dispenser, because nothing says wasting the military defense budget than a device that gives out candy and can also cloak.
Austin K. Ballard: Nano-segway. Raaammming speeeeeed!
Alexander Florian Steciuch: Nano pogo stick. There I said it.
Harris Goode: Nano tube socks.
Nicholas Reid: Nano glowsticks for maximum brightness

Jun 1, 2011

Mod News: Clever Girl

Half-Life 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Lewis Denby)

Quite a lot of mod news this week, apparently, even though there’s very little for you to actually play. There’s a long-awaited update from Jurrassic Life, as well as plenty of other gubbins related to Half-Life 2, Crysis, Stalker: Clear Sky, Portal 2 and Dirt 3. That’s a lot of games! Read on to find out what’s what.
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