Bullet Points: Crysis 2 Multiplayer Beta

All footage I've seen of Crysis 2's multiplayer in action led me to believe this was going to be the hot new title for online head-to-head this year. With Halo wrapped up for the time being, and the shaky ground Call of Duty has stood on recently, the door was opened for a new king of competitive multiplayer.

Two or three hours with the Crysis 2 beta leads me to believe it is truly that; a beta, not reflective of the final product. Hit boxes are off, lag persists, and good luck even connecting to a match. Odds are you'll run into more than a few host/server disconnects. The models look cheaply made, especially in death, where they ragdoll like five planks stuck together with one bent nail. Overall, the game feels unpolished. While the Manhattan rooftops are a great place to showcase a nanosuit's impressive array of skills, it's a bland representation of the fully rendered destroyed New York City locations Crytek has been using as a selling point.

+ Exciting, cinematic action
+ Hi-tech perks and abilities keep the pace high
+ Addictive, rewarding, multiplayer system (though not very original)
-  Unpolished
-  Unstable match connections, lag
-  Hit box areas appear off

I came away feeling like Crysis 2 is Modern Warfare with hi-tech abilities and perks, which isn't really a bad thing. It retains the CoD series' addictive and rewarding incentive based system. They've got some time to clean the damn thing up, and I hope they do, as it would suck to let so much promise go to waste. March 22nd is just around the corner, so Crytek will have to work fast.

Suit Up for the X360 Exclusive Crysis 2 Multiplayer Demo

Got an Xbox 360 and a Gold Xbox Live membership? Lucky you, because you're granted exclusive access to the Crysis 2 multiplayer demo, releasing today, January 25th!

While The multiplayer of Crysis 2 is nothing we haven't seen before - perks, abilities, customization up the wazoo - I can't help but feel that the CryEngine 3 powered beast just may provide one of the year's more addictive gaming experiences. 

In my eyes, hi-tech perks and armor abilities, incredible speed of play and mobility, and working the environment into putting away foes in creative ways is grounds for weeks, maybe months, of continued play. It's why I like Halo: Reach's matchmaking so much, it's why Modern Warfare and Black Ops' warzones wear on me, and it's why I'll probably play the hell out of some Crysis 2. Sure this trailer may be trying a little too hard, what with its overused, licensed music and use of voice clips to be cute and clever, but the real nitty gritty, the running and gunning, looks hard as hell, yo.

Be the Multipurpose Weapon in Crysis 2

I never played Crysis, mostly because I'm not much of a computer gamer. I just cant afford to be shelling out a couple hundred a year to assure that I'm always getting the most out of the games I play. No game illustrated this point better than Crysis, which was so cutting edge that it was necessary to have a super computer to play it.

Crysis 2 however, is a different story. Maybe it caught my eye because it'll be available for PS3 and Xbox 360, or maybe Crytek just made a better game than the first. Whatever it is, it's working, because the game looks sick. The latest trailer depicts the different ways you can handle a situation and the different powers your nanosuit gives you. Use your strength to attack enemies with the environment, or throw them off cliffs, your speed to parkour in and out of battle and power-slide under enemy fire, and your stealth to silenty handle the unsuspecting. Add a splash of color and a frantic pace and you have what could be a very, very good title.