Crysis' highs and lows

The early mission we sampled charged us with taking out three anti-air gun turrets spread out throughout the map, and we had to tap into our special reserve of sneaky skills, utilizing all our suit's powers to find the path that worked best for us.

You've played first-person shooters where you had special powers before, and you've seen plenty of games like Crysis that give you the freedom to approach objectives in several different ways. But it's the over-the-top in-game events that made the single player experience shine during our brief time with the game.

At the start of the level you'll find yourself riding in a transport vehicle with other US soldiers. Their dialogue, facial expressions, and the experience of stepping out the vehicle's hatch into the thick of battle - with giant explosions and trails of machine gun fire coloring the sky orange - looks incredible. And when you see a pair of fighter jets swoop in at the level's finale to bomb the enemy ship you called an air strike on, you'll be amazed. We call it the "Bruckheimer Effect," and it makes for an action-packed movie-like experience that immerses you in the thick of battle in a way that CG cutscenes can't.

GamesRadarTylerNagata