Reason #1: It's an all rounder
After playing an hour-long, multi-layered single player level called Assault, then multi-player modes Power Struggle and Deathmatch, it's clear that Crysis is quite the all-rounder. Its 11 single player locations, which embody stealth, all-out action then, finally, mass soldiers vs alien invader war, are tense and tactical. And, most importantly, never the same.

Assault begins with an air-drop into heavily guarded Korean territory and the instruction to destroy three gun turrets. Our objective takes us through Far Cry reminiscent forests, on a Jeep ride through mountains, a swim to ambush a hovercraft and then into a well-armed enemy base. And that's just one level. One incredibly open level so huge that, once completed, we're left feeling like we've just visited Alton Towers, legged it through and missed out on some good rides.

And just as much care has gone into crafting the multi-player experience, which supports up to 32 players, and is more epic than the build up to Christmas. Power Struggle is reminiscent of Battlefield 2's Conquest, with players fighting long, fraught battles to capture alien crash sites, build better nuclear weapons and take down the opposition's bases.

Balance was a crucial aim, lead level designer, Sten Hubler told us: “We wanted to make both a great single player and multi-player game. In Far Cry we weren't so happy with multi-player, and wanted to push there this time around.”