Crysis series single player is what the Halo series should have turned into. In fact, playing Crysis for the first time was a lot like what playing Combat Evolved was like for the first time: original story, awesome open set-pieces, refined and fluid gameplay, and solid state-of-the-art graphics. Crysis 3 gives more of the same.
Story is nothing substantial. It is fairly short (depending how you play the game). Took me probably about 8 hours. Graphics are of course the best of the system. They don’t seem nearly as impressive as 2’s however. The set-pieces vary, but some in the latter stages of the game are more impressive than a few early on. In this game, the bigger ones seemed to be the better ones.
The weapon’s look and feel are still the best of any FPS. There are plenty of decent weapons that vary greatly. All pack quite the punch and all are fun to use. Probably the biggest addition is the bow. The bow makes the game significantly better moreso than I could have imagined. It is fun to use a weapon that doesn’t take up suit energy so it really enhances the stealth aspect of the game.
Stealth has the same pitfalls as Far Cry 3. As a game that is supposed to have a huge stealth element, it isn’t always user-friendly. The stealth kills are temperamental perhaps as much as 2’s was, which significantly hampers the fun of the stealth especially if you are trying to flawlessly pass a level. This can actually get pretty frustrating. The other thing is over vigilant enemies. When out of cloaking mode, it will feel as if you are covered in fluorescent orange paint with a “Shoot Me” sign hanging 20 feet above your head. You could be in the bushes and an unaware enemy hundreds of yards away could start shooting at you. This makes stealth more binary than in most similar games. Overall the gameplay is still my favorite among stealth games. It allows for “quick” on the fly stealth and satisfying quick stealth-to-firefight (and vice versa) modes of fighting.
A few other minor complaints are that the vehicle driving is a chore. The controls are way too tight and the PS3 framerate didn’t seem to handle the speed that well. The suit upgrades are not very good this time around. I actually found the first set of upgrades the most useful.
Crysis 3 will could easily warrant another playthrough, but nothing else . It needs a better multiplayer to dethrone its competitors. When accounting for the total value, I give it only 4 stars.