A technical masterpiece, but an uninspired game.
Technically, Crysis is a marvel. Featuring dynamic soft shadows, ambient occlusion, depth of field, parallax, bump, and normal mapping, HDR, light beams, 3D oceans, destructible environments, procedural skeletal warping, and what may be one of the only object-motion blur systems ever, running Crysis on Very High with AA on is practically a certification that your computer is monstrous. There's no denying it, the game looks incredible. As a PC-only game (until recently – the new console version is a CryEngine 3 port), Crysis was designed for the computers of tomorrow. Five years after its release, it's still one of the best looking games around, and mods have made footage of it almost indistinguishable from reality.
All of this would be great if Crysis was a tech demo; sadly, it is not. This glorious spectacle passes itself off as a shooter, where a mysterious artifact has been found on an unnamed Korean island. See how boringly bland that plot sounds? Well, it's true. The plot is fairly generic and uninspiring, with only one even remotely likeable character (who got to star in Crysis: Warhead). You are literally thrown in with your squad at the onset of a mission, with little more than radio chatter to develop your camaraderie. A typical mission involves driving or running across the island in which the game takes place, storming small Korean bases and outposts, moving from checkpoint to checkpoint. While there are some set pieces that are huge and awe-inspiring, the game is rather linear. Despite being a distant relative to Far-Cry, it does not share the same open-world approach. Despite having large maps, the route that you take to the objectives is more or less rigid.
Crysis isn't a terrible shooter, however. The weapons, while not exactly original or innovative, have enough variety to be interesting. There are also weapon mods available to customize them to specific situations. For example, flashlights can be attached to the barrel at the expense of alerting guards of your presence. Silencers, tranquilizer darts, lasers, and scopes are all options, and the on-the-fly changing ability makes adjusting your weapon a practical and tactical thing to do. Additionally, your "nanosuit" powers allow gameplay to rapidly change. In a nutshell, the suit has an energy meter which is consumed differently depending on the mode in use. While in Armor mode, the energy bar effectively acts as a shield, increasing the player's health. Speed allows the player to sprint for brief periods, draining the energy bar rapidly. Strength lets the player pick up and throw objects with great force, including people. It also allows superhuman jumps and lets players melee and punch certain buildings and objects apart, allowing the player to collapse buildings on enemies or send them flying into the water. Finally, Cloak makes the player invisible, and lowers the energy at increasing rates as the player moves faster. Laying prone, the player can remain invisible for great lengths, while sprinting only maintains the field for a few seconds. These abilities allow for variety and tactical gameplay, and are definitely the most unique elements of the game.
While an interesting combat system and stunning graphics are enjoyable elements of any game, they should not be implemented at the expense of plot, originality, or innovation. At the end of the day, Crysis is just another shooter. It is, by far, the one of the best looking games out there, but that does not make it one of the best games.