Review:: Crysis - PC

[s_kinton]

You're tempting me to load up an XP partition now. I've erradicated it from my main PC and HTPC. I think I'll gauge Vista performance first and then take it from there.

What settings did you run Crysis at Nick? Was the performance any better when compared to the demo?

[vrykyl]

Eh.......... people moaning about the ending!? I thought it isn't even released until tomorrow?

You work at a computer shop or something chuckskull and vrykyl?

well your otherwise mundane and boring job has to have some perks.....


Whilst glitches and bugs did detract from the overall gameplay of crysis, thats not to say it has any more or less bugs than any other game.....its just from the amount of time and effort they obviously put into the game I cant help but feel that they should have picked them up.....if everyone is noticing them (in unbiased reviews, feedback) then they arent a freak result of hardware combo's not tested...theyve just escaped beta tests...

[dangel]

I think it's obvious that a tweaked XP is the better way to go for this game (sadly). I think nVidia have come a long way with it's drivers all the same though.

[chuckskull]

You work at a computer shop or something chuckskull and vrykyl?

Lad I went to school with manages a local Gamestation.

[Zak33]

I HATE AI that queue up to be killed......

I hate that.....

Nice review though....it makes me actually a tad more tempted to buy it, cos at least my expectations are now solid and realistic, not over hyped.

Which is what a games review is for...cheers chap Nice piece of work

[chuckskull]

That stuff inside the mountain is making my head hurt. It's huge.

[acrobat]

Nice review. I do think you should specifically mention the tweaks you can make, which allow the game to use the hidden "Very High" settings, when under DX9.

You did mention at the end of the review, something like, "To be honest, you aren't missing much by playing in DX9". But earlier in the review, it gives the impression that you are missing out, which really isn't the case. (The whole area surrounding the bit that mentioned the Mona Lisa - photo vs actually being there etc).

Infact, I really wonder if there is ANY difference at all? I've looked at photos comparing "Very High" on both XP and Vista, and I just can't see any difference. If there are a differences, I think its safe to say they are so small and insignificant, its almost impossible to spot them.

I'm not blind or any kind of fanboy either. I can see a big difference between "High" and "Very High". As I said elsewhere, "high" looks like really great graphics in a game. But "Very high" looks like real life. Its thanks to the lighting mainly, but there are improvements in other areas too. So I have my copy of Vista ready, and I was absolutely ready to use it for this game. But since seeing it using the tweaks which allow "Very High" in DX9, I really can't see the difference. Add in to the equation, all the hassle you have with Vista, and the fact that you actually LOSE some frames per second, I think it would be a good idea to make it very clear that the best way to play this game, is DX9 and using the tweaks to allow Very High. (--- Atleast for the time being! 1 year from now, it could be very different).

As for the tweak itself, it took me about 2 minutes, and since then, I've actually seen a little guide that someone posted, which allows you to do the tweak even easier. He just offered a bunch of stuff that you cut and paste into an autoexec or something, and it runs the game with Very High.

So anyway, nice review, but I think it might be a good idea to mention that either in the review itself, or at least in the afterthingy.

p.s. I also wonder if it might be worth explaining the deal with resolutions? I still only have the demo btw, but on High, I was only averaging about 20fps at my usual resolution of 1680x1050. That often dropped down to about 11 too... Which is nasty. But by reducing my resolution, it immediately shot up to an average of 45fps. And you can fine tune it, finding a middle ground, by using various resolutions.

The only thing that complicates that, is the size of your screen. On my little 15" monitor, 1024x768 is super sharp, and looks awesome. (And im getting 45fps with everything cranked and on "Very high" ). But running that same resolution on my 20" widescreen monitor, makes it lose a LOT of definition, and it actually ends up looking a bit messy - and screams out for some anti aliasing (which makes lowering the resolution in the first place, a waste of time).

This will only be made worse for people, if their screens are more than 20". So if someone has an awesome 30" screen for example, they are going to be utterly screwed with this game. No matter how good their PC is, they are going to have to reduce the graphics quality settings WAY down, to allow them to play it. Or alternatively, keep it at high quality and reduce the resolution. And reducing the resolution lower than 1680 on a 30" screen... I'm thinking will make it look like teletext

[Cainam]

I enjoyed your review, and thought most of your opinions were right on the mark.

I was left scratching my head regarding your Vista issues however. I installed Crysis and ran it with no hassles using WHQL drivers.

I did upgrade to the beta driver trying to fix some horrendous texture glitches that occured the first time I equipped a weapon with a mounted scope (which the betas did not fix, incidentally), but the install of the procedure was no hassle in any way, shape or form.

Also, the texture corruption did not appear in later levels, so it's possible it only affected certain areas.

I've completed the SP game, and while the quirks and glitches are certainly there, it's still a wonderfully immersive game. Great visuals, great sound, and a decent storyline (tho I'm sure there will be some strong opinions regarding the ending).

[yamangman]

(plus you can always hack the cfg file to unlock very high settings under XP and DX9 )

(Not to mention Nick that it looks just as good as the DX10 version and you get around 10FPS more just cos its XP. Stick that in your afterburner mate!)

[Dorza]

(tho I'm sure there will be some strong opinions regarding the ending).

According to Cevat Yerli the ending might come across as a little off because it's part of a trilogy.