Crysis 2 PS3 Multiplayer Hands-On Preview

In an effort to generate some last minute anticipation for Crytek’s high-powered, tech-tastic shooter Crysis 2, Electronic Arts gave a bunch of media folk, myself included, the chance to (finally) check out the PlayStation 3 version of the forthcoming sequel this week during GDC 2011.

The showcase event included both the standard version as well as the 3D version of the game, three modes and three maps. The waterfront-based Pier 17 is currently playable in the Xbox 360 and PC demos, but we also saw two new maps: Sanctuary and Lighthouse.

Sanctuary is set around an old, stone church and its surrounding courtyards.For this map, we played Team Instant Action, aka team deathmatch. There are lots of high places for snipers to hide out (not just the bell tower), and the layout has a nice mix of open areas and close quarters. The open areas are particularly tricky, because there are a lot of objects obstructing your view and, more importantly, your bullets. This really forces you to be more selective with your shots, since trying to hit an enemy at a distance will lead to a lot of wasted bullets, and, most likely, your untimely death since you would have given away your position.

Lighthouse is a very claustrophobic map set on a narrow, rocky peninsula. We played Capture the Cell (CTF with a power cell in place of a flag) on this map, and because of the layout, it led to some of the most exciting showdowns of the entire hands-on session. A big reason is that there are character-tall bushes lining the shorelines and scattered around the map. So there are tons of places for people to hide and pick you off. Or, at the very least, scare the hell out of you by jumping out of the bushes just as you pass by.

The third, newly revealed mode on display was Assault. In this mode, one team has only their nanosuits and pistols, while the opposing team has no suits but all the high powered weaponry they could want. Also, everyone has just one life per round, so, as you can imagine, this mode will result in many a heart-pounding match. It also is a great way to keep the game feeling fresh, without completely stripping away features simply for the sake of it. Plus, it teaches you how to maximize your nanosuit’s capabilities, a valuable skill that can then be applied to the rest of multiplayer and the single-player campaign as well.

On the control side, there isn’t much to report. I’m not really a fan of the PS3 controller for shooters, but it actually fits well with Crysis 2′s weightier, less recoil-y feel. I only played a couple matches, and the competition was decent, but I didn’t have any problems (and actually ranked first a few times, which is something that only ever happens at press events, but it still makes me happy).

Visually, the game ran flawlessly, but I couldn’t help thinking that some of the textures were a little dull for some reason. It might have been the TVs, because I noticed the text on the menu screens had a little ghosting going on too, so that could explain it. Don’t get me wrong. The game is a stunner, but it was just something I noticed.

The 3D is decent, except (again, it might have been the TVs), the reticle showed up as if there were two of them overlapping, instead of a single crosshair in the center of the screen. I know nothing about 3D tech, so that might be how it supposed to look, or the glasses could have been defective. I don’t know. I’ll hold off being too critical until I can see it running back in our offices on our own equipment.