Which order to play?

[w0S]

I think you're supposed to do Crysis, Crysis Warhead, and then Crysis 2. Is this correct?

[Columbus]

Yes

[crewmate]

Crysis Warhead plays at the same time as the original game, just with Psycho as the protagonist. And he's much more likeable than Nomad. Well he's "british", but that's still more engaging than Nomad, who is blank as a brick.
Crysis is a larger, bigger and longer - while Warhead feels much more focused. Crysis 2 is streamlined, but offers enough variety in gameplay. And while Alcatraz is a Silent Protagonist, he has a nice twist attached to him. I also prefer the Nanosuit 1.0 from Warhead/Original.

[Defenestrum]

Do I have to play Warhead to better understand the story of Crysis 2? Or am I not missing anything important if i decide to skip it?

[crewmate]

You shouldn't skip it. It's the best entry in the series imo. You have all the free roaming of the original title, but better executed with a more interessting protagonist.
You actual don't need to play Crysis or Crysis Warhead to understand Crysis 2. Most ties were cut. Actually, it get's worse.

What you really miss are the Crysis Comics. They kill Nomad there. And it's canon. Main protagonist wasted. That's why he never showed up again. Just saving you time and nerves, here.

[Defenestrum]

Thanks a ton, I'm downloading Warhead right now. I never even knew they made comics about the series, but I'll look into it as well. Does the timeline of the comics take place after Warhead?

[crewmate]

Sorta, Kinda. Look, the Crysis Lore is just a mess. Every game had a new writer. Crysis 2 had a new one, who added and dismissed certain elements. Same with Crysis 3.
There is no consistancy.
The comics are also a hack job. Written by the guy who did C2. He was clearly focused on Alcatraz, his baby. It's mainly the ending that stuck with me. Nomad just shouldn't die in a comic.

[Defenestrum]

I understand. Thanks for the advice. If you excuse me, I'm gonna go play Warhead :)

[_Soj_]

I always say "wait for a bundle sale so you can play BOTH". You get the full story that way.

My only reservation with Warhead is the part where O'neil is driving the Humvee and Psycho is driving the APC. The APC should have been IN FRONT, with the Humvee trailing -- not the other way around. It's just lame the way it is...

Also, Crysis 2 is, in no way, a continuation of the original. They ruined it with that truly weird beginning, then had you on a rail. Graphics are a little better, but it's just not the same animal...

[crewmate]

Yep. Crytek took away the sandbox/Open World for linear levels. The Nanosuit 2.0 only has two modes (Strengh is no contextual). It takes place in New York, that we have seen in a billion movies and other games. Destroyed or not. Vehicle sections are short and boring. The Multiplayer (now offline) changed from Battlefield + Nanosuit to Call of Duty + Nanosuit 2.0. No vehicles (♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Helicopters and Hovercrafts gone!), no mods (because raaaaaaaanked maaaaatches )

I still think that it's a well made game. The different sollutions to the situations are still intact. I liked the story surrounding Alcatraz. Silent Protagonist with a dramatic arc.

And it's the last Crysis game that doesn't require Origin.

[Defenestrum]

Perhaps when Crysis 4 is made (assuming there will be a sequel, because EA is EA) Crysis 3 can be put on Steam

[crewmate]

Ea is just the publisher. They don't own the licence. That's why Crysis & Crysis 2 is still available. They came out when Origin didn't exist. I assume that EA wanted it Origin exclusive.

But Crytek is done. They almost went bankrupt, had to close several studios. I just returned from Gamescom and all they had to present were Warface and Arena of Fate. A F2P Shooter and an upcoming DOTA clone. And they showed a VR Demo at E3.

[Defenestrum]

EA does own the license, because they own Crytek and with that they own all subsidiaries and intellectual property. Man, Crytek used to be an absolute powehouse of a development team. Then they were purchased by EA and it all went downhill from there. A few German kids who made a sweet looking engine got the jobs of their dreams and had so much potential, and now they're just in the rubble. It's so sad

[_Soj_]

Yeah, EA really dropped the ball with this one...

[crewmate]

Originally posted by mauro_rmp:

EA does own the license, because they own Crytek and with that they own all subsidiaries and intellectual property. Man, Crytek used to be an absolute powehouse of a development team. Then they were purchased by EA and it all went downhill from there. A few German kids who made a sweet looking engine got the jobs of their dreams and had so much potential, and now they're just in the rubble. It's so sad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crytek
EA doesn't own Crytek.
They made a lot of mistakes. They bought a dozen studios and let them do nothing. They own edFree Radical and the Time Splitters licence. And do nothing with it. Not even an "HD Remaster Collection". No PC Port. Nope, Free Radical did the Multiplayer for Crysis 2 & 3. And then Homefront 2. Before they were sold with the project.

MODERN Crytek likes to bandwagon. Look what's popular and try to jump on. Arena of Fate and Warface. In a time when EA themself close "Dawngate" in Beta. Because the market of MOBA games is beyond saturated. Same for F2P Shooters.

Crytek does ♥♥♥♥ with their engine. It's a powerhouse, sure, but the support is behind Unity and UE3/4. I know nothing about this business, but I would imagine that licencing your engine to other studios would be a pillar of your company. That's why we don't see more games with the Cryengine. Chris Roberts bought the engine for Star Citizen. Dunno about Warhorse and "Kingdom Come".

I like Crytek's games. I love Crysis Warhead and still play Crysis Wars every now and then. I even gave Warface a fair shot. But they did this to themself. Many wrong decisions.

[Defenestrum]

The Free Radical team was bought by EA and became Crytek UK, who as you said did multiplayer work for Crysis 2 and 3. In regards to their engine, Crytek does actually license it and Cryengine 3 is actually freely available to download and make mods, though I think for commercial releases you have to pay a small licensing fee. The engine never became as popular with modders and indies like Unity or Unreal did, but it's still a very capable one. I've used it myself. I know that modern Crysis is kinda stuck in a creative rut and they don't really know what to do with themselves. They had one IP which now belongs entirely to Ubisoft and now Crysis is being either milked by EA or abandoned alltogether. Hopefully they can come up with a fresh new IP that maybe shows off another iteration of the Cryengine and they can get the creative ball rolling again. Because how they are right now, just copying off of already established trends in the market, they're digging themselves into a hole.