Just a little better than the first Crysis Remastered, it's not just a glorified tech demo this time around at least.

Once again, your super suit abilities are not used to their best potential. Can target enemies in tactical vision but once you're out of it they don't stay highlighted, and whilst in it you can't use your weapons therefore rendering the ability almost completely useless. Suit upgrades are finally a thing but you can't get stronger and stronger and instead you get to choose only one passive upgrade per branch leaving no power fantasy to be had. Most level design falls awkwardly between semi-open world and generic fps corridor levels without any proper level design sensibilities for you to use your super suit abilities in any meaningful way even with the new "tactical options" thing as those only end up being stuff like relatively useful detours or simply reminders like "Look there is a sniper spot and a weapon here, go get it champ!" and most guns are pretty boring and generic except a couple you get to use for a very short time at the latter end of the game. Also can't forget about the pacing issues as there are constant cutscenes that take control away from you every so often and they take just long enough to finish for you to feel like they overstay their welcome, not adding much to the overall experience. The story also doesn't present anything interesting. Just a bland hollywood alien invasion plot, devoid of ample creativity.

Despite everything though, there is enough fun to be had in Crysis 2. The sense of scale is done right, which really helps with the overall atmosphere. You really feel like you are in the middle of the most popular "concrete jungle" in the world, you feel truly miniscule amongst the humongous skyscrapers of New York City. Then, some levels actually ditch the vast open areas for more concise and curated ones, created specifically for you to either use or experiment with your suit abilities that I enjoyed immensely. The clearly Halo inspired alien race you fight throughout the game, even with their generic visual design, at least bring about enough enemy variety to the game and generally are fun to fight against (except one part at the very end, and genuinely f*ck who designed that segment). Although they are less in quantity compared to the more generic ones, some of the weapons were fun to use as well. Finally -likewise Halo inspired- vehicle segments were nice enough distractions, not perfect and especially frustrating in one particular part but still nice enough for me to not consider 'em as nuisances.

Positives I mentioned up above take around 40% of the game and the negatives around 60, hence the blue thumbs up, meaning that at the end of my playthrough that 40% justified for me to lightly recommend the game and since I don't think many people have bought or looking to buy this one seperately from the bundle, I say don't skip it and give it a try. The off chance you're looking the get it on it's own however, just don't expect anything special as it's overall just a generic sci-fi shooter that looks way too good for its own good.

Just a little better than the first Crysis Remastered, it's not just a glorified tech demo this time around at least. Once again, your super suit abilities are not used to their best potential. Can target enemies in tactical vision but once you're out of it they don't stay highlighted, and whilst in it you can't use your weapons therefore rendering the ability almost completely useless. Suit upgrades are finally a thing but you can't get stronger and stronger and instead you get to choose only one passive upgrade per branch leaving no power fantasy to be had. Most level design falls awkwardly between semi-open world and generic fps corridor levels without any proper level design sensibilities for you to use your super suit abilities in any meaningful way even with the new "tactical options" thing as those only end up being stuff like relatively useful detours or simply reminders like "Look there is a sniper spot and a weapon here, go get it champ!" and most guns are pretty boring and generic except a couple you get to use for a very short time at the latter end of the game. Also can't forget about the pacing issues as there are constant cutscenes that take control away from you every so often and they take [i]just[/i] long enough to finish for you to feel like they overstay their welcome, not adding much to the overall experience. The story also doesn't present anything interesting. Just a bland hollywood alien invasion plot, devoid of ample creativity. Despite everything though, there is enough fun to be had in Crysis 2. The sense of scale is done right, which really helps with the overall atmosphere. You really feel like you are in the middle of the most popular "concrete jungle" in the world, you feel truly miniscule amongst the humongous skyscrapers of New York City. Then, some levels actually ditch the vast open areas for more concise and curated ones, created specifically for you to either use or experiment with your suit abilities that I enjoyed immensely. The clearly Halo inspired alien race you fight throughout the game, even with their generic visual design, at least bring about enough enemy variety to the game and generally are fun to fight against (except one part at the very end, and genuinely f*ck who designed that segment). Although they are less in quantity compared to the more generic ones, some of the weapons were fun to use as well. Finally -likewise Halo inspired- vehicle segments were nice enough distractions, not perfect and especially frustrating in one particular part but still nice enough for me to not consider 'em as nuisances. Positives I mentioned up above take around 40% of the game and the negatives around 60, hence the blue thumbs up, meaning that at the end of my playthrough that 40% justified for me to lightly recommend the game and since I don't think many people have bought or looking to buy this one seperately from the bundle, I say don't skip it and give it a try. The off chance you're looking the get it on it's own however, just don't expect anything special as it's overall just a generic sci-fi shooter that looks way too good for its own good.