Crysis - PC vs Console

A few days ago I got to try out the new XBLA release of the original Crysis. I eagerly pressed the start button to see whether Cevat Yerli; the Crytek president, was correct in saying ‘the console versions looks better than Crysis on PC’.

It really does say something when a four year old release is still considered a popular benchmark within the industry and of course anyone who’s played the original will know why. The suggestion that the visuals have been improved on hardware that pre-dates the game itself is a rather bold claim. I’m positive the PC fans will have something to say about it.

Anyway the game itself is quite clearly a loving remastering of the PC classic that has a lot of fine tuning under the hood and is far from a quick port. I must stress that this is the Crysis we all know and love, all the gameplay elements are included and the fact it has reached the console market at all is worthy of celebration.

The remastered version has been undertaken predominantly by Crytek’s new UK studio (formerly Free Radical), and it is no surprise that the overhaul has been achieved at the highest level. The ground and object textures have been worked on as well as the transition from CryEngine 2 to CryEngine 2.

Of course the PC version should visually destroy the console version but it would be a rather bold claim by Cevat if this was no at least a close race. The console versions are very well handled with better lighting effects due to the CryEngine 3’s revamped lighting models. This allows for an increased number of lighting sources as well as high level reflections off every surface. The sand glistens under food as you run in the direct of the sun giving the illusion that each individual grain of sand is refracting light.

Textures are great but do suffer from the occasional drop in when rushing through crowded areas although the speed of movement usually means you miss this if you aren’t looking directly for issues. The lighting really does make the whole area look brilliant but the brightness can sometimes be overpowering in sections where the extra lighting isn’t being used too much.

One thing I did notice was the removal of some objects from the interior areas. Mood objects like lambs, paperwork and rubbish as I like to call them have been refined or removed completely. Although this is unnoticeable on the gameplay it does make certain areas feel baron especially when you think that some of these areas are supposed to be lived in.

Crytek have still produced a full sandbox for us console users to play around with and is as close to the original product as can be. Obviously a top of the range PC with relevant mods will still wipe the floor with the console version but in itself the game is still beautiful for full retail let alone the XBLA tag. I cannot recommend this game enough; the original Crysis has always been a joy to play and has some beautiful vistas. One of the other things to note is that Crysis has really shown us what the CryEngine 3 can do on consoles – something the sequel failed to live up to.