CRYSIS 2 (Zero Punctuation)

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This week, Zero Punctuation wonders why New York City is such a common destruction target.
Fast-talking Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw reviews a new game each week in this animated series that combines informed critique with cutting humor. Watch the next episode of Zero Punctuation a week early, only on The Escapist.
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[@Tobygamesiscool]

The difference between Crysis 2 and HL 2 is that there is a Crysis 3

[@thrupert]

Uhryeehs ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[@CraftKitty007]

ayy lmao

[@Batchall_Accepted]

+Uhryeehs OH NO HE FUCKING DIDNT

[@Web720]

that and HL2 had episodes.

[@merrittanimation7721]

Hey-oooooooooooooh

[@LLToons]

" If I were cynical - as opposed to the rosy-cheeked, kind-hearted, snuffily-nosed bunny rabbit of a man that I am" Still my favorite quote from ZP

[@formerlypie8781]

Where is it in the ranking now?

[@r0de]

I find myself coming back to this video time and time again, even years later, because each time I think about Crysis, I just have to wonder; why does no one care about Alcatraz? To be fair, in terms of characterization he's of course on the rather lacking side. But seeing how popular both the Doom Slayer and Gordon Freeman are, both characters who's headspace we never leave and who never say a single word, why does Alcatraz not get the same treatment? Becaue if we're being brutally honest, Gordon Freeman is nothing more than a floating pair of arms holding guns. The "Character" aspect of his, is his interaction with other characters and how we ourselves characterize him. That's why we never leave Gordons head in Half-Life. We are him, he's our character. Even Yatzhee pointed this out in a retrospective regarding Half-Life: Wether Gordon reacts with shock at the execution of his colleagues, is revolted by him being forced to kill his fellow man and is fearful of the horrors that reside in Black Mesa or City 17, OR is revelling in the chaos and happy to finally get the chance to let loose and live out his psychopathic dreams of murdering thousands, is up to the player. That's why we love him, he's our character. So the same case would be for Alcatraz, who even has some more characterization in his actions, similiar to the Doom Slayer. To this day I remember Alcatraz being confused at how easily he could just rip off the handle of a door and how careful he was with the next one to just gently open it. Small details like that and the characterization we can give him, make him a compelling character. Because he's our character. Aside from all that Alcatraz is also a Underdog, despite his supersuit. The odds are always stacked against him, he's always outnumbered, often outgunned and needs wit, grit and willpower to survive. And not to forget, he's a deadman walking. The suit is his last and only lifeline. It will always baffle me why the developers decided to just discard Alcatraz like that, instead of going the Chief/Cortana route of having Prophets presence in the suit be like an advisor and teacher, helping Alcatraz overcome even more challenges. All the while the still injured and half-dead Alcatraz would be the grounding force for both men in the suit, reminding them that, even if only partially, they're still human...

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

Why does nobody care about Alcatraz? Sadly, it's probably because nobody cares about Crysis 2. Crysis itself has only remained memorable as a series because the first game raped an entire generation of graphics cards to death, and Alcatraz had the added disadvantage of being the playable character of the _sequel._ It's been almost 6 years since Crysis 3 was released and Crytek quite firmly stated they weren't even _interested_ in making another sequel, so the series as a whole was ultimately only a blip on the radar of gaming history.

[@JimJava007]

@@ArcaneAzmadi Crysis's greatest impact on the world wound up being a couple of memes, and the Green Goblin's theme from the worst Spider-Man movie.

[@Thalanox]

I encourage anyone here to go out and read the novelization of Crysis 2. The Crysis series as a whole has a very underrated cosmic horror story in it.

[@TheAlpha534]

@@Thalanox It's called Crysis:Legion. Turns Alcatraz into a real character and differs greatly from the game's storyline.

[@CoffeePotGames]

Doom Slayer said a word now

[@timebomb4562]

you know it sounds like he's actually giving a positive review for this

[@aratherfestiveperson3273]

Well crysis 2 does deserve it, its a pretty good game!

[@rumplstiltztinkerstein]

he is

[@PonzooonTheGreat]

Actually, the PMC wants to kill you because Hargreave wants his billion dollar Nanosuit back. And I'm pretty sure that the alien AI is different as they jump around a lot and charge you only to get beaten to death instantly because the charged melee attack kills them in one hit.

[@BloodPaladin88]

+PonzooonTheGreat The worst part of the AI is when they take cover like humans, with their backs to the chest-high walls, pointed directly at the player. I guess they forgot that's also where their vulnerability is.

[@KingOhmni]

+PonzooonTheGreat What, so 1 difference? Compared to the floating robotic tentacle enemies of Crysis it really does smack of laziness. But then again there were only 2 alien types to fight in Crysis, or 3 if you want to count a flying submarine battleship that you take down with a tactical nuclear grenade launcher... Okay so I'm gonna stop there and just say this. Did anything in Crysis 2 live up to what I just said? No! Did Crysis 2 fulfill the potential that Crysis set up No! Is Crysis 2 a gd game? yes. Annoyingly...

[@PonzooonTheGreat]

They could have just copy/pasted them over

[@spartanc173]

No, Lockhart fucking hates Nanosuits. Hargreave doesn't want you shot, he just wants the suit.

[@spartanc173]

@@PonzooonTheGreat They were unnecessary.

[@TuttyGaming]

He failed to mention that the final boss was a qucktime event in a red corridor.

[@timebomb4562]

that was definitely a letdown for me as well. there was some aliens with a cloaking device before that corridor that i thought could have been building up to a climactic final boss like a giant omega ceph where we use super weapons to kill it no such luck i'm afraid

[@Coldfire242]

Probably because he forgot about it.

[@danielplainview2584]

I love Yahtzee's contempt for Nathan Drake.

[@MrPiccoloku]

Daniel Plainview Nathan Drake can't be a smug little douchebag! THAT'S MY THING!!!

[@ThierryRocksTV]

Point Vector Halo and GoW fans did the same shit though.

[@PrinsaVossum]

I always thought of Nathan Drake as a reverse feminist version of Laura Croft.

[@EarloftheMillenium]

I picked up the novel version of Crysis 2 on a lark, and it actually does characterize Alcatraz quite a bit, as well as emphasize the fact that the suit is the only thing holding him together. Also there’s a fridge horror element in that while the suit IS keeping him alive, it’s slowly overtaking his personality and memories and replacing them with Prophets, so yeah. Definitely makes you sympathize with the poor guy.

[@lilianahudler4378]

I felt the same way about the first Halo book

[@twentyzero4]

*prepare for painful nerdiness* If you read the novel adaptation "Crysis legion," they actually point out the fact that all the alien tech and tactics is very similar human stuff (ie. foot soldiers, guns, attack ships etc.) If i remember, the explanation was that the aliens that attack NY were not actual alien military but rather some kind of "gardening tools," used to make sure that evolution continued properly on earth, and thus weren't expecting humans to be around on earth. Because they weren't prepared, they just latched onto the first kind of military tactics they could find (humans) and teched it up to 11.

[@KingOhmni]

+twentyzero4 And now for some painful factiness. Did Crysis(the thing that started all this) show a Alien ship that was built for war. I think so. Everything after Crysis(IMO) has only served to water down that amazing finale they made with the giant dome of icy death getting nuked only to become much bigger...and Prophetfliesinto it...and you trying to follow suit only to engage in mortal combat with a flying submarine battleship armed with a gauss rifle and tactical nuclear grenade launcher... Did anything in Crysis live upto that afterwards? No really apart from New York's Central Gardens being pulled into the air:/

[@Thalanox]

I read that book a while ago after reading this comment, and I have to say it was really, really good. It makes for fantastic cosmic horror. Much better than I expected. The background tone of helplessness and just starting to realize how far over our own heads humanity was was an interesting change of pace.

[@fearingalma1550]

Well, it’s the 2020s and New York has its pandemic. I should replay this game...

[@supereldinho]

Yahtzee likes Crysis 2. Every Crysis fanboy hates it. Yup, his review is legit since I too like Crysis 2 :)

[@N-Khal]

since i TOO like crysis TOO

[@KingOhmni]

Brozen Roxies Honestly? :| You forgot too capitalize thy I:P and what is up with that utterly superfluous extra too at the end? I wonder, did you confuse it with two?

[@juliosister]

man, I wish I was as funny and clever as you. Love your videos, please keep up!

[@GalaxyGuy12]

The throwing feature is actually kinda cool when you slap a piece of C4 onto a tin can, throw it to catch some enemies' attention and then detonate it when they're investigating it. It's like a grenade that attracts enemies.

[@shermanflipse2127]

I think that adds a great deal of tension to the stealth and combat of Crysis 2. It forces you to be smart about how you move through an area on higher difficulties. In most linear FPS games, there isn't very much strategy beyond knowing when to fire from behind cover and when to advance. In Crysis 2, knowing how to use the suit's abilities in the current situation is the focus. It's part of what makes this unique and my favorite FPS since Half-Life. (Also, Hargreave is a great character)

[@EldritchAugur]

I actually really enjoyed Crysis 2's story, it's script was surprisingly smart for a mainstream FPS and Alcatraz was a interesting protagonist.

[@DILFDylF]

In all honesty, why the fuck can't Alcatraz throw for shit?

[@charleslindeman2169]

The funniest part of that is one of the loading tips suggests you throw explosive barrels at enemies. I tried it once and the barrel landed right in front of me and exploded on impact.

[@TSR1989B]

Charles Lindeman Still better than 'Call of Duty 2' (where the characters often automatically threw grenades for no reason, and almost always indoors thus making sure it'd have something to bounce off of and bome back like a masochists boomerang XD)

[@Changetheling]

Love it, hate it, meh it . But the soundtrack is outstanding and that alone makes the game worth playing. "Insertion", "New York Aftermath", "Close Encounter" and "Dystopian Nightmares", just to name a few, are all master tracks that go way beyond the cinematic spectrum.

[@rohanalias9053]

Because legendary hans Zimmer who does the soundtrack for some of the best films out there ,did for this too

[@ovrcookedfunion]

Crysis 1 had those few moments that even now wow people, Crysis 2 had moments equal to this. I would overall rate Crysis 1 and 2 the same. Crysis 1 had all the little things wrong (bugs, bad AI, uninformative HUD and directions) While Crysis 2 had 2 BIG things wrong (Short, game breaking glitches). Both of the games had spectacular level design, and beautiful graphics, and relatable characters. I guess it all depends on what type of level design you prefer, open all the time (C1), or closed for story telling then open for combat (C2). Crysis 3? Sucked major balls.

[@watchALLthethings]

Boy, does he dislike Kane and Lynch 2.

[@NthDoctorWho]

In Half_life 2, when it was originally released, your flashlight, oxygen and sprint all ran from the same aux power source...

[@TheWarbo]

Good job making an exact quote from the video.

[@etocadet]

what i like about crysis 2 is the energy bar refills almost instantly, so doing the stealth thing requires you to recharge your suit once every 5 minutes but you do it every minute ashiding holes are everywhere. i do like switching from stealthy fragile ninja, to brick shit house walking around with a minigun with a few button clicks

[@slambangaction]

HA! Armageddon is a romantic comedy!

[@yogsothoth7594]

Don't you find Paris being hit by a meteorite funny.

[@timebomb4562]

or romantic

[@thod8820]

I once saw a video of Frank Sinatra "That's Life" with 1:53 as the background image and its still the funniest thing ever to me.

[@TheGmodGucker]

"Croissant deux" xD

[@noop9k]

I absolutely agree with you!

[@mettalx1]

Well said!

[@warteyeguy]

Thank you! Such truth!

[@thegrouchization]

Point about the change in the Ceph's equipment: They were adapting to Earth's environment. They understood that their tactics on the Lingshan Isles were outdated, so they deployed their assets in a more traditional set of roles (Infantry, Spec-ops, Air support, etc). Besides, flying at high speed between buildings with easily snaggable appendages trailing behind you is not the best tactic...

[@93MANIAC]

This was so much funnier back in 2011 0:54

[@challenginghuntsman6916]

0:55 I don’t think I need to Wright anything

[@BloodWolf752]

the reason cloak, armour, speed and strength use energy from the same pool is because it encourages you to be selective and plan your attacks a bit which, I (using my opinion as a human being so if you dont like it, lump it) was a very clever feature.

[@NthDoctorWho]

gotta love strategy

[@qwertyqeys]

No, Yahtzee, you are remembering it right. I never got the chance to play Crysis 1 and I can still tell you with at least 20% certainty that you are definitely right.

[@TFBCountryBoy]

I love the constant references to Kane & Lynch 2

[@TheJPJT1234]

this guy is so fucking funny my body hurts from laughing so much

[@HangmanOfficialUploads]

nice metaphor,there! couldnt have said it better myself!

[@victorbruun]

Aaaand Yahtzee jumps light and Elephantly around a spoiler. Great job.

[@MagnesiumSodium]

good point :)

[@CherryPixelBun]

I'll have to try that one sometime.

[@Sareth94]

i think a good controler would be one that combines both PC and Console-Controls. Like the Gamepad 'Nostromo' from Razer. You have the PC-mouse for fast, accurate aiming and camera controls in first and third person games and a decent options-menu, enough buttons to have a nice number of shortcuts and control-possibilitys so you don't have to double use them and finally you have the analog-stick for accurate movement controls

[@wearethebomb42]

It still does when I play it.

[@Mooseondaloose3]

omg i love bunny Yahtzee

[@StellarElite1]

1:14 There's a reference to a line he said in his Mafia 2 review.

[@McBobtheruggaman]

This video is fucking halarious, keep making these man.

[@imaloony8]

No Yahtzee, I remember embarrassing the aliens too. Best moment of the game, by FAR!

[@dragonslover]

That said, I do agree with you.

[@NthDoctorWho]

Crysis and HL2 are two separate and perfectly fine games in their own separate ways

[@TheZickoPuppets]

Yes.

[@Icanglqueen]

Don't forget Battlefront. The leaked footage of the third one looked really nice. Sucks we never got to see the end results.

[@cheshireravens]

best analogy for it would be "Pipe bomb from Left 4 Dead"

[@24people1]

i believe the yogscast described this game as the one game that you have to travel forward through time to bring back the technology in order to even play it. :P

[@goa141no6]

I played in post-human and restraing me to not cloack and run away (just hide), i enter in a predator sence the whole game beign a tactically moving on cloack and striking fast on armor and quick reacctions non stop and dying just for stop one second, i love it.

[@washiwashiable]

I played this on pc and loved it.

[@SomeGuyWithAFace9]

His voice does that to people

[@NthDoctorWho]

BETTER JUMP INTO THIS POOL OF WATER WITH MY FLASHLIGHT ON AND SPRINT-SWIM *drowns*

[@pokemainiak]

I think it's more of a case of how radiant the vocabulary that is used actually is. Then people try to comment, leaving something that would be intelligent to, say, a "Miranda." (Sheltered child. Read "The Tempest")

[@RarefoilB]

I just got the "Why-Oh-Why-Oh-Why-sis" joke. And I've been rewatching this video since it originally came out. In 2011. Oooooooh God.

[@pjdalve5206]

3:00 so true. I did the same thing on the mission with the train station. F*** fighting all those aliens!

[@Duriel181]

no the aliens just have more ways to move and a sligth increase in the "i want to melee the player" parameter

[@xSOUNDWAVE56x]

my productivity decreases 10 fold every time i watch one of these videos

[@thatsleepyguy136]

I guess you could argue that there were plenty more alien foot soldiers because much of the combat of the game takes place indoors or in tight quarters, making floaty roundabouts much less practical.

[@fourstar7]

very true. it did.

[@kerricaine]

and it was still as much of a piss off then. can't remember how many times i nearly drowned in the caves under ravenholm because i had to use the flashlight while swimming to see where i was going, only to have it drain all my oxygen

[@ezekielmartin4323]

I just watched this for the 4th or 5th time and I only JUST got "life makes an attempt to escape from Alcatraz"

[@ppmexcalibur]

0:16 - 0:36 that about sums it up.

[@1soffan]

I.LOVE.YOUR.VIDS! so much :D

[@NthDoctorWho]

Yeah, I noticed

[@NthDoctorWho]

Lovely

[@Dragon2802]

the scientist guy mentions them being a different strain at some point or another

[@JetBalrog]

You know, I did a grand total of like... one thing with the weapon customization. Stuck a silencer on /everything/, then proceeded to stealth my way through everything, 'cept the things I couldn't, then I just... brought out the pistol that blows holes through everything. Practically the only thing the customization added was if you found your favorite weapon setup, you never have to worry about not having it again. Still felt meh, though.

[@NthDoctorWho]

They should change among the highest-rated comments every time you watch it

[@LordLoocker]

0:52 MAAAAAAARIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAA!

[@F12Y14N25]

case in point.

[@Avankiri]

I thought the first thing they teach you is 'Don't feed the trolls'.

[@procratinatoralex24]

I disagree with the vulnerability of Alcatraz during combat because in one situation I had jumped off a building and air stomped some poor bastard into the pavement and was still able to bash his mate's skull in with no energy left until I had to retreat because I was getting shot to shit by the other trigger happy soldiers.

[@Luxai]

I see that happen everywhere in the gaming world.

[@19ykcub]

at 0:49; good call.

[@tom133991]

I read that in Yahtzee's voice...

[@Matrilwood]

That's weird 'cause I usually feel like I'm missing out on all the fun when I'm NOT stealthing around every corridor in a multifaceted game :p

[@oafishnephew5126]

Lol, i stealthed through that part too

[@evilsirjohn]

True enough.

[@ShadowNick]

1:04 I get it hue. (Black Death - Ring around the Rosie)

[@MrShinywill]

i like that no one here seems to realise that crytek uppdated textures and the hole game with directx 11

[@BloodWolf752]

@erttheking no offence mate, but the origional crysis is available on the xbox marketplace for about 14-15 £/$

[@wjbarron88]

I agree that the devs probably moved the aliens into bipedal armor so they wouldn't have to write different AI, but it does make tactical sense too. I mean, New York City is designed and built to be navigated primarily by humans, so it makes sense for an invading force to also adopt human-like movement.

[@TheGallantDrake]

Actually, I think you remembered Crysis 1's story pretty well. The aliens sure were pissed off about that undies incident, at any rate.

[@maxplayn4041]

"it reminds me of half-life 2, except without the super-powered suit- oh, wait. I mean without the alien invasion- oh, wait." lol

[@kaydee66781]

Lol at Armageddon as "Romantic Comedy".

[@erttheking]

@MrFunxy ...deep buddy, real deep.

[@NthDoctorWho]

They updated Half-Life 2 to use the Episode 2 engine, which also includes a separate power source for the flashlight

[@Sagalink]

the cost of the pc to run crysis 2: YOUR SOUL.

[@Oldsong69]

I did as well ,but it didn't feel right so I turned the clock off ; five seconds later I was much XD

[@TheSkyretix]

what is the intro song?

[@EliteUav]

yes ikr i was playing c2 from the humble bundle and i've played c3 and the second's story was so much better and compelling

[@iHateAshleyGraham]

yes.... just. yes...

[@siriusgamer8037]

Nanosuit = the Tuxedo - All the kung fu and Jackie chan?

[@crazypig1011]

Well shit, now you've gone and made me re-install Crysis 2.

[@darkhawk155]

"I may be remembering that wrong..." No sounds about right to me.

[@ryanzclausen8744]

I have this game, I think I'm pretty close to beating it.