Crysis 2 Review

Shacknews gives its final word on the Xbox 360 and PC version of Crysis 2, examining everything from its strategic underbelly to its stunning 3D visuals...

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Around an hour before Crysis 2's single-player campaign is finished, a character utters the perfect phrase to summarize the universe created by developer Crytek: "This isn't war. This is the future." It's a summary that fits with the developer's thoughts on both game engine and gameplay design. Though there may have been fears that bringing Crysis 2 to consoles would turn it into another military shooter clone, the game retains its strategic roots in the way it allows players to approach combat situations. This is primarily due to the super-powered Nanosuit that the game's hero wears throughout the experience. There are three core elements to the suit: power, stealth, and armor. Power allows players to jump high into the sky, detach stationary weapons, and run at super speed. Stealth makes the player nearly invisible. Armor protects the player from incoming fire and fall damage. Each of these elements is fueled by a power bar: using an ability drains the meter. Deciding when and how to use the abilities splits into two paths itself. I found that dismantling a group of CELL soliders (human mercs working for Crynet, the corporation responsible for the Nanosuit) with stealth worked better, whereas attacking the invading alien race (the Ceph) with armor activated offered a better chance of survival. But your tactics may vary based on your style. (Video below captured from my PC session, showing an example of how abilities work well together to formulate a strategy.) That's what's so wonderful about Crysis 2. Though the individual mission objectives are linear at their core the only limitation to achieving them is the player's imagination. Everyone plays to the same goals; how you get there is up to you. Very few shooters can make this claim; even fewer on console. It's more strategic than your typical shooter and far more interesting and enjoyable for it. Another strategic element is the world itself. Fans of the original title in the series--released in 2007--might be disappointed that the world of Crysis 2 within the walls of New York City is much more confined than the lush jungles of the Lingshan Islands from the original game; however, there are plenty of tactical options available to players in each battle zone. Each area offers the player a number of approach points, utilizing the world both horizontally and vertically. These multiple paths from above and below the game's levels are another notch that Crysis 2 proudly etches into its belt. But there are also issues that infest the world of Crysis 2, including a forgettable story, A.I. problems, and more. The game's story is a confusing amalgamation of every alien invasion narrative you've seen in other games and movies. Its "twists and turns" and "betrayals" are obvious from the start. Things start to come together a bit by the end; however, it's filled with a number of plot holes and clichés. Crysis 2 also has a number of issues with A.I. paths and collision detection. If enemies are investigating normally, there is no issue; however, once they being to take new paths based on your action, they often get caught on the world's geometry. This is especially evident in indoor areas. There are far too many levels in Crysis 2 that force players into buildings, sewers, and subway stations. The world shows off glorious vistas with arresting bright visuals in the outdoors of New York City and then quickly shuffles players into a dark, grim corridor to progress the story. I take umbrage with this design decision primarily because Crysis 2 is such a gorgeous game to look at. It would have been nice to keep the action in the visually interesting areas. On PC with "Extreme" settings enabled, Crysis 2 is stunning and, on console, it's easily one of the best looking games ever released. The game also features great audio from its sound effects to its score.

Crysis 2 takes you to the concrete jungle of New York City in the middle of an alien invasion.

Though Crysis 2 didn't lose its gameplay and engine spirit in its transition to consoles, it did lose a lot of hardcore PC options. There are only three pre-defined graphical settings and a handful of extra options. Players that like to get in and tweak their graphical experience will be extremely disappointed. Also included is a checkpoint save system, which I personally feel should never be the only option offered to PC gamers. (Note: There are already third party tools available to unlock more advanced graphics options.) Since 3D has been a big push for the game across all platforms at press events, I thought I would utilize my equipment and check it out. Though I ran into issues with previous titles, Crysis 2 in 3D is amazing. The effect doesn't go overboard--even on highest settings--and doesn't strain the eyes. In 3D, every set-piece moment in the game jumps out with gorgeous clarity. If you have the equipment or if 3D has piqued your interest, Crysis 2 does a great job of showing off the tech. Multiplayer in Crysis 2 may seem like just another persistent character experience; however, the addition of Nanosuit abilities gives its online component an added level of strategy. The game has a number of standard modes, but the one that appealed the most to me was Crash Site, where two teams fight to defend alien pods that drop into the map at random locations during the match. The multiplayer experience is fun; however, there are a few headaches plaguing the game right now. For one, the game keeps asking me to type in my serial code and constantly tells me, when attempting to join a game, that my key is in use. If you can get in on the action, it's frantic and a lot of fun. (Note: Crytek has a list of issues they are working on.) Due to the issues, it's difficult for me to say whether or not the game will continue to grasp my long term attention; however, I want to keep playing it, which says a lot. Crysis 2 is a more focused sequel to a solid first effort. Though the narrative is lacking, it's a beautiful world with a fantastic strategic layer woven into its core gameplay. There are bumps in the road and a few missing parts for PC players, but Crysis 2 is something you can't miss.
[This Crysis 2 review is based on the retail version for both the Xbox 360 and PC, provided by EA. For the purposes of covering 3D gaming on PC, nVidia licensed Shacknews an ASUS 3D Monitor (VG236), EVGA GTX 480, and a nVidia 3D Vision set. Specs for the PC used in this review.]

Xav de Matos was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    March 25, 2011 1:00 PM

    Comment on Crysis 2 Review, by Xav de Matos.

    • reply
      March 25, 2011 1:01 PM

      SUMMARY: Shacknews gives its final word on the Xbox 360 and PC version of Crysis 2, examining everything from its strategic underbelly to its stunning 3D visuals...

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      March 25, 2011 1:10 PM

      Nice review!

      Did you key your key to save yet after writing this? Their "fix" for that one is linked on the page you linked in your review: http://www.mycrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=11741

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      March 25, 2011 1:11 PM

      So why did the video autoplay?

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        March 25, 2011 1:14 PM

        I'm noticing this with several stories on the Shack lately.

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        March 25, 2011 1:16 PM

        That's a bug that we're looking in to. Basically, if you've filled out the AGE GATE stuff... your browser remembers so it bypasses that screen; however, instead of going to the PAUSE page (like it should) it just starts playing.

        You can stop it from happening (as a bandaid solution) by setting your local storage on the video player to zero. (Right click, Settings, Click Folder Icon, Move Slider all the way to the left.)

        Again. Bandaid. We know about it. All that jazz.

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          March 25, 2011 1:19 PM

          Alright, this is the first time I've seen this happen so I thought I'd ask.

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            March 25, 2011 1:34 PM

            Happens all the time to me. I didn't even know it was supposed to pause.

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      March 25, 2011 1:12 PM

      Interesting. Basically Xav said the story is full of cliches with broken enemy AI. The reason to play Crysis 2 is for the graphics and nanosuit abilities which allow you to approach the fight the way you want? Sounds like Crysis 1 to me.

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        March 25, 2011 1:35 PM

        Just dosen't feel fluid to me.. played both single player and multiplayer on PC with specs optimized at max... its pretty but something is missing.

        Guess i''ll just have to wait till the next COD is announced.. ugh and thats not saying much.

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        March 25, 2011 10:35 PM

        [deleted]

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      March 25, 2011 1:32 PM

      Great review, I have to say this game was pretty impressive... I got a little sick of the music after awhile, these games these days are going for the full EPIC ride, and I tend to hate the feeling sometimes. Also when you go into these COD type cutscenes I tend to loose my place in the world and I'm just floating all over the place from location to location. Really fun though and the strategy feeling is a major plus. The AI was good but not great, choppers shooting at you will see you through walls same with a few enemies in different situations. The engine they are using is very very good, and the city destroyed by aliens really comes to life. NYC is always a great location, best city and all but I'd like to see other cities in games.... :P

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      March 25, 2011 1:40 PM

      Remember one of the first Cryengine 3 videos that showed the dev creating a map on the fly, which happened to be a tropical island - is there any of that in Crysis 2? I could easily see myself missing that kind of a local given how gorgeous it was in Crysis / Warhead.

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      March 25, 2011 1:42 PM

      Why don't more characters allow you to wear suits made of BLACK TWIZZLERS?

      If for no other reason they make mouths happy.

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      March 25, 2011 2:00 PM

      I don't want to read the review yet as I'm not done with it and i don't want something annoying pointed out that i hadn't noticed yet, but my current impressions of the xbox version is better than i expected. I really thought it was going to be awful, but it turns out to not be to bad. Well as long as you aren't fighting aliens it's actually one of the best console shooters I've played. Those fucking stupid aliens are just so awful though. It's so obnoxious how much Crytek keeps trying to make the same fucking games over and over again and keeps fucking failing when they introduce the monsters. They just need to scrap the series and start over with the nano suit guy just being some top level spec ops operator working in different locals around the world doing varied missions against terrorists or rebels or something.

      Other than the aliens, it's probably the best console shooter I've played and it looks pretty amazing. Yes it's been made more linear, and they have removed destructibility and good AI, but it's pretty good as a console game.

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      March 25, 2011 2:04 PM

      For PC, is this an instant buy, or good sale fodder?

      It's hard to get a feel for this game. This review seemed mostly positive, but other user reviews lead me to believe it's been heavily consolized or has lost everything that made Crysis 1 and Far Cry 1 great.

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        March 25, 2011 2:05 PM

        There's a demo on steam. Check it out.

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          March 25, 2011 2:07 PM

          Unless they released a new one the demo is MP only and was shut down a week before the game came out.

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          March 25, 2011 2:11 PM

          It's not working anymore.

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        March 25, 2011 2:08 PM

        I dunno. I'm really enjoying it so far. It's far from perfect, but it's fun as hell.

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          March 25, 2011 2:21 PM

          Are you talking about the single player campaign? I'm considering it because the SP in #1 was pretty fun if you ask me.

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        March 25, 2011 2:36 PM

        Arstechnica gave it a BUY rating.

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        March 25, 2011 5:20 PM

        It's not heavily consolized. It's really awesome. There are only a few things that stand out as changed made for multiplatform considerations but they aren't really bad changes they are just changes. The big problem with this game right now is that while it's not a buggy mess, there are a few really critical bugs that are fucking ruining it.

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          March 25, 2011 10:45 PM

          This sounds like Dragon Age 2!

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      March 25, 2011 2:11 PM

      Has any one played the SP part of the game? Is it longer then the shit 3.6 hours I got out of Homefront? You liked that dig didn't you?

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        March 25, 2011 2:19 PM

        It took me 8 hours to complete.

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        March 25, 2011 5:39 PM

        I get the feeling I am nearly finished and I've put about 8-10 hours into it on delta.

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      March 25, 2011 2:19 PM

      Thanks for the writeup, good read.

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      March 25, 2011 2:40 PM

      So here's something I noticed during GiantBomb's quicklook, but didn't really think about it until now: Can you only carry 2 different weapons at a time now?

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        March 25, 2011 2:45 PM

        You can carry two primary weapons such as pistol, shotgun, assault rifle or sniper rifle. You also get c4, grenades and the rocket launcher as side weapons that don't take a spot of the primary ones. Also you can detach mounted machine guns to carry around until you drop them or they are empty.

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          March 25, 2011 2:46 PM

          Heavy machine guns are great. :D

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          March 25, 2011 3:30 PM

          OK, I haven't seen anyone with a Rocket in vids yet. Wasn't it 3 weapons in Crysis? I remember carting around Assault/Sub/Sniper combos, and I'd have to drop one to use an RL. Unless I'm thinking all the way back to Far Cry.

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            March 25, 2011 3:42 PM

            [deleted]

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              March 25, 2011 5:27 PM

              Yeah but your pistol and sub-machinegug (Warhead only, I think) were in a separate slot.

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            March 25, 2011 5:26 PM

            In Crysis you could carry a pistol and a sub-machinegun as well as two primary weapons and then C4 and a Rocket Launcher and also grenades. So it's close, but less.

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          March 26, 2011 12:10 AM

          so its pretty much the same as crysis 1 then

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        March 25, 2011 2:49 PM

        2 weapons and a large weapon (I've only seen rocket launchers)

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        March 25, 2011 2:50 PM

        [deleted]

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      March 25, 2011 3:42 PM

      Something I neglected to clarify:

      This game doesn't give a lot of context for the story. You kind of have to play the first game to know what's going on. That said, I didn't find the story to be very good... which is what I decided to add to this review rather than linking to the first game (which takes place two years before the events of Crysis 2).

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        March 25, 2011 5:41 PM

        Even having played the first and Warhead the story doesn't make much sense : /

        Oh well, shooting robot calamari is fun

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          March 25, 2011 5:53 PM

          SQUID!

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            March 25, 2011 10:48 PM

            Flying squid with freeze rays magically transform into robotic squid who consume human flesh in just 3 years with no explanation. Good one Crytek.

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              March 25, 2011 10:50 PM

              [deleted]

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              March 25, 2011 11:51 PM

              I don't think the squid eat humans or even use them at all they just created the bugs to eat the melted humans as a waste disposal method and they created the disease to kill us

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        March 25, 2011 10:56 PM

        story:

        step 1. Nomad
        step 2. Psycho
        step 3. ?????
        step 4. Prophet

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      March 25, 2011 5:06 PM

      I'm having fun with the multiplayer but the single player is marred by some terrible AI. Guys stuck all over the place, guys running into each other, guys blowing themselves up with grenades. It's hard to feel like a badass when you're beating up on special ed kids.

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      March 25, 2011 7:00 PM

      Anyone running this on a gtx280? Just wondering if I can run it maxed out at 1920.

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      March 25, 2011 10:54 PM

      I'm on the fence here - is this actually worth $60 or should I wait for the summer Steam sale or something?

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        March 25, 2011 10:56 PM

        I'm glad I bought the game but not that I paid full price. I could have waited.

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          March 26, 2011 12:06 AM

          K, I think I'm gonna wait and grab at $30 or whatever they do later in the summer.

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        April 1, 2011 8:26 AM

        I'm loving it so far, and I hear it gets better a few hours in. No buyers remorse at all, it's very exciting and I have not been annoyed by the auto save feature. If the gameplay sucked, i'd hate it though. It works to the games advantage IMO, giving me the opportunity to play out the scenarios a few different ways before I actually make it to the checkpoint.

        I'm playing on PC, Post human warrior setting or whatever. Extreme detail at 1900` x 1080.

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      March 26, 2011 12:01 AM

      i wonder why none of the aliens from the first game were in this game.

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        March 26, 2011 12:01 AM

        and also why these aliens didn't care about it being cold

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        March 26, 2011 12:10 AM

        Because Crysis 2 is a reboot of the Crysis universe.

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      March 26, 2011 12:32 AM

      Single player has been a lot of fun. This is the first fps game I've played in a very long time that even came close to the amount of varied combat options found in the original Deus Ex. Of course the setting helps with that nostalgia. Xav hits pretty much every nail right on the head with this review, however, I'm pretty sure the aliens were actually designed with stealth in mind. They pretty can't see you at all when you're cloaked even if your alert status is maxed plus the fleshy area on their backs seemed like a weak spot. You're practically required to use stealth to take down the large alien walkers. In any case, the fact that Xav played it the other way around speaks to the flexibility of the gameplay. Also it is true that the AI is not always top notch but that is not necessarily a bad thing, because a bit of artificial charming stupidity is necessary for stealth to work in single player games.

      Pros:
      Fluid gameplay.
      Varied combat options.
      Amazing visuals without taxing frames per second too much (on PC).
      Long single player campaign with decent replay value.
      Solid multiplayer.

      Cons:
      Weak plot with cliche characters.
      Jarring cutscenes.
      Boring, standard Hollywoodesque sounding music.
      Suit customization options could have been fleshed out a lot more.

      Bottom Line:
      Well done Crytek. This is the best single player shooter I've played since the turn of the century with solid multiplayer effort to boot.

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        March 26, 2011 12:37 AM

        [deleted]

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          March 26, 2011 1:07 AM

          It's better than Crysis and Warhead IMO.

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            March 26, 2011 1:47 AM

            [deleted]

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              March 26, 2011 2:49 AM

              I've not played for more than a few hours yet, so won't say which is better, but there certainly are upsides to Crysis 2 compared to Crysis 1. I already prefer the city environment to the jungles and military bases, for example. And this is coming from a huge Crysis 1/Warhead fan. It's a silly notion that someone who prefers this one "surely hasn't played the first".

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              March 26, 2011 5:46 AM

              [deleted]

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              March 26, 2011 5:50 AM

              The AI doesn't see you coming from a mile away either nor is there a chopper incessantly kicking your ass from seeing one single pixel of you. The AI is sort of better in that it's a little less impossibly-skilled AI. They more clearly group, spread out and call support as well.

              The maps may be smaller but it's at least filled with different paths of assault rather than being an empty jungle that may as well have been procedurally generated.

              Armoured squids much better than flying freezing squids.

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              April 2, 2011 3:27 AM

              You can literally walk past every enemy in the game. It's stupid as shit.

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          March 26, 2011 4:13 PM

          I've played both Crysis and Warhead. I thought that Crysis was notable for raising the bar in terms of what a game engine can do, and single player was good but not memorable. I didn't like Warhead at all.

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      March 26, 2011 5:35 AM

      Im actually pretty disapointed with the story, esp after they had the help of one of the best sci-fi writers around at the moment. The graphics and gameplay are amazing and fun tho. I would still recomend it to a friend.

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      March 26, 2011 8:14 AM

      Is the last difficulty equivalent to delta in C1?

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      March 26, 2011 12:19 PM

      Crysis 2 is a much-welcomed refreshment after the disappointment that Homefront was.

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      March 26, 2011 1:21 PM

      [deleted]

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        March 27, 2011 12:32 PM

        The nano stuff disappears pretty quickly, so maybe it dropped but evaporated before you could grab it?

        Possible.

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      March 26, 2011 3:32 PM

      I would describe the MP as COD and Halo having a baby. I like it, its fast paced, but rather laggy right now. Its a nice change from BF Vietnam.

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      March 27, 2011 10:21 AM

      i played that eyecandy the whole day. it is awesome in some ways, but for me, i now know more than ever why i'm waiting for duke nukem forever and why graphics aren't everything.

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      March 27, 2011 4:11 PM

      The game that is made to boost ATI + Nvidia sales returns. Part Quatre

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        April 1, 2011 8:38 AM

        They need to try harder then, even maxed this game is smooth.

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      March 27, 2011 10:25 PM

      Just finished the game, truly epic.

      Now where's the DLC? I want to play more.

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