14 DAY TRIAL // Crytek has already announced that the upcoming Crysis 2 will no longer be taking place in a jungle environment, but in New York, and there have been a lot of voices that have shown discontent over this decision. After all, the "Cry" tag, be it in Crysis or FarCry, has always been closely connected to a lush, jungle vegetation and wide, open areas. A metropolis wouldn't be able to provide either one of the fundamental traits of the franchises, and while it would represent a step forward for the game, the main feeling that it was expected to deliver would be absent.
And in an attempt to calm the spirits and reassure everyone that Crysis 2 would still be an amazing game, Cevat Yerli, the president of Crytek, decided to sit down and talk the matter over with Edge. "I Am Legend and The Day After Tomorrow were unique and both 'owned' a version of New York," he said. "Ours, likewise, is in harmony with the Nanosuit. In Crysis, we changed that island in ways the player didn't expect. Expect bigger here. It'll be a New York City like none in games or cinema." What might have worked even better, however, would have been their simply having chosen another city, since poor New York must be the most devastated one in video games and movies alike.
Further on, Executive Producer Nathan Camarillo added that, "It was a large island in Crysis but you weren't interested in every square inch. There were large expanses, funnels and action spaces, and we're doing the same with New York. It's a comparable size. You have this freedom to explore these small pockets and go really deep on details, but seeing all of New York isn't necessarily that exciting, and it's not great for pacing or telling the kind of story we want. It's a constrained freedom."
And that might be true, if Crytek were to implement the Structure Procedural System that Crytek programmer Marco Corbetta and 3D modeler Miragoli Gianluca are working on, then that lack of appeal could turn around completely, making every block, building, floor, apartment and room in the game a place just waiting to be explored. This could all be made possible by the project's big selling point, the cure for the "locked door syndrome" that makes everything an explorable area.
Camarillo also added that, "We know what was good about Crysis, what we needed to improve and what was fun about the game, and we can build on a core we no longer have to find. We can have those signature moments that only Crytek can do in realtime – those five big things you'll remember forever." Right now, according to the game's publisher, Electronic Arts, the game should be released before the end of the year, on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 as well.