Every fucking stupid PC mag ranted and raved about the game, then I played it, and all it did is convince me of what I suspected after the original Far Cry: as long as it looks pretty and pushes PC technology that is apparently enough to warrant unbridled praise. PC Powerplay's coveted 10/10 for Crysis single handedly caused me to stop reading their mag. I was that disappointed.
And for what it's worth, I think Crysis had some amazing ideas and technology. The marriage of suit abilities, weapon customisation, freedom of play, and the core idea was really unlike anything we'd seen at that point. The idea that Crysis was the first of it's kind in terms of open environment shooting is a flat out lie, but the way Crysis did it, and the experience it presented, was wholey unique.
But I never felt the game had the content and polish to back it up. It was a game that built an excellent foundation and relied off this handful of gimmicks to drive the experience across a whole game. It lacked enemy variety. The weapons variety bored me. The attachment system was a huge gimmick due to how few attachments there were and their minimal effect on gameplay. The jungle environment, by the end of the game, had grown very stale due to remixing the same kind of encounters, the same level structure, and the same climaxes.
I also didn't buy the "play how you want!" shtick. It was there, but a lot of the levels (especially early ones) are deceptively linear. You're often funnelled down a specific path towards specific objectives. Take the creek on the left, the middle ground in the centre, or the high, foresty area on the right. Choice? Sure. But predictable and bland.
This is why I love Assault and Onslaught so much. Like,
a lot. Of all levels in the game, they to me feel the most open and dynamic. These levels play to the concept's strength of multiple objectives, a huge variety of dynamic battles and encounters, all of which heavily encourage the player to play however you want. Onslaught alone has basically every single human enemy from the other levels with numerous enemy vehicles added for good measure, along with tons of weapons and vehicles for
you to play with. It's a massive, open and dynamic battle with tons of shit going on and a lot of variety. The rest of the game was too forgettable and boring for my liking.
Crysis wouldn't even break my top ten shooters.
EDIT: Oh, and I'm well aware I'm in a minority with this opinion
.