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PC | Action | Crysis

Boxart for Crysis
Crysis 59 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 5.00
  • SOUND: 4.50
  • CONTROL: 4.50
  • FUN FACTOR 4.75
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.3
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.6
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Feature: Console Crysis? (Page 7 of 8)

Feature by Chris Morell | 12/15/2006 | 15:45:50 PM PST

And it's not only Crysis that's pushing PC games in the next year. These four games are also driving PC technology in new and innovative ways.

Hellgate: London

From the warped minds of the creators behind Diablo and Diablo II comes Hellgate: London, a first-person shooter that, well, isn't quite a first-person shooter. At least, not precisely -- Hellgate fuses the click-click-click addiction of its RPG predecessor, Diablo II, with an innovative online foundation that will keep you playing for hours.

Though you play Hellgate from a first-person perspective, you won't worry much about nailing headshots or camping out strategic sniping spots. Instead, you'll battle hand-to-claw with some of the most vile hellbeasts ever seen on pixel or celluloid: vast, lumbering behemoths made of shapeless flesh and oozing orifices. Instead of traditional RPG "classes," you'll choose from one of three factions: Cabalists, who attack with arcane spells; Templar Knights, who can wield massive battleswords and magic-infused projectile weapons; and Hunters, who strike back with black-ops military tech that will make your eyes bleed.

Of course, the replayability's the thing, and Hellgate looks to have it in spades. This isn't some cookie-cutter, paint-by-numbers, storyline-driven campaign, but an endlessly evolving quest in which you'll never have the same experience twice. As in Diablo II, weapons, levels, and enemies are all spawned dynamically, so you'll never know what fantastic treasure or fierce foe is just around the next randomly-generated corner.

The graphics will stress your rig, too, with Direct X 10-enabled special effects and some of the most heinous monster designs we've ever seen. Color us convinced, though we wish developer Flagship Studios would hurry up and nail down a firm 2007 launch date.

Spore

Creationists beware! This PC game from the famed creator of SimCity and The Sims, Will Wright, is evolving right before your eyes.

In Spore, life begins in a murky brew, with primitive organisms competing for survival. Simple battles are waged as you consume your microbacterial opponents, thus tweaking your appearance and abilities. From the humble origins of this contentious witches' brew, you'll evolve your chosen species' bits and pieces with the integrated editor, set some vital personality traits, and explore your dry new domain. All animation is generated dynamically, so the visual permutations of the offbeat and cartoony world are virtually endless.

And on the fifth day, God created the freaky striped thingies

And on the fifth day, God created the freaky striped thingies

Think of it as a new take on the empire-building genre, but with a uniquely humorous and evolutionary real-time action slant. A prototypical spaceship with abduction and laser beams serves as your emissary to alien races, while a Sporepedia keeps track of the menagerie you'll inevitably encounter. You'll surely create some original, bizarre creatures in Spore that will either amaze or absolutely disgust you. Count us in!


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