I don't agree. Everything that is in Crysis 2, was in Crysis with the only real difference being it's more linear, contrived and less interactivity, such conveniently open the sewer access and cars for the player to tape "X" to kick.
By comparison, In Crysis, the player can punch cars and vehicles over to kill an enemy, the difference is, you can do this practically anywhere on the fly. Not just in contrived spots with a prompt.
And you can kick cars almost anywhere and on the fly--though admittedly not the larger enemy vehicles, though this may have something to do with the general reduction in player strength.
The cars are not just in "contrived spots," they're everywhere, and these aren't scripted events the player is triggering. The prompts are no different than prompts that appear for grabbing objects (or enemies) in Crysis.
Furthermore, I find the ability to kick heavy objects to be more useful in practice than punching over a jeep was in Crysis. I mean, let's face it: when it came to using strength mode on the environment, a lot of the time getting the result you actually wanted was a matter of luck. Moreover, The only way to give something distance and momentum in Crysis was to throw it (which you can still do in Crysis 2), and everything big enough for me to be interested in using was too big to be thrown.
Don't mistake me; I fully admit the environment was more interactive in Crysis. Personally, I miss being able to throw badguys through crapshacks. And yes, some compromises were made in terms of linearity versus openess. As I said before, I think many of the trade offs have been fair and improved the product, though not all. Sometimes simplification serves the player. Overall, I think that while Crysis was a more
impressive game, Crysis 2 is a
better game. Of course, that determination is entirely relative to how one chooses to play the game. I fully understand if you're less accepting of these compromises.
Anyways, I think you may have misunderstood what I was talking about when I said Crysis 2 has more toys in the box. I meant in terms of level design. Areas contain a greater number of elements--because New York is not an empty jungle, you know? Things to climb, things to take cover behind, things you can use to reposition yourself. The design in the combat areas is simply more interesting.
Also, the enemy's use vehicles far more, they aren't just plopped up sitting in area's waiting to be picked off, they go on patrol.
This is true, yes. Enemies still patrol, though certainly less because the areas are smaller.
In Cryiss 2 for the majority of vehicles (pretty much all of them)
Stationary for the enemy or stationary for the player? I've seen plenty of vehicles that the enemy never moves, but every vehicle I've tried to drive myself, I have been able to drive. That said, it's possible that there are undrivable vehicles I simply didn't try to drive, and thus wouldn't know. Though, if there are stationary vehicles, it's unlikely that it would bother me. I have a nanosuit; accordingly, I've not been particularly interested in vehicles in either game.
The player can use maximum strength to steady recoil from long shots over a distance, which isn't much of an option in Crysis 2 as the environments are much smaller with blocked off horizon lines.
You can still use maximum strength to reduce recoil (by holding shift while aiming down the sights). In point of fact, it's extremely useful for stealth headshots, both close up and at range, far more so than it was in the original game, where it could only be used in strength mode.
One of the early levels in Crysis 2 that basically gives the player a sniper rifle and encouraged them to pick off enemies one by one, is something like 20-30 meters away in distance.
There are plenty of encounters that take place with enough distance to make the rifle useful--though the nano-catalyst collection makes fighting aliens at long range impractical, admittedly.
I did use power jump constantly to jump on top of village huts, cloaking and cloaking in combination both in Crysis and Crysis: Warhead in practically every play through. I actually played vertically more so in Crysis.
If you say so. I can only speak to my experience, in which the ability to get on top a hut was rarely useful or interesting. I find myself using my mobility far more to my advantage in Crysis 2 than in Crysis.
