» Fri Jun 03, 2011 1:46 am Leave your comments and here's my GT: i 4 glory i
I would really like top/competitive players to give their insights and advice at some point when the game is released. Please do not debate who's best like in the other thread though (lol)
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Competitive Clues for Crysis 2 - What Could Possibly Separate Average From Top Players (Part 1)
The 360 Crysis 2 demo that released during the last week of January surprised and disappointed competitive players at the same time. It really depends from which angle you look at the game - does its attractive environments, cool technological theme/ abilities and focus on traditional on traditional multiplayer modes outweight the clunky controls and poor responsiveness?
No matter what is fixed for the final release and what's not, one thing is sure - the developers of Crysis 2 do still hold a special place in their heart for competitive play. Or rather what I like to refer as "semi-competitive play" (public play with a competitive tone). Indeed, it's been a while since we've seen a first-person shooter openly rely on classic competitive multiplayer modes such as TDM and Headquarters to sell itself to gamers. (Note that TDM and Headquarters are respectively referred to as Team Instant Action and Alien Crash Site in Crysis 2)
Tournaments or Not
There might be tournaments, or the Crysis 2 battles might take place in public games forever, but in any case, there are elements that are already standing out of that 360 demo of what could possibly separate average players from top players.
I won't get into the different perks, game modes, rulesets and the such though. Your local tournament might just not allow them in the future, so let's go for 100% reliable skill topics until the game releases.
Here's what I'm already seeing.
Crysis 2's Challenging Controls - Will you be able to master the unique sensitivity and acceleration in the Crysis 2 controls?
It was only a demo, and many things could still change, but there are high chances that players will have to deal with unusual acceleration on the sticks in the Crysis 2 demo. This could prove to be very challenging for most of us, as we got used to play games like Call of Duty, where acceleration is not really present. Past a certain point of the joystick, your crosshair will move at a much, much faster pace. This made a lot of experienced gamers whine immediately about Crysis 2 when they first played it.
As a competitive player, prepare to spend a lot of time adjusting and testing your controls and sensitivity in Crysis 2. You will hardly be able to refer to CoD and just set and forget your sensitivity. It will take some work before you become comfortable aiming in this game.
Not only that, but the red dot sight on the popular SCAR isn't the most visible we've seen in FPS games...
A solution to the joystick acceleration?
Well, I personally think that FPS Freeks (kontrolfreek.com) could help, considering that these joysticks add-ons raise the height of your sticks, causing you to play much more in the center area of your stick instead of on the sides (where that disturbing Crysis 2 acceleration lies).
Or maybe the new Razer Onza’s (http://www.razerzone.com/onza) adjustable joysticks will come in handy to solve this, although the controller is still banned in MLG.
Sort of like I did for Dead Space 2, I will give you reference points to transfer your sensitivity over to Crysis 2 from games like Call of Duty, but I have to wait to get my hands on the game again, just like you
Also, as the PC demo rolls out on March 1st, I would love to hear from some PC guys on how the Crysis 2 controls handle with the M/K.
Energy Usage - Making The Recharge Second Nature and Wisely Choosing How to Use It
The important energy gauge is located at the bottom right of the screen.
(If you don't know what Energy is, go check out the tutorials at http://www.gamesas.com)
This is obviously an important element of Crysis 2's gameplay, but I wanted to point out something some players might overlook. Energy replenishes extremely quickly in Crysis 2. Therefore, it will eventually be necessary to make all energy-related tasks second-nature to stay amongst the top players. What I mean is that at some point you will really need to use energy flawlessly without even thinking about it, as all your concentration needs to be on your shooting, positioning and strategy. Not only that, but you will need to make the right energy choices unconsciously, by choosing Armor Mode (Left Bumper) or Stealth (Right Bumper) which I both consider competitively useful from what I've experienced of the game.
Some of you might be familiar with Quake's necessity to keep an eye on the timer in the corner of the screen to time items and armors as they reappear, well, you won't have to practice heavy item timing like Quake players in Crysis, but it is the same kind of awareness that you will have to keep concerning that energy bar at the bottom of your screen. Quake players don't look directly at their timer run down until before they pick up an armor, and you shouldn't be looking at your energy replenishing in Crysis either.
I'm indeed not finished with this Crysis 2 competitive preview, so come back for Part 2 in a few days. I will cover in details what I consider to be THE most important aspect to perform well in Crysis 2 when it releases.
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Competitive Clues for Crysis 2 - What Could Possibly Separate Average From Top Players (Part 2)
The Crysis 2 demo is already re-releasing on the X-Box 360 (see the announcement here) and for the first time on the PC on Tuesday. Here you will be getting Part 2 of this first competitive overview of Crysis 2 and we’ll talk once more about what could possibly separate average from top players, and that could be very useful to you on Tuesday!
In Part 1, I talked about how the unique control feel/sensitivity in Crysis 2 could throw many competitive players off guard, as well as how your energy usage and awareness should become second-nature to overwhelm other players with your different Nanosuit abilities. Despite these skills being really useful, I said that I had still held back what I thought was going to be THE most useful skill to dominate in Crysis 2. Here it is - I think it is Positioning and Movement that will make the most difference in player skill in Crysis 2. Well... that can’t be said without explanations and examples right?
Higher is Better
Indeed in most shooters, once you take away all aiming, positioning and how you move around a map are really the game changers in competition. You can witness that time and time again in e-sports game like Quake, where players are playing at such a high level of aim that their style and how they fight for better positioning become the deciding factor.
But Crysis 2 has even more to it that makes it "positioning-oriented". First, the design of the maps will be taking a definite vertical direction than most first-person shooters. Sure it has been said that the multiplayer demo map Skyline was THE most vertical map of the whole game, but it is safe to say that most maps should get a general uplift in some areas - with the new ground stomp ability, there HAS to be vertical paths to take in every map.
The ground stomp ability goes in agreement with this necessity of being in position-of-power constantly on the maps in order to win big. In a competitive settings, a surprise run in high position to then drop on the opposing team rushing a specific location could be really clutch.
Now picture the standard advantage of a high position, such as in Call of Duty when the opponent can barely see the tip of your head. Well in Crysis 2, on top of being barely visible looking at an opponent from upwards, you will be able to use your Armor ability to go from simply hard-to-hit to infinitely-hard-to-kill (multiple hits needed to make the kill), and with the Stealth Ability, a true ghost shooting from the sky. A stealth player running on roofs could take out a complete opposing team rush before he’s even spotted. With height and more time on your hands due to invisibility, you can make a great visual plan of attack before you start firing.
This is not without mentioning that with high-ground control, you will constantly have more time on your hands to locate the invisible players beneath you when they pull off the stealth mode on you as well.
Movement: Confusing Opponents with Different Roads and Patterns
It is not that I consider the movement in Crysis 2 to be hard to master, but rather that it creates a ton of opportunities for good players to show their positioning skills. This is mostly due to the ability of grabbing onto ledges pretty easily and without slowing you down. The jumps are pretty impressive as well – check out this video at 7:33. The jumps are pretty surprising compared to similar games.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDG60o6xQv8&feature=player_embedded
Also look at this simple jump sequence starting from 3:35 - it is fast, fluid and if you know Skyline you know that the player got access to just about all areas of the map in the span of a few seconds with these jumps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws2Shv9gTF4&feature=player_embedded
(I actually lost the more relevant sequence I wanted to show you. I will surely post it if I find it back L ) And that last jump on top of the glasshouse is absolutely possible and is a deadly spot. That player just barely missed it.
This whole mix of speed, fast ledge grabbing and stealth/armor abilities creates a world of opportunities to confuse your opponents with surprising moves, roads, patterns and spots.
These were all assumptions based on the demo, but I really think that it’s good food for thought for any player looking to gain an advantage at game release.
Talk to you soon,
