A running trend in many first person shooters with online capabilities is some sort of “challenge” list for players to complete. Crysis 2 will be including its own take on that particular feature and two others, one of which offers something a bit more unique.
The latest multiplayer progression video showcases the reward system, and the unlocks tied to it, that offer players extra incentive to keep playing Crysis 2 online. You can also check out the other two multiplayer progression videos which talk about weapons and their customization and upgrading your Nanosuit.
Skill Assessments will be familiar to many players of FPS games who enjoy that meta-game aspect while they play – gamers who like to complete goals that aren’t just part of the normal game. Completing Skill Assessments, like killing a number of enemies with a certain weapon, air stomping enemies, or possibly powersliding a certain distance, will undoubtedly award more experience and more challenges to complete, adding to the estimated 50 hours of unlocks in Crysis 2’s multiplayer.
Perks (or killstreaks) will work in a slightly different way than players are used to. Indeed, killing a number of enemies without dying will allow access to Perks, but Crysis 2 offers a bit more of a twist to the system. In addition to killing enemies, players will also be required to pick up customizable dog tags as an extra step. While some may find this particularly annoying, having an actual collectible (as opposed to just relying on kills) should get players active on the battlefield.
Interestingly enough, rather than add a list of support bonuses to pick from, Crysis 2 will feature map-specific support bonuses instead – again, taking a feature found in many FPS games and adding a little bit of a spin to it. Being able to shut off the opposing team’s Nanosuits seems just as powerful as having a Ceph gunship come in and shoot at them. It has not yet been revealed which bonuses go with which maps yet, but chances are you won’t be seeing an orbital laser being used in a building-heavy map.
Crytek is taking a lot of steps to inform players about the Crysis 2 multiplayer experience, which should be familiar to many FPS veterans, but with small adjustments and re-imaginings of common features. Even if the features aren’t all that impressive, what other FPS allows you to kick cars into enemy players to kill them?
Crysis 2 releases on March 22, 2011, for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.