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Crysis is the new title from the folks at Crytek. It is a game that has been anticipated for some time by many, and finally, it has arrived.

Crysis takes gamers into a new world full of amazing visual atmosphere. The game takes place on a remote island now being held by the Koreans, as they investigate something that strikes the immediate attention of the US. Players step into the role of a super-combat solider, wearing nano-armor that enhances strength, speed, healing abilities, stealth and defensive capabilities. The game starts off with the lead character, Nomad, jumping from a plane -- only to have his parachute cut a moment later from a mysterious force. After surviving his plummet to the ground, Nomad then jumps into the fray to find out what really is going on with this island and what real threat is buried within.

Publisher Changes

Crytek used to be with software-giant Ubisoft, but over the course of the game's development, their was a change of plans. Crytek ended up teaming with deep-pocketed EA. Then, later this year, Ubisoft made the announcement that Farcry 2 was going to be coming out of their houses. As such there has been a little bit of confusion that I would like to dispel. So, for the record,  Crysis is by the developer Crytek (the same people who made the original Farcry for the PC.)  And Farcry 2 is being developed by Ubisoft, the owners of the Far Cry IP, and the guys who ported Farcry to the consoles.

Crysis is not a tech demo or a prequel to Farcry 2, the games are not related and the engines are not identical as Farcry 2 will not use Cryengine 2.

With that cleared lets get going.

The Game's Minimum Requirements:

OS - Windows XP or Windows Vista
Processor - 2.8 GHz or faster (XP) or 3.2 GHz or faster (Vista)
Memory - 1.0 GB RAM (XP) or 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)
Video Card -256 MB
Hard Drive - 12GB
Sound Card - DirectX 9.0c compatible

Recommended Requirements:

OS - Windows XP / Vista
Processor - Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.2GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Memory - 2.0 GB RAM
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS/640 or similar

Our test system:

OS - Windows XP SP2 (Direct X 9.0c)
Processor - AMD Athlon X2 4200+ @ 2.6GHz
Memory - 3.0 GB DDR PC3200 Corsair XMS
GPU - ATI X1800XT 512MB - 640 / 750 (1500) Catalyst 7.11 Driver
Sound Card - Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic (X-Fi Game Mode)
Modes Played: Medium (Stock), High (Hybrid with some Level 4 settings)
*Screens taken at 1024x768 w/ 0xAA & Custom settings.

To clarify some of the uncertainties around what Crysis actually requires:

Processor requirements: 2.8GHz refers to the Pentium 4 or Pentium D class processors. Gamers on older chips will be required to have a rating of at least 2800+ or 2.8GHz on a single core processor to run things smoothly. Testing on a 3500+ single core showed the game could run smooth on single core chips. The recommended is a 4400+. Depending on when this was made, the 4400 either reflects a socket 939 2MB L2 2.2GHz processor or the later AM2 model running at 2.3GHz with 1MB of L2 Cache. For those on stock 4200's the difference is barely existent from what I've observed in testing.

Memory: 1GB of RAM is a requirement and depending on how gamers run this it can go two ways. One is that this can mean it needs 1GB of system RAM total. Windows XP in many cases can occupy from 280MB in relatively relaxed conditions to over 500MB in more application prone setups. As such you're really only affording 500MB to Crysis so that’s why they say it, if you only have 512MB physically, and you're using 480MB for your OS,  then you're virtually allowing nothing at all for Crysis to use. From testing on higher end settings the game can scale over 900MB in memory usage on its own. With that being said, the more memory you're packing the better.

Video Card: 256MB tends to be a real minimum even for lower end cards -- an X800XL is able to run the game with lower end settings but once things scale up in texture and resolution the memory is peaked and the game suffers with bad draw-in distance and lower frame rates. 128MB cards may be able to work, but at highly reduced levels, and it won't look pretty. 512MB and higher is highly recommended for the this demanding game.

For those looking to upgrade for Crysis on a budget, the HD3850 is probably a solid contender, as is the HD2900 Pro. The 8600GT is a solid choice as well. For those with older cards expect support for X800, X1800/X1900/X1950 and of course HD series cards (with the exception of the HD 2400). NVIDIA owners should expect support for 6800/7800/7900/8600/8800 series cards. While Crysis supports a wide range of devices these should deliver the most enjoyment visually.

Hopefully this helps some avoid bad purchases that could impact their game play and enjoyment. I would recommend shopping around or asking in our hardware forums for advice on budget cards that match your price range.

Sound Card: Most AC'97 chips should support DX9.0c and those on Audigy 2, Audigy 2 ZS, Audigy 4 and X-Fi cards should have no problems.