Crysis 3 is officially due 2013, takes place in an urban rainforest

After Crysis 3 showed up for purchase on Origin last week, EA has hastily put together a press release to make the game's announcement official. Players will take up the role of "Prophet" (or is it "Alkatraz") and return to New York, though much has changed since Crysis 2. New York is covered by a Nanodome, and inside this Liberty Dome seven sectors of rainforest, swamp and other treacherous environments await.

Prophet's "revenge mission" tasks him with discovering the purpose of the dome, which is touted as the Cell Corporation's method of cleansing the city of remaining Ceph forces. Naturally, their plans focus more on world domination. Expect to find few friends beyond your bow in Crysis 3, and plenty of enemy aliens, humans, and wild animals.

And of course it wouldn't be a modern game without a fancy edition and preorder bonuses! Crysis 3's Hunter Edition, which will retail for $60, unlocks a signature bow and its accessories along with a nanosuit module, both for multiplayer. The special edition also provides early access to the game's multiplayer and an XP boost up to level 5 so you'll be ahead of the game on launch day.

Here's a list of potential preoder packs you might pick up from selected retailers. Each pack includes the base Crysis 3 game and the apparently not so special Hunter Edition content, along with these exclusives:

• Stalker Pack: Early access to the semi-auto Jackal shotgun. Comes with a silencer, custom weapon skin, and two in-game dog tags.
  
• Overkill Pack: Early access to the Typhoon assault rifle and skin. Includes two in-game dog tags.
  
• Predator Pack: Early access to the Feline submachine gun and exclusive camo, along with the two in-game dog tags.
  

I have a natural predisposition to be skeptical of a game whose press release has more info on preorder bonuses than on actual game content. Still, it's good to see Crysis going back into the jungle. However heavy-handed EA's marketing is, Crytek has a lot of talent and perhaps Crysis 3 will be a unique experience much like the original game.

Expect to see Crysis 3 on shelves in spring 2013 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.