Does my gun look big in this?

Earth, 2019: a team of US scientists has made a chilling discovery on an island in the South China Sea. All contact with the team has been lost and the North Korean Government has sealed off the area. In response, the United States has dispatched an elite team of Delta Force operatives. This is how Crysis* sets the stage for an epic first person shooter with its feet firmly planted in next generation technology.

Let's get back to the scenario for a second. As any PC gamer knows, whenever tension rises between two nations, we can expect to find a massive alien spaceship skulking somewhere between the opposing forces. Reassuringly, the one in Crysis does just that. And once it's discovered, the vessel generates a spherical force field that freezes a vast area of the island and drastically alters global weather patterns, just because it can.

So, guess who plays a Delta Force Op? That's right! And it's down to you to sort out this mess, so it's a good thing you're packing state-of-the-art nano-suit technology.

Crysis presents players with a level of tactical freedom that will delight anyone who's tired of being railroaded and constrained by the scenario. In particular, and this is thanks primarily to that nano-suit, real-time customization of combat technique and weaponry present players with so many options, they can conceive of tackling challenges the designers may not even have considered. Everybody say, “W00t!” All right then. You don't have to.

Crysis is designed by Crytek*, creators of Far Cry®, and published by Electronic Arts*. In the words of Crytek's CEO, Cevat Yerli, the game aims to, “Push back the limits of video gaming, with a mind-blowing cinematic environment and an unprecedented level of interaction with the player.” Powered by Crytek's CryENGINE 2*, Crysis delivers a no-holds-barred DX10 gaming experience for the PC, including unparalleled graphics, special effects, physics modelling and artificial intelligence.

What allows the game to achieve all this is the fact that it's multithreaded. It will take full advantage of as many processor cores as you can throw at it. Try it with the Intel® Core™2 Extreme – or even two of them – and see for yourself.

When the word ‘mind-blowing' slips from your lips, don't say you weren't warned.