Crysis 2 Campaign Noob Guide: Some Tips and Hints to Help You Win

Crysis 2 rocks. As writers, we’re probably supposed to offer insightful yet witty commentary on the subtle nuances of a game, but there are some titles that are impressive enought to justify frat-boy hyperbole. It may not be a game-changer, per se, but it’s amibitous, entertaining, and unique–we don’t get to say that often enough these days.

Suffice it to say, we’ve been spending most of our free time (and some of our work time) working our way through the campaign mode of the game, and we’ve compiled a list of tactics and tips to help you on your way towards success. Please let us in on some of your own strategies for this game in the comments section, and let us know if you’d like a guide for the multiplayer mode as well. If you insist, we’ll gladly devote hours to that side of things as well if it means serving our loyal readers. We’re cool like that.

Ok, let’s get started…

Hint 1: Use the Cloak Mode Often

The Nanosuit offers a normal mode, which you’ll use most often, as well as an Armored and a Cloak mode. The latter two drain your suit’s energy, but they are tremendously helpful. It may be fun to rush into combat, but Crysis 2 is a game that forces players to adopt different strategies based on the situation. Sometimes it will make sense to fight your way through the bad guys, but in other instances, you’re better off taking advantage of the cloak mode and sneaking by.

Even if you can’t completely bypass your enemies while cloaked–sometimes your energy will drain too quickly and you won’t be able to find cover–you can at least go all Predator on their asses by sneaking up while invisible and taking them out point blank (or, more covertly, from behind with a melee attack).

Hint 2: Tread Softly and Slowly

While you’re getting familiar with the cloak function, we want to stress the importance of moving slowly while in this mode. The faster you walk, the more your energy drains, and it can be very frustrating to nearly avoid a shootout only to run out of power and go uncloaked before finding cover. Crysis 2 rewards patience.

Hint 3: Choose Your Weapons Wisely

You’ll go invisible from time to time, but more often than not, you’ll be fighting your enemies when you run into them–this game is a first-person shooter, after all. While there are plenty of periphery items to pick up along the way, for the most part, you’ll be choosing from one of your two primary weapons that you’ve been carrying around.

Everyone has their own preference when it comes to selecting which weapons to stick with, but so far we’ve found that it is helpful to carry around some kind of scoped assault rifle in one slot and a shotgun in the other. Scoped weapons will let you take out enemies from a distance, while a shotgun is good for close quarters shootouts. In this game, you’ll ecounter both scenarios.

Hint 4: Explore the Environment

Crysis 2′s world may not be as much of sandbox as Grand Theft Auto 4, but it is far more immersive than, say, Black Ops. Explore your surroundings; there are weapons caches hidden all throughout the city, and you’ll need to stock up on ammo as often as possible.

Hint 5: When the Game Suggests a Tac Assessment, Listen to It

Often, the Nanosuit will recommend that you make a tactical assessment of your surroundings. It’s a good idea to do so, or you could find yourself surrounded by enemies you didn’t realize were there. Before rushing into combat, take some cover and scan the area to choose a course of action. It will help you decide whether you want to go in cloaked, take out enemies from a distance, or just jump into the fray. The visor also allows you to tag enemies so you can keep track of them during a gunfight.

Hint 6: Don’t Ignore Additional Weapons

See those machine guns on the tops of vehicles? You can grab and remove them, so you probably should. Worst case scenario, you have some fun with it before switching back to your usual weapon.

Also, be sure to grab rocket launchers whenever you come across them. You’ll be attacked by helicopters from time to time, as well as giant robots, and we wish you the best of luck if you want to take those out with a shotgun.

Hint 7: Use (and Throw) Objects

The Nanosuit allows you to pick up a number of heavy objects scattered throughout the city, and some of these can be very useful in combat. For example, if you’re fighting waves of troops, it helps to pick up a fuel canister and toss it in their direction. Shoot that thing and it will explode, saving you a bunch of work.

Hint 8: It’s Ok to Run

You don’t need to kill everyone. If you’re close to your objective and low on health/ammo with only a few bad guys left, it’s ok to make a run for it if you can.  No need to feel ashamed.

Well, that’s our take on the game so far. If you like these tips, we’ll be sure to put together a guide for the multiplayer mode as well. Just let us know you want one!

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Like we said, Crysis 2 allows players to develop different strategies and approaches for success. We shared some of ours with you, so please feel free to do the same in the comments. We’d love to here (and use) the tips that have worked for you!