crytek-uk posts

It looks like some folks will be able to try out the next game in the Crysis series. Developer Crytek's official community site MyCrysis is about to get a relaunch and one of the perks of registering at the new site will be a chance to get in the beta testing for Crysis 2, the sequel to their sci-fi shooter series that's due out later this fall.

All you have to do is be one of the first people to register for the new site when it goes live on Friday. There's no word yet on what the beta will contain or when it will be released but the current site says, "Early registrations will be tracked, and our first wave of users will have a chance to win a key as and when the Crysis 2 beta takes place." People who register for the site in the first week will also get some extra perks like an exclusive wallpaper, an exclusive forum badge and a chance to win a Razer gaming mouse and mouse pad.

[Via Blue's News]

The first trailer for Crysis 2 showed a version of New York City that's been devastated in a battle between humans and nasty aliens. Now developer Crytek is giving fans a chance to put their names (or nickamed or whatever they wish) in the in-game location of Manhattan.

You now have until this coming Monday to join up and follow the official Crysis 2 Twitter page. Then "tweet" the phrase, "Hey @Crysis, I want you to put my name in the game!" Then put in your name and finish with #Crysis2contestNA. Then 25 people will be picked to have his or her name in the game as part of the city graffiti.

While Crytek released a free single player version of the original Crysis and also released a free LAN only version of Crysis Wars (with the ability to be turned into a free online supported game from time to time) it's not certain that Crytek will offer a free demo of their upcoming shooter Crysis 2. Develop reports that Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli stated, "That's something we need to think about, because we haven't fully decided on this yet."

In fact Yerli believe we may see less and less free demos released in the game industry overall, saying, " it becomes prohibitively expensive" to made them. He also feels that publisher Electronic Arts' announced plans to possibly explore ways to release a small version of a full game for $10 or $15 is "interesting." Yerli believes EA plans in this regard have not been explained fully, adding, "I understand why people are thinking that all EA wants to do is maximise profits out of the audience, but really, what it's really trying to do is get investment back but while being as fair to the gamer as much as it can. Ultimately, it will be a better deal for the game."

Developer Crytek's previous games (Far Cry, Crysis and Crysis Warhead) have all had solid single player experiences but their multiplayer modes have never caught on with a large audience. Crysis 2, due out in late 2010, is hoping to change that by having Crytek UK (formely Free Radical Design) concentrate solely on the multiplayer features.

VG247.com quotes Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli as saying, "That is all they are doing, with a full team on it, and they are blasting forward at full speed with more focus and dedication than I've ever had before at Crytek." However at the moment they are keeping the specifics of their multiplayer plans for Crysis 2 a secret.

Last November we reported that science fiction writer Richard Morgan has announced on his blog site that he was helping to write scripts for three upcoming Electronic Arts published games. Today EA revealed that one of those games is none other than Crysis 2, the highly anticipated sci-fi shooter sequel from developer Crytek.

As you may know, the plot of Crysis 2 has our Nanosuit wearing hero battling aliens in New York City. In today's press release, EA states that Morgan's script for the game, "enters this distressed world and brings it to life with gritty characters, a rich back-story and plot twists rarely found in video games." Sounds promising. We should learn if that's more than just hype when Crysis 2 is release. EA now says it will be coming out in the "holiday 2010" time period. You can check out a brief hands-off preview of the game right now at our sister site Joystiq and the game's official web site is now live with an extended version of the trailer that was first shown in Time Square earlier this week.

As expected, developer Crytek and publisher Electronic Arts decided to use one of the big video screens in the heart of Times Square in New York City to debut their teaser trailer for their sci-fi shooter Crysis 2. Hookedgames.com was there to film the trailer on Tuesday night and while it's definately on the low resolution side you can get the gist of what the trailer is supposed to convey, as we see our Nanosuit-wearing protagonist in a clearly devastated Manhattan.

We suspect a full high resolution direct feel version of the trailer will be released tomorrow on the newly established sosnewyork.com teaser web site.

While you may have seen some scans of Crysis 2 magazine previews, developer Crytek has yet to actually release official screenshots of their sci-fi first person shooter sequel. That is until today, however. The MyCrysis.com web site has just posted up the first high-res screenshots of the game, which will be the first to use Crytek's new CryEngine 3 technology.

As you can see, the game does indeed take place in Crytek's version of New York City as the NanoSuit powered player character has to deal with lots of property destruction. The second screenshot shows some actual combat against some human enemies. But where are the aliens that were central to the first Crysis game? Hopefully we will find out soon why the Big Apple is turning into a battlefield. In the meantime Crysis 2 is scheduled to be published by Electronic Arts by the end of 2010.

Looks like we will be putting on the Nanosuit to combat some aliens by the end of the year. As part of their financial press release today, Electronic Arts announced that Crysis 2, the sequel to the sci-fi first person shooter from developer Crytek, will be coming out in EA's fiscal 2011 third quarter. That's the same as the fourth quarter 2010 calendar year (October-December).

As we have reported before, this will be the first game in the series that will be released for consoles as well as the PC. It's also the first game to use Crytek's CryEngine 3 technology . Crysis 2 is supposed to move the setting of the first game from a tropical Pacific island to the urban jungle of New York City.

Nearly a year ago, Free Radical Design was in danger of shutting down, until Crytek extended their big money hand and bought the UK based developer. It also renamed the company Crytek UK. Now comes word that the developer is working on their first project for their new masters.

So what is it? While the developer was supposedly working on Timesplitters 4 before being bought by Crytek, a new article at Develop seems to indicate that Crytek UK is working on something new. A rep at the studio stated, "We are currently concepting up an original IP that we hope will become a defining game series for the UK studio." Since they are in the concept phase it may be some time before the game is revealed.

The rumors are indeed true. As we reported last night, German-based developer Crytek has indeed bought the UK based studio Free Radical Design. With the purchase comes a name chance as Free Radical turns into Crytek UK. Specific financial terms were not disclosed.

Free Radical went into bankruptcy protection late in 2008 as the developer reportedly lost the chance to develop Star Wars Battlefront 3. The new deal with Crytek will allow the UK studio to stay operational. According to Gamesindustry.biz about 40 people at the now former Free Radical will stay on with the new Crytek UK. Before its financial problems Free Radical had over 140 team members. It's currently unknown if the developer will continue to work on the previously announced game Timesplitters 4.