Earth, 2019: A colossal asteroid crashes down to Earth. The North Korean Government quickly seals off the island chain, claiming the mysteries of the asteroid for themselves. The United States responds by dispatching an elite team of Delta Force Operators to recon the situation and report back to the Pentagon. Amid rising tensions between the US and North Koreans, the asteroid suddenly bursts open, revealing a massive alien ship. The ship generates an immense force sphere, freezing a vast portion of the island and drastically altering the global weather system. The invasion of Earth has begun...

In Crysis Warhead, players don the nanosuit of Sergeant Sykes, also known as 'Psycho', one of the most memorable characters from the first game in the Crysis franchise. More brash and aggressive than his Delta Force squadmate Nomad, players experience Psycho's parallel story during the events of the original game, finding that life on the other side of the island is even more intense and explosive than they ever could have imagined. Luckily, Psycho's nanosuit is just as capable and he's equipped with an even bigger arsenal of fully customisable weapons and new vehicles, giving players access to the tools they need to dominate any situation.

At the centre of this shooter is the nanosuit body armour that allows Psycho to possess superhuman strength, speed as well as using it as camouflage to help you blend into the background. The nanosuit acts much like a cloaking device so that you now have the choice to creep up on your enemy without them seeing you until it's too late. There is also an arsenal of fully customisable weapons and vehicles at your disposal.

Aside from the new single player campaign, Crysis Warhead also features new multiplayer content, with new online modes and 21 maps including seven all-new maps to battle it out against other players.

On the positive side this latest offering adds much to the gaming experience of the first game. With new weapons, vehicles and maps it's like a vastly improved add-on to a familiar universe. The graphics are also worthy of note - being a lot sharper than the previous offering.

On the negative side you're going to have a very up-to-date machine to run this on - especially if you want to play the game with all the bells and whistles. And, sadly, most hardened gamers should be able to complete the main game in a lazy afternoon - but then it's the online games where this comes alive, so most gamers won't be too bothered by that.

A solid offering from EA Games.

9

Nick Smithson