Crysis 2 is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games of recent times, and to celebrate its launch, the developers, Crytek, have joined the recent trend of releasing a shiny new book by Canadian Sci-Fi author, Peter Watts.
Unlike other novels that have made the transition from game to print, Crysis: Legion is a little different to most I've read, it's not a novel based upon the game universe, but more of an adaptation of it, like one of those novels you get based upon the latest hit movie; an interesting concept given that Crysis 2 is itself written by British Sci-Fi author Richard Morgan.
For those of you who may not have played the game, the city is New York and the year is 2023. New York has found itself under attack from an alien force known as the Ceph, who've attacked the planet with the ambition of wiping out life on Earth so they can terraform the planet to suit their needs. Alcatraz and his unit are sent in to New York to retrieve an employee of CryNet Systems, the company responsible for developing armoured exoskeletons known as Nanosuits, suits which greatly enhance the performance of the person wearing them.
Before Alcatraz's unit can complete their mission it all goes wrong and the unit is wiped out, well, all except Alcatraz who is saved by a name you might recall if you've played the original Crysis, Prophet. It turns out that Prophet has stolen CryNet's latest design for the Nanosuit, imaginatively titled the Nanosuit 2.0, he's also subsequently got himself infected with a deadly virus released in to the atmosphere by the Ceph as part of their war campaign against Earth. Realising he is dying, he passes along the new improved suit to Alcatraz, but before he can take control of the suit, Prophet must give up his life so that Alcatraz can be properly bonded to it; the only problem being with that is now everyone assumes that Alcatraz is Prophet and he finds himself drawn into his life with out really having a clue what's going on. Finding himself at war with both the Ceph and CryNet (who are hunting their suit).
Although the book follows the plot of the game, it's actually set just after those events with Alcatraz being debriefed by the CSIRA Blackbody Council, so the novel appears to be told in a flashback. Throughout all of this you're privy to information that Alcatraz isn't regarding the events, thanks to reports and memos that he hasn't seen and doesn't know about. These little nuggets of information actually add a lot to the story and give an interesting insight to the back story, expanding upon and adding to the information you get throughout the game. Unfortunately, the rest of the book is a little bit wasted, well not wasted, don't get me wrong, it's a well written read and it's good that Alcatraz is so vocal (and explicit) in the book compared to the silent hero we've got in the game.
You see, Legion follows Crysis 2's plot so closely that you'll almost feel as though you don't need to read it as you'll already know what happens if you've played the game. Working in the opposite direction, you'll no doubt not want to read the novel if you intend on playing through the campaign; perhaps it would be best to play the game while reading the book for maximum enjoyment, chapter by chapter. Of course, it's doubtful you will take that approach to the whole thing and of course each can be enjoyed separately, just be aware if you've done one then you'll know the story and there will be no real shocks or surprises.
Reading Crysis: Legion, it feels as though you're playing a game, of course not literally, but the structure is the same with Alcatraz traversing to certain points to do certain things and happening across big boss battles along the way. The description of the suit you wear makes you appreciate what you've got in the game more than you might do normally, but to my mindset, and admittedly this won't be the same for everyone, I was reading about playing a game all the time. I've never read any of the author's other works so I don't know if it's his usual style; it wasn't a bad experience, but I couldn't honestly say if that's because I was a gamer or not.
Regardless, it's an enjoyable book for what it is; its got a sense of humour that can be amusing; the dystopian world that is presented is well described and has made me wonder what other literary works Peter Watts has done. Have you read through Crysis: Legion or are you intending to? It's difficult to recommend the book over the game, or the game over the book, since both plots are the same, but it would be interesting to hear your comments below.
