Crysis 3 Performance, Benchmarked On 16 Graphics Cards

Crysis 3: The Return Of Prophet

The Crysis franchise represents more than just triple-A first-person shooters. For PC gamers, it's the delivery mechanism for one of the most realistic-looking game engines on the market. Every new release sets a higher benchmark, portending the fidelity of what we might expect from games in the years to come. Although Crysis 2 let us down with its console-centric lowest common denominator approach, Crysis 3 promises to bring your system to its knees, just like the original. Crytek, it seems, went back to its roots with the latest installment, again catering to the PC crowd by delivering a game that's too difficult for even high-end hardware to handle at the uppermost resolutions and most luscious details.

We're getting ahead of ourselves, though. Let's talk about the game a little bit before delving into its performance. Crysis 3 takes place 20 years after Crysis 2, in a dystopian future where the alien Ceph are gone, and the CELL corporation is Big Brother. You assume the role of Prophet (yes, the guy who shot himself in the head at the beginning of Crysis 2) after being in stasis for a very long time.

I'll admit that this significant shift in the game world wasn't something I was expecting, although it does give us a tropical, overgrown, and abandoned New York City. If you wanted a little jungle action back in your Crysis, you have it.

As far as game play is concerned, Crysis 3 feels a heckuva lot like Crysis 2. You still have to manage your Nanosuit's energy, juggling between invisibility and extra armor whenever they're appropriate. Yes, there are a few fresh weapons this time around (including a bow that you can fire while cloaked), along with a hacking mini-game (handy versus automated turrets), a different suit upgrade system, and powerful new enemies. But the core game style remains untouched for the most part. That's probably a good thing. Crysis 2 did a great job of handling combat. As before, don't expect too much from the artificial intelligence, though bad guys may at least retreat and take cover when they need to.

Essentially, if you enjoyed Crysis 2, you will enjoy Crysis 3, with the added bonus of new environments and toys. It's a successful and refined combination.

With that out of the way, join us for a closer look at Crysis 3's image quality.

  • will1220
    Why would you include the top of the line amd, middle of the line intel (ivy bridge i5) and not the top of the line ivy bridge i7 3770k?????????
    Reply
  • stickmansam
    Still feel that the game is unduly harsh for what it displays

    Also hope AMD comes out with better drivers soon
    Reply
  • johnsonjohnson
    Right on time. I kinda suspect the i3-3220 performance from Techspot was unusual..
    Reply
  • rawrrr151
    I thought i3 3220 was IB, not SB?
    Reply
  • hero1
    Time to make an i7 rig and pass my current system to wife because Crysis demands. Nice review and the 13.2 driver from AMD has really improved frame variance for their cards. Keep it up red team so green team can do the same. The better the drivers the better our gaming experience. After all, we pay pretty penny looking for better experience. Cheers!
    Reply
  • DryCreamer
    I have a hand ful of benchmarks I ran when I upgraded to from the i3 3220 to the i7 3770K and I DEFINITELY noticed a jump in the minimum frame rates:

    http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/395367-33-crysis-benchmark-560ti

    Dry
    Reply
  • Immoral Medic
    I completed this game in 4.5 hours. I gotta say, having great graphics does NOT make a good game. It's sad when all you have to attract customers is "Best Graphics in a Game Yet". BUYBUYBUY. Don't even get me started on the absolutely terrible multiplayer...
    Reply
  • aussiejunior
    Wheres the gtx 680?
    Reply
  • xpeh
    The only thing this game has going for it are the graphics. I beat the game in under 6 hours. The story was simply tossed in the gutter. They should have stuck with fighting the Koreans instead of introducing Aliens.
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe
    toms, your method of monitoring frame times must be screwed up, the cards vary wildly and at some point the lowly gtx 650ti was showing an unbelievably good score, even better than the gtx 670. There is something wrong with your testing method. I have also noticed the same thing in previous benchmarks where you measured frame time, not consistent results. Please look into this.
    Reply