So, about those graphics then

The flora is expendable - limbs and whole trees are cut down by projectiles.

"Aaron," you're probably saying, "the game sounds interesting enough, but how does it look?”" Well, anonymous reader, Crysis is a visual tour-de-force (I've been waiting to use that cliché for years). In fact, on the right hardware, the game is nothing short of amazing. Lifelike, almost [those blinkers didn't stay on very long! - Ed]. PC gamers have reason to smile - we're quickly approaching an era of real-time visuals which will cause us to guffaw at the quality of CGI which appeared in cinema less than a decade ago. That's right: the in-game cutscenes in Crysis surpass the quality of computer-animated films from only a few years back (there's a reason Toy Story was about toys, you know). Of course, the requisite hardware requirements are enough to give sane individuals pause. Then again, we're not sane - we're PC gamers. PC gamers eagerly awaiting the next great first-person shooter.

The elephant (or 800-pound gorilla, take your pick) in the room is DirectX 10. After Crysis was released, it didn't take long for intrepid gamers to realize that the game's Very High settings – supposedly attainable only under Windows Vista with a DirectX 10-capable GPU – could be enabled with DirectX 9 hardware, under both Windows Vista or Windows XP operating systems. Without delving into the dirty details, many of the special effects which are by default available only using DirectX 10 under Windows Vista are indeed accessible with DirectX 9 hardware, under both Windows XP and Windows Vista. To summarize: with simple tweaking, even the plebes can gain much of the visual perks of the aristocracy. Just be prepared to edit a few configuration files to get there.

Plain vanilla DirectX 9 is capable, but missing the extras, such as light shafts.

The best visuals are provided by the DirectX 10 renderer.

With some config file editing, Very High settings can be enabled using the DirectX 9 rendered under Windows XP.

Even without engaging in graphics API trickery, Crysis is still a stunning visual presentation. Nothing, and I mean nothing, feels out of place. Even as environments shift to suit the story, the level of continuity is maintained; character models are exquisite in detail, and the accompanying animations are equally noteworthy. Texture detail is noticeably reduced when moving from High to Medium settings, but not enough to hamper gameplay. And while full-screen antialiasing remains a dream for even the most extreme hardware, it is possible to use rudimentary edge antialiasing. To an extent, this smooths out the jaggies, particularly when running through a canopy-covered forest.

At the highest DirectX 9 settings (or with Very High settings tweaks cribbed from DirectX 10), Crysis is on par with the best-looking shooters on the market today. On a true DirectX 10 system capable of driving the game at a high resolution, Crysis has no visual equal. Unfortunately, we're years from reaching that plateau, and whether or not you're willing to wait for it is an entirely personal decision.