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Take a moment just to look at the first official Crysis 2 screenshots released by EA. Yep, stunning, aren't they? Unfortunately, they're not indicative of actual gameplay, considering the upcoming multiplatform title is a first-person shooter, not third.

Still, we can't help but admire the incredible graphical fidelity of these screens. Most likely, these shots were taken from the PC version of the game, but we'll have a full report on the console versions of the game in April. Until then, feel free to spend some quality time in our gallery.

The supersuit-enhanced cat has officially leaped out of the bag, folks -- Crysis 2 will be set in New York City. According to a "World Exclusive" Twitter image of the next PlayStation: The Official Magazine's cover (partially seen above), the upcoming sequel plans to give players a chance to blast off the faces of "aliens invading NYC," employing the already teased "Nanosuit 2.0."

As the Crysis 2 cover is set for the March issue of PTOM, we expect to start hearing more details on the sequel over the next few weeks as subscribers start getting their copies (and subsequently begin filling the internet with said details).

During EA's half-hour investor callstravaganza yesterday, CEO John Riccitiello unleashed a flurry of game titles set to be released in the company's "FIscal 2011." For EA, that falls anywhere between April 1, 2010 and March 30, 2011 -- a window that now holds the release of "a great new version of Medal of Honor, a revitalized Need for Speed, Sims on console, FIFA in a World Cup year, an innovative and new take on Madden, Dead Space 2, Crysis at full margins, a new MMA game, and many others."

Considering this laundry list of games is getting little more than a 12-month window for release, we're taking the logical next step and throwing darts at images of the games on our cork-board calendar. According to our impeccable aim... everything is coming out in November. Not helpful!

[Via Eurogamer]

What's the best way to improve upon a suit that basically imbues its wearer with super powers? Give him a giant, badass robot to pilot instead -- and that's exactly what the MechWarrior: Living Legends mod for Crysis does. This full conversion mod transforms the game into something almost unrecognizable, complete with a unique story, mixture of first-person and sim gameplay and, more importantly, so so many giant robots.

If you're looking for some more information on the ambitious mod, check out the official FAQ and clear some HDD space. The mod is in beta now so feel free to get in on the fun here.

[Via Fidgit]

Despite discounting games as part of its ongoing holiday sale event, Valve has seen fit to offer even more games at reduced prices, this time flipping the switch on massive discounts for triple-A titles like Street Fighter IV, which can be yours for $10, and Crysis Maximum Edition -- a bundle of Crysis and Crysis Warhead -- for under $14.

That's not all, as your hard-earned greenbacks can also net you cheap digital copies of Medieval II: Total War, Half-Life: Source and Shattered Horizon -- though we'd be remiss if we didn't point out the very tempting combo of Darwinia and Multiwinia, both of which can be yours for $3.

You might want to go ahead and put on your thickest, darkest sunglasses, because you're about to be blinded with science. OnLive founder and CEO Steve Perlman recently showed off the game-streaming technology's applications to a group of students at Columbia University in New York. Yeah, sure, you can be jealous of their rare opportunity, but take solace in the fact that access to this opportunity probably cost them $35,000 a year.

GamertagRadio snagged a video of the event, which we've embedded after the jump. It's awfully long -- feel free to jump to the 12-minute mark to check out the OnLive user interface, and the 17-minute mark to see the iPhone's social networking functionality.

If you actually possess the fungible assets required to purchase a government-grade supercomputer -- you know, the kind with an actual human brain built right into it -- then we imagine you don't concern yourself too much with time-sensitive discounts. Still, we thought we'd bring this to your attention: If you own an impossibly powerful computing device, you can buy Crysis or Crysis Warhead on Steam this weekend for just $15 a piece. Well, you can buy them regardless of your computer's hardware specs -- but if you hope you play them, you better think about investing in some cerebral processing power.

Ever since Crysis released, we've found our life lacking in two distinct ways:

1. We totally want a Nanosuit of our own and would do close to anything for one
2. We wish Jason Statham was our squadmate in real life and often daydream about being stranded on a tropical island with him

While the second option is likely never going to happen without some jail time attached to it, the first item is actually a possibility for those willing to travel to Nottingham, UK next month. On October 29 - 30, Crytek UK will section off an area and create "a real-life tropical jungle, complete with exotic flora and fauna" for folks to take part in a real life version of the PC game. In fact, those attending will even be able to try on an actual Nanosuit and, somehow, become invisible while playing this real-life version of the PC title. Crytek UK's Narrative Designer, Rob Yescombe, describes the game as "Hide and Seek for the 21st Century – good old fashioned fun but with a Crytek UK twist."

Who's going?

[Via Big Download]

While OnLive and Gaikai continue to hog the game-streaming spotlight, few are talking about the third option that people will have for server-based gaming: OTOY. And that's likely because the company (of the same name) behind the technology hasn't been exactly forthcoming with details -- even the official website has nothing more than the "Soon" image you see above. Ars Technica recently got a chance to check out the service in action, pushing graphical monster Crysis to an iPhone with reportedly good results.

The service is still in its infancy, as demonstrated by a TechCrunch hands-on video we've dropped after the break, but shows a lot of potential. Considering OnLive's currently holding its public beta in North America and Gaikai's kicking off a private beta in Europe late this month, we hope OTOY decides to start getting vocal soon. We're all ears!

Crytek has released a pair of teaser trailers for Crysis 2's Nanosuit 2, the new and improved version of the first game's human enhancer, via a viral site for Crynet Systems, the manufacturers of the fictitious suit. Taking the viral approach even further, there's also a 16-page PDF brochure advertising the suit you could never afford. Did you know that the tech actually introduces parasitic lifeforms into the wearer's brain to aid in real-time combat analysis? Has Crynet Systems learned nothing from Kirk's epic battle against Khan?

There's also an alternate version of the above video that features a more, uh, blue look at the new threads. Head past the break to check that one out.

[Via Big Download]

A running theme through Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli's presentation at GDC Europe today was the number 2012. Sure, he mentioned 2013 also, but the next Year of the Tiger showed up nearly a dozen-plus times in the executive's presentation about "the future of gaming graphics." Yerli tells Joystiq that the reason for the number is that it's the company's internal "road map" of when the next generation will begin.

"We will have our next engine ready by that, independently whether there will be hardware or not. We are assuming based on the cycle -- the Moore's Law -- and everything," Yerli told us. "If you predict the computational power and trend. You kinda know how much CPU and GPU will be there and trend. If you take those things into account you can sort of predict where things are going."

Yerli explained that the more console-centric CryEngine 3 will have more updates in the meantime, but its next "major architectural version" of the CryEngine should be ready by 2012. He wasn't sure if they'll call it the CryEngine 4 (our money says: they will).

No, it's okay. You can read that again. According to a report released by Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter, the company was given a demo of streaming game service OnLive this past March. Pachter states that latency between the user and OnLive's servers is supposed to be no more than 80 milliseconds, while the games he demoed were running at 25 milliseconds. While Pachter isn't certain if OnLive will "dominate any time soon" he believes that the micro console's video conferencing feature "will likely attract widespread demand." (Wait, it plays Crysis like a gaming PC and it's video conferencing that will sell this thing?)

Pachter states that OnLive should appeal to families that have yet to buy into the current generation of consoles, especially if the service is priced right. The sweet spot, apparently, is right around $5 a month. A higher price could be met with "consumer resistance," says Pachter. Furthermore, Pachter is already predicting that OnLive may not last long as a standalone service, suggesting that it might be purchased by another company and offered as "part of an expanded service offering."

For example, Microsoft could purchase the company to further expand the Xbox as an entertainment hub -- Pachter notes Microsoft's previous acquisition of WebTV, which was co-founded by OnLive CEO Steve Perlman. That's assuming neither Apple nor Verizon beat Microsoft to the punch, of course.

It's too early for us to say if any of this will come to pass -- we're not analysts, after all -- but we were certainly impressed with our own OnLive experience. Still, until we can plug OnLive into our internet and play Crysis for ourselves, we're a bit skeptical. That's okay though, because we're supposed to be.

CryTek's newest, shiniest piece of tech is CryEngine 3, which will be put to use in the upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Crysis 2. While the first footage of the console versions looks remarkably similar to what you'd get from a PC, a closer examination reveals how top-end gaming PCs are still capable of rendering better graphics with CryEngine 2. According to tehdaza on YouTube, "CryEngine 3 running on console hardware is about the same as CryEngine 2 running on 'medium' settings." The look of the console versions can be recreated on the PC by using low textures, high shaders and object geometry and medium on all other settings.

You can check out the video after the break. In it, you'll be able to compare the draw distance of the two engines and see the change in physics, texture work and more.

[Via N4G]

When Crysis 2 was announced, we looked forward to seeing the evolution of one of the most eye-catching FPS titles ever created at this week's E3. Well, folks, it looks like we'll have to wait a bit longer for that, because the trailer released for E3 is sorely lacking in the content department. Well, unless the kind of content you're looking for is big chunks of broken glass floating in a black space.

Crytek isn't waiting around for the next wave of consoles to hit before melting eyeballs in the living room. In fact, publisher Electronic Arts announced that the German developer is already prepping a follow up to Crysis, this time for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as well as the PC.

Creatively titled Crysis 2, the title is the first built using the studio's new console-ready middleware, CryENGINE 3. Nothing else is known, though with E3 kicking off this week we've opened up a new box of tissues just in case we hear more.