30 Days Before Crysis 3

Only a few short weeks separate the gaming masses from Crysis 3, the latest shooter from Crytek. Even though it's easy to enjoy a piece of tech like the Nanosuit without much context, people that missed the first two games might feel intimidated.

No worries, folks. We're hear to tell you why Crysis 3 has the potential to be fun and flexible -- a shooter for the thinking man/woman.

If you haven't been keeping up with IGN's coverage of Cyrsis 3, start right here and, most importantly, don't panic.

In the crowded world of first-person shooters, it’s not easy to stand out. At least, not in a good way. But the Crysis series has long dominated water-cooler chats and melted GPUs with its bleeding edge graphics. Even on the consoles, Crysis 2 stood a cut above, visually speaking, with arguably the best stereoscopic 3D support around before the world stopped caring about 3D last year.

Crysis 3 looks to push the envelope again, pumping out the latest CryEngine technology for each platform and pairing it with a bit more open-ended gameplay. The Nanosuit will again allow you to play stealthy or amp up with extra armor for a guns-blazing assault, while a murderous menagerie of new weapons will make killing Crysis 3’s alien infestation as fun and efficient as possible. The bow, for instance, opens the door for some very ruthless, quiet kills. Conversely, the Typhoon -- and all 500 rounds it fires per second -- makes mulch out of your targets.

So Crysis 3 has guns and graphics going for it -- two important pillars of any first-person shooter. The question is, how will the moment-to-moment gameplay stack up? Crysis 2 had encounters that tended to drag on a bit too long in its single-player campaign, and multiplayer was a fair but not-so-memorable mash-up of Call of Duty and Halo.

The Crysis series boasts its fair share of explosions, bullets, and blood, but it also encourages stealth and thought in equal measure. With a Nanosuit capable of combat adaptation, players can traverse the battlefield in a variety of ways and deploy powers when they choose.

Yes, Crysis 3 will have action, but it also promises to provide a high degree of player freedom. If you enjoy the challenge of a shooter and the quick-thinking needed in strategy games, you should consider Crysis 3 when it launches.

Unless you hate aliens and ruined cities. In which case, it might not appeal to you. Because it contains both of those things.

Maximum Visuals.

Crysis 3 launches on February 19th.

Ryan McCaffrey and Ryan Clements write for IGN. They banded together to form a secret society known as the Order of Ryans. So far they have two members. They're currently accepting applications.