Crysis Warhead

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• Play as Sergeant Sykes and experience a whole new side of the battle
• More explosive and dynamic minute to minute game play: new customizable weapons, new vehicles, new photorealistic locations to explore, and a fully interactive war zone to dominate
• Enhanced human and alien AI" Intelligent enemies, bigger challenges, and all-new ally squad support
• Includes Crysis Wars, an expanded new multiplayer experience with new online modes and 21 maps including seven all-new maps to battle it out against other players
• Crysis Warhead is a standalone release and does not require ownership of Crysis to play

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B001ATHKVC
• Item Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Release Date: September 16, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (288 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,712 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PC

Amazon.com

Take on the fight as the volatile Sergeant "Psycho" Sykes in a new parallel story taking place during the events of the original smash hit, Crysis. Psycho's secret mission will take him to the other side of the island on a ruthless pursuit of a North Korean general hell-bent on obtaining powerful technology. With the versatile powers of his Nanosuit and an arsenal of fully customizable weapons & vehicles at his disposal, Sykes will do whatever it takes to carry out his top-secret objective. Are you ready?

	Crysis Features Pulse-racing new installment from 2007's PC Game of the Year*: Play as Sergeant Sykes and experience a whole new side of the battle. A standard combat mission behind enemy lines becomes critical when you discover your enemies have captured something of vital importance to the ensuing war. It’s down to you to retrieve the cargo, at any cost. More explosive and dynamic minute to minute game play: new customizable weapons, new vehicles, new photorealistic locations to explore, and a fully interactive war zone to dominate. Enhanced human and alien AI: Intelligent enemies, bigger challenges, and all-new ally squad support. Includes Crysis Wars®, an expanded new multiplayer experience with new online modes and 21 maps .including seven all-new maps to battle it out against other players. Crysis Warhead is a standalone release and does not require ownership of Crysis to play. Adapt to Survive Action on the other side of the island is more intense, the battles are fierce, and the mission protocol is no longer "Adapt to Survive". As Sergeant Sykes, now you must adapt to dominate the battle. Twin SMG's blazing, seizing new vehicles, or going stealth, the action and the victory is on your terms. Minimum System Requirements PC Minimum - Windows XP/Vista CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz (3.2 GHz for Vista), Intel Core 2.0 GHz (2.2 GHz for Vista), AMD Athlon 2800+ (3200+ for Vista) or better RAM: 1GB (1.5GB on Windows Vista) Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (Radeon X800 Pro for Vista) or better VRAM: 256MB of Graphics Memory Storage: 15GB Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible ODD: DVD-ROM OS: Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Microsoft Vista DirectX: DX9.0c or DX10

Product Description

Take on the fight as the volatile Sergeant "Psycho" Sykes in a new parallel story taking place during the events of Crysis. Psycho's secret mission will take him to the other side of the island on a ruthless pursuit of a North Korean general hell-bent on obtaining powerful technology. With the versatile powers of his Nanosuit and an arsenal of fully customizable weapons & vehicles at his disposal, Sykes will do whatever it takes to carry out his top-secret objective. Action on the other side of the island is more intense, the battles are fierce, and the mission protocol is no longer "Adapt to Survive". As Sergeant Sykes, now you must adapt to dominate the battle. Twin SMG's blazing, seizing new vehicles, or going stealth, the action and the victory is on your terms.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

861 of 960 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Eagerly anticipated, sadly unwilling to purchase, September 16, 2008

By 

Nathan Beauchamp "ConsumerAdvocate" (Oak Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Crysis Warhead (DVD-ROM)

Crysis is simply amazing, and I expect Warhead to be excellent also. I've waited for this release, but sadly, I will not be buying it. The DRM in this game is a deal-breaker for the following reasons:

1. Securom 7, the DRM scheme, installs itself on your computer and is as hard as a computer virus to uninstall. It requires making registry edits, and is far outside the realm of what most people are comfortable with Securom 7 causes possible security issues, system failures, and some legitimate software to stop working. It can prevent legitimate programs that burn cds to stop functioning correctly. It does not install when you uninstall the game. EA doesn't disclose these facts on the game's packaging, or in the game's EULA.

A very similar program was deemed illegal by the Supreme Court. The FTC's previous ruling against Sony can by found here: [..]

"Installations of secret software that create security risks are intrusive and unlawful," said FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras. "Consumers' computers belong to them, and companies must adequately disclose unexpected limitations on the customary use of their products so consumers can make informed decisions regarding whether to purchase and install that content."

2. The game has limited activations (5) meaning that you can only install the game a total of 5 times. I think I rebuilt my computer 4 times just in life span of the original Crysis (always chasing more frames, new graphics card, then two of them in crossfire, new processor {quad core} etc... With this new DRM I would have run out of installs in only 6 months or so! I will not pay $30.00 for a game rental, which is what 5 installs effectively makes this game. Even the version available for download through Steam comes packaged with the install limit and Securom, really calling into question the purpose of both: Steam by its very nature prevents piracy, so why would the Steam version need additional DRM OR an installation limit???

3. DRM doesn't stop piracy, it only hurts honest consumers like myself (I own, and have paid for, literally hundreds of games). Spore is a perfect example of how DRM doesn't stop piracy. It is now the most pirated game in history, despite this same invasive DRM. Pirates don't care about DRM; they crack it and then happily play their DRM free version. It is those like myself who buy the game retail that get stuck with all the crumminess of DRM.

4. DRM means you can never re-sell your copy. This potentially violates the doctrine of first sale, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court on more than one occasion. Basically, if you buy this game and don't like it or finish playing it and don't want it any more, you will never be able to sell it to someone else, because there is no way to demonstrate to them that there are installs left on your version. You can read about first sale law here:[..]

In conclusion, the game itself is not the issue here. The issue is that a really excellent game comes packaged with an invasive, draconian DRM scheme that cannot be uninstalled, has ring 0 access to your computer, limits your installations to three, and can potentially crash software you have installed, or even your computer itself.

This would not be acceptable in the case of a DVD or CD, so why would we as consumers accept it in a game? I honestly feel bad that Crytek got hooked up with EA and their malware DRM, as I love their games. I hope that by not buying this one (unless they change the DRM scheme) I and others will influence EA games, or at least Crytek, to steer clear of DRM that only hurts me and you, their honest, paying customers. If you want to learn more about DRM, here is a useful guide: [..]

***UPDATE***

YES I HAVE READ THE FAQ PUT OUT BY CYRTEK. Their FAQ fails to answer or even address many of the concerns with DRM:

1. How is this DRM expected to prevent piracy since all DRM (even Securom 7x) gets cracked almost immediately? (Take a look at Spore which was cracked in HOURS, not days)

2. Why do we, the paying customers then get stuck with DRM, while pirates, who pay nothing, get a superior copy without DRM?

3. I have problems with any DRM that installs in the background, is virus hard to uninstall, and has ring 0 access to my system. I am the administrator of my computer NOT Securom 7x, and any program that takes that control away from me is unacceptable. It is also well known to cause conflicts with legitimate software, and even cause some user's computers to crash. The FTC shot down Sony's similar DRM a couple years ago; this seems like the same thing all over again. Securom 7 utterly fails in its stated purpose, to prevent illegal copies of the game. So why is it still being used considering all of it's negatives?

4. Why is this DRM necessary on the Steam version? Steam, by its very nature, prevents illegal copies from being made.

5. Is the number to get new activations toll free? Also, EA has deplorable customer service (check out the fiasco for those of us with Vista 64-bit who purchased Crysis online and were forced to play at 32-bit, all while EA insisted it was our computers that were the problem, when it was their garbage software installer) and I frankly don't trust them. What assurances are in place that if making a call, someone will be able and willing to help us in a reasonable amount of time?

If they get back to me with answers, I will happily modify this review as necessary.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I've used 2 of my installs and still haven't been able to play, October 23, 2008

By 

A. Crandall "deadline" (Boise, ID United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Crysis Warhead (DVD-ROM)

Would you buy a DVD that was limited to playing only on certain DVD players in your house, and then when you buy a new DVD player you have to call the company and beg them for another "activation" (which they are not obligated to give you)? Of course not. That's why DIVX discs went out of business.

Would you purchase a book that only worked with certain registered reading lamps? Why do we put up with arbitrary restrictions on games that we would not stand for in other media? I personally purchased this game from Steam in order to avoid the activation limit, not realizing until afterward that even the Steam version comes with a limit of 5 activations.

Do you think 5 activations is a lot? Well consider this: I installed the game on my desktop computer but my computer was having problems so I then installed on my new laptop but it was not powerful enough. That's 2 down. After I format the harddrive on my desktop I am going to install again and that will be 3. It probably won't be long after that that I'll be buying a new computer, which means number 4, and I will only have owned the game for a few months. For gamers who buy a new computer every couple of years, or gamers who format their drives every 6 to 18 months, or gamers who like to install a game on both their desktop and laptop (or their work computer and home computer), 5 activations will not last long. I've installed games like Diablo 2 and Starcraft literally dozens of times. In fact, just the other day I played the original Quake -- good thing id software didn't put activation limits on it!

I will NEVER buy another PC game that includes install limits and I suggest we all do the same.

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Stand against EAvil - Securom is Crysis Enough, September 19, 2008

By 

R. Widomski (Buffalo) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Crysis Warhead (DVD-ROM)

I want to own this gane but I can't. It installs DRM along with the game. I refuse to give up control of my PC to what I consider to be an EAvil, GrEAdy company. I also refuse to purchase what is basically a rental game. Instead, I'm willing to give up something I really want, to help make a point. My part is small but maybe all of us together will make a statement. Hurting EAvil in their pocket book is all that's left to us. This may be the last chance we have to stop this nonsence and save PC gaming.

I loved Crysis and I would have eagerly shelled out my hard earned money to purchase Crysis Warhead. However, now that EAvil has included Securom. I can't. I just finished completely rebuilding my PC as a result of the issues caused by the DRM installed by Mess Effect" (I do mean Mess not Mass).

Folks, I'm not an atomic scientist but I'm smart enough to avoid getting burned twice. Do the same. Stand up for your right to own the PC software you paid for and to retain control of the PC you own.

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