‘CRYSIS’

‘CRYSIS’

(EA Games) for PC

Genre: First-person shooter

Rating: M; Grade: A-

If ever there were a game that demands that you upgrade your PC, it is “Crysis.”

There’s so much going on here that everything — from the photo-realistic environments to the fully destructible scenery — just begs you to have a high-quality machine. You can get by with a lower-quality PC, but it’s really to your detriment.

You’ll play as a special-ops enforcer who wears a nanosuit that gives you special abilities — like cloaking, speed, strength or stronger armor.

You’ll need all of these as you are dropped onto an island where North Koreans have taken a team of scientists hostage. Before long, the game melds into a sci-fi adventure as well, because after you’re done mowing down humans, some incredibly pesky aliens start making life difficult for you and your team.

If there is a fault here, it’s that there’s almost too much going on. Few games throw tons of genres and game-play modes at you successfully, and in “Crysis” it seems forced at times and just an excuse to have, say, a car chase or a tank scene. The firefights are really dynamic, though, and rescue this game often. There’s a sense of chaos everywhere and you will be giddily lost in the moment on many occasions.

Strong multiplayer and stunning graphics round out this game, which should be a must-buy for PC owners, along with that new PC to handle the software itself.

‘NEED FOR SPEED PROSTREET’

(EA Games) for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,

Wii, PC, PlayStation 2, PSP, DS

Genre: Racing; Rating: E

Grade: C-

Few genres — in real life and in gaming — have such a penchant for selling out to the corporate masters as car racing. Now, there’s certainly nothing wrong with collecting some sponsors to help pay the bills, but racing (real-life NASCAR or games) is so diluted with advertising that it detracts from the reason you’re watching/playing in the first place.

This is never truer than in “ProStreet,” the newest incarnation in the “Need for Speed” franchise. The last few titles were building on each other into something reliably impressive, but “ProStreet” seems to ditch all of that in order for advertisements to suck up all the disc space normally reserved for actual game play.

There’s a competent racing game in here, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find it when you are zooming past Coke billboards and earning achievements sponsored by Progressive insurance. It’s outrageous at times and, visually, gets annoying. What’s worse, a lot of the previous games’ features have been eliminated — like getting chased by the cops.

There are lots of race types here, from dirt to drag, and all work out reasonably well. Some online features are strong, especially with all the race-day customization you can do. Rent this one first to see if you can overcome the grating ads.

‘SILENT HILL: ORIGINS’

(Konami) for PSP

Genre: Action/Adventure; Rating: M

Grade: C-

The spooky, fog-ridden town of Silent Hill is back, this time in an origin story to give you the background “Silent Hill” fans have been wondering about since the franchise debuted more than a half-decade ago.

You’ll play as Travis, a trucker who stumbles across the town after nearly plowing through the familiar little girl. From here it’s a matter of solving numerous puzzles and fending off monsters that are at times new and other moments recycled ones from games past. The boss battles are the most fun.

This is not the prequel fans expected. The backstory is solid, but unless you have an affinity for the series, the game play is weak. There’s little here to grab new fans and make them want to check out the other games, or get excited about any future releases.

— Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard