It was the early "magic screens" that grabbed the most attention, also the ability to break just about everything in the environment (shown in videos), slightly less linear feel to the game play, like in far cry where you could attack your objective using multiple forms of transportation and tactics resulting in somewhat unique results each time.

The updated visuals are impressive especially if you take the time to notice all the slight nuances of detail that have been put into the game, if you have a system capable of running at least medium settings anyway, the higher you go the more cool effects you’ll see.

While not “everything” is breakable in the game the stuff that is breakable adds to the wow factor, even though it’s limited to DX10 for destructible stuff in multiplayer the single player breakable stuff works in DX9 and DX10.

Of course there are limits to how far you can travel in a level; it’s not one huge island that you’re free to roam, yet there will be multiple paths to take even if you end up exactly in the same place as everyone else who plays the game.

It’s a solid shooter experience, the way the weapons work, look and sound is all extremely polished, again the attention to detail follows through to the game play in just so many ways that it all amounts to a feeling that the game was created by people who really care about their work without making any sacrifices.

On a technical achievement level I don’t think any of the other games out now or due out shortly add up to what they’ve put into the Cry Engine 2.

I’m sure people will have fun exposing all the “unrealistic” stuff in the game or pointing out how you can’t blow up a specific static mesh on the map but can shoot down a tree, maybe have vegetation poke up through the floorboards in a vehicle, things like that. I’m impressed with all the little things they added like the way light prisms move under water or seeing ambient life in the game react to you, every time I would play the multiplayer demo I’d notice something that I hadn’t before.