Play Crysis Wars For Free

Electronic Arts and Crytek announced the start of a free trial period for Crysis Wars, the multiplayer game for Crysis Warhead released last fall. Starting today players can try Crysis Wars online for free. Crysis Wars supports matches for up to 32 players and contains three modes; InstantAction (deathmatch that takes advantage of the nanosuit), PowerStruggle (team-based mode) and TeamInstantAction, a mix of both aforementioned modes. The free trial period runs until Friday, April 17, 2009.

The point of this little test is give players a sample of the action and to promote Crysis Maximum Edition, a compilation of all three Crysis games in one box (Crysis, Crysis Warhead and Crysis Wars). That will be available beginning May 5th for $39.99.

Also available today is Crytek’s MOD SDK editor tool, which allows creative types to create maps and mods for Crysis Wars. All player-generated maps for multiplayer will be accessible to the entire community during this free trial period.

More details at www.mycrysis.com.

Crytek to Purchase Free Radical

While an official announcement is due today, early word from Free Radical scriptwriter Rob Yescombe is that Crytek will buy the troubled UK-based development studio behind the wonderful TimeSplitters series and the mediocre Haze game. Speaking to 1UP, Yescombe confirmed that the developers of Far Cry and Crysis had purchased the company for an undisclosed sum.

“After seven long weeks of uncertainty, I can confirm that Free Radical is now out of the woods.” he said “We’ve been bought by a really, really good company. I’m so excited I’m lost for words. It’s the smoothest deal we’ve ever done. It all went through quickly, efficiently, fantastically…”

While there is cause for celebration, hopefully today’s announcement will reveal what happens with the employees that were let go in December. Will they return to work or will Crytek simply say “what’s done is done” and move forward? We don’t know but we’ll be following this story closely throughout the day as it develops.

Crysis Warhead Ships Out

Crysis Warhead is now shipping to retail outlets in North America and Europe, and should be widely available on September 18. Ready to weave a brand new tale with lots of action, open-ended gameplay and high end visuals along with Crysis Wars, a new multiplayer component for the Crysis universe

Crysis Warhead takes place alongside the events of last year’s game, with players experiencing battles against waves of enemies on the other side of the island through the eyes the aggressive Sergeant “Psycho” Sykes.

Crysis Wars also features 21 maps and three multiplayer modes, including InstantAction, deathmatch enhanced by the power of the nanosuit, PowerStruggle, a team-based mode and TeamInstantAction, a mix of fast-paced action in a team-based environment.

Crysis Warhead has been rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB and ‘16+’ by PEGI.

Retail Releases: Sept. 14 - 19

This week is a busy one for releases, with some big titles hitting just about every platform including TNA iMPACT for the Wii, Star Wars The Force Unleashed across multiple platforms, Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition and Dragon Quest IV for DS, Rock Band 2 for Xbox 360, Armored Core: For Answer, Yggdra Union and B-Boy for PSP, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, The Settlers VI Gold, Warhammer Online and Crysis: Warhead for PC. Of course some of these games will prove to be crap, but isn’t discovering which ones aren’t the most fun one can have in this life? Big List after the jump.

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EA’s Games Convention Line-Up

Like many other publishers, Electronic Arts is show its goods at the Leipzig Games Convention this week in Leipzig, Germany this week.

At its press conference scheduled tomorrow, EA plans to give presentations on FIFA 09, The Sims 3, SimAnimals, Boogie SuperStar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Littlest Pet Shop, Monopoly, Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Dragon Age: Origins, Need For Speed Undercover, and a sneak peak at RAGE from EA Partner, id Software.

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Crysis Warhead Dated

Electronic Arts and Crytek announced that Crysis Warhead will ship to retail stores in North America on September 16th and in Europe on September 12th. EA says that, beginning today, gamers can pre-order Crysis Warhead at the EA Store for only $24.95; $5 less than the full retail price, or receive $10 off when purchasing both Crysis Warhead and Crysis.

Crysis Warhead features three multiplayer modes, including TeamInstantAction, a new match type that mixes fast-paced action in a team-based environment, in addition to the InstantAction and the team-based PowerStruggle, both of which return from Crysis. The game will include 21 maps, six new maps for TeamInstantAction and InstantAction, and one for PowerStruggle.

For those that want to pre-order the game, visit the EA Store at www.eastore.com/crysiswarhead.

Crytek Buys Black Sea Studios

WorldShift and Knights of Honor developers Black Sea Studios has been purchased by Crytek and will henceforth be called Crytek Black Sea. Crytek, the fine folks that brought the original Far Cry and Crysis to gamers worldwide, purchased the company as part of its long term plan to grow and expand. Black Sea will certainly open up new possibilities for the company known best for creating first-person shooters. Crytek is currently working on the follow-up to Crysis, Crysis Warhead.