Crysis 2

An objective pops up - something about getting charges or some kind of item from the corpse of a nearby soldier - and as we turn to do that, we're caught in a scripted moment, albeit a fairly stylish one, as a monstrous alien appears from nowhere and punches us out of the window. Reeling in the street below, with the alien hopping down to finish us off, there's just time to think, "Cor, that building I was just in looks very pretty as it explodes," before the extra-terrestrial menace that was about to blast us into oblivion is squished by a very familiar falling train carriage.

Off across the street - the levels are linear, but fairly roomy as they funnel you from A to B - and into Grand Central Terminal, which has, to put it kindly, seen better days. It's missing a roof, and most of its internal passageways are on fire, filled with staircases that collapse at the last minute, and elevators that snap their strings and fall through the empty shafts the moment we pass them.

Finally we're into the main area itself - still not sure why we're here, as it's too easy to just take in the surroundings and ignore the radio chatter - and we've arrived just in time to see a double-sized boss alien of some kind leap in through the massive arched windows, scattering glass and ironwork in every direction, and stand arrogantly at the opposite end of the massive room, near that over-priced oyster bar which is always empty.

The boss is also a rocket turret, by the looks of it, which means it's time to ditch the punchy assault rifle we've been using and pick up the conveniently-placed grenade launchers the army has left lying around for us. Delightfully-lit destruction ensues for the next few minutes, and then it's time to get out of this particular world-famous New York landmark - because another one is about to fall on it.

Back on the street, the huge, lovably unlovable Met-Life tower starts to judder and sway. Lights flicker, cracks bound up through the exterior walls, and then it's down in a shower of particles and rubble, totally engulfing our vision, and undermining a little bit of pathos Crytek was trying to get going with a family trapped inside the train station and struggling to get out at the last minute.