From 1UP.com: Crysis Warhead (PC) Reviews

If Crysis was an unconscious homage to 1980s action movies -- filled with loads of pyrotechnics, bloody military-versus-alien combat, and a serviceable story designed to maximize action while minimizing thought -- then Crysis Warhead is the 1990s update to the action-movie formula. Filled with even more spectacular production values, a script that adds both self-referential humor and additional military jargon, a sweeping score, and even more over-the-top combat scenarios, Warhead’s essentially The Rock to Crysis’ Predator.

This standalone parallel-story expansion is also a pretty clear indicator that developer Crytek listened to feedback about the original Crysis -- Warhead is leaner, denser, and less linear than its predecessor. A typical scenario (the game features seven in total) resembles the universally beloved first half of Crysis; you’re tasked with simple objectives such as "blow this up" or "get to this point" and left to your own devices. Do you use your nanosuit’s cloaking ability to stealth it up, dash in and start gunning away, or turn on strength and start chucking barrels at fools? While Crysis turned into a linear affair during its tail end, Warhead wisely avoids that for the most part; with the exception of a few sequences (some pretty contrived -- though ultimately painless -- missions through both an abandoned mine and a frozen aircraft carrier), practically every mission does its best to let you play as you like. Even a mission revolving around a train chase only requires that you keep up with the locomotive; you can choose to stay on the literal rail sequence on the train itself, or you can hop off and make your own way via various vehicles.

Warhead’s campaign moves briskly, clocking in at around four and a half hours (I started at 10 a.m. and finished by 3 p.m. -- even after taking a lunch break). The relentless pace translates into constant forward movement, whether it’s to hurriedly reach an extraction point or keep up with a train or rendezvous with a Delta Force squad. Oftentimes, you finally resolve one skirmish only to find yourself immediately stumbling onto another; you’re never at a loss for something to blow up or shoot. While I generally appreciate this expedient pacing, I also think it might be a bit too breakneck for players who prefer surveying the area and carefully planning their attacks.

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