CryEngine 3 video shows off Crysis 3's technical wizardry

Crytek, the developer that turned God rays into an FPS staple, is demonstrating no less ambition in Crysis 3. In this lengthy video (via VG247 ), Crytek Field Applications Engineer Sean Tracy takes you on a tour of the full spectrum of capabilities within CryEngine 3 and the visual and physical effects they support.

Features ranging from liquid reflections, lighting behavior, and cinematic effects to volume fog and pixel-accurate displacement mapping are all demonstrated by Tracy in real-time using Crysis 3's level-editing software. Seeing the inner workings of a game as gorgeous-looking as Crysis 3 is pretty cool, and it's also a reminder of just how many engine elements are churning together to throw soft rays of sunlight off that soldier's helmet you're about to send an arrow through.

If you ever wondered how Crysis 3 fares when all of CryEngine 3's magic gets slapped together, you're in luck: we wrote about it and wrote about it some more .

Omri Petitte is a former PC Gamer associate editor and long-time freelance writer covering news and reviews. If you spot his name, it probably means you're reading about some kind of first-person shooter. Why yes, he would like to talk to you about Battlefield. Do you have a few days?