Allright, I have played it through. My verdict:
The pros:
+ Graphics look gorgeus. Even though the texture resolution is lower than in part 1, the overall image quality is much higher, due to better lighting.
+ The "body feel" is great, you feel a lot less like a camera zipping around at chest height than in other fps.
+ The Nano Suit is better, the modes are more useful and easier to use in combat.
+ The combat can be quite tactical
+ some really awesome script sequences
+ SP campaign is long enough not to feel cheated, but short enough not to overstay it's welcome.
+ Combat feels very visceral.
the cons:
- No quicksave.
- small and restrictive levels.
- while combat can be tactical, too many encounters force you to tackle them directly.
- scripts taking away control for you, and often.
- as with all other crytek games, the combat get's less interesting as soon as the "monsters/aliens" show up, allthough admittedly, to a much lesser extent than in far cry or crysis 1.
- Cutscenes. I haven't seen such ugly FMV cutscenes in a long time.
- Level continuity. I think there isn't a single level which starts where the last one left you. The transitions are made via the afore mentioned cutscenes, which also serve as mission briefings. That really has a retro vibe, especially with the ugly cutscenes. Also, it's quite ridiculous how often Alcatraz is knocked out to awake somewhere else.
- Mute character. Not in a Gordon Freeman like good way, but rather ridiculous. For half of the game you're mistaken for someone else, get asked questions constantly and don't utter a single word, which, in several situations could have prevented the "knocked out, fade out" level end.
He does utter one very cheesy line at the very end though...
All in all, I can say the first 1/4 is a dull "interactive script move", then, the next 1/4 is actually quite enjoyable, as it offers the most freedom, and then, the last half is again more like an interactive movie.
It doesn't really feel like a crysis game, more like Halo/Killzone/CoD, and if you compare it to those franchises, it actually is a good game.
Crysis 1 and warhead are still the better games though.
I say it's a safe buy if you wait for the price to drop below 30€, or if you really dig modern triple-A shooters.