Gameplay can be dependant on effects, draw distance, and more to make the gameplay function as the creator intendended it to be. Of course streamming would be needed but the thing is that in Crysis theres a lot of objects, high res textures visible all at the same time in a frame.
Well... exactly. It comes down to what the creator intends. They have never given the intention of doing a straight PC to console port. They have had the idea that the console would have more console-like features such as the Predator mode in FarCry Instincts. They focused on presenting a rather different story. Are they cutting gameplay elements for the game they're making or are they cutting gameplay elements that were used in a different game?
You can look at FC:I as them cutting out the island travel, and they may not be the same areas. But FC:I still had a few very large levels - was it the same? No. The story was different.
Of course, some things are cut clearly, and I don't know why you think they're absolutely crucial to gameplay - Texture resolution. Yes, at the very highest spec'd PC, you'll have those uber resolution textures. On most computers? Doubtful. If they can make those same graphical sacrifices for lower spec'd PCs, why would it make a difference to gameplay if they made those same sacrifices on a console?
(Please don't take my questions as sarcasm... just some things to reflect upon)
I would argue that the ability to roam and explore freely, especially in a game as good looking as Crysis would add massively to the gameplay value.
Well see, IMO, that becomes a tech-demo or a game that falls short of being compared to GTA as far as free-roaming goes. Does it add to the core gameplay and story? That remains to be seen for Crysis.
If they rid the game of level loading and have the entire world progress as you play then they've achieved what John Carmack was aiming for the next Wolfenstein.
I've played FarCry a few times on PC, and not once did I stray far from the core story because I didn't care to free-roam. I wanted the story - walking around is boring to me. Yes, it adds to what you can do. But personally, I have placed zero value in it. Sure it's free-roam like GTA or Crackdown, but you can do more than just walk around and enjoy the scenery in either of those games.
), the Xbox has 64MB of RAM in total. Key difference? Operating System... abusive streaming...optimization... They actually got rid of the mip levels and LOD on PC, and the texture sizes haven't changed.