Regarding Crysis, part of me thinks that games like that have to be made just for the hardware fiends to justify upgrades or their current monster rig. If nothing else, games like Crysis are great graphical benchmark programs to test rigs, not that this is why people should buy them.
I don't feel the game itself actually justified the purchase of $300 worth of video card for passable performance. But then again, I didn't play the whole game because it just wasn't that great to me personally, even though the visuals were unmatched and it did have some interesting design elements worked into the game, courtesy of the nano-tech suits (essentially a spin off of the Far Cry animal spirit powers).
From a sales perspective, totally lackluster compared to the technical breakthroughs. Whether it was because everyone didn't want to spend hundreds in hardware just to play the game, or if it was because the rest of the game wasn't as good as the visuals is open to debate. I'd say probably both.
But if any lesson could be taken from Crysis, it's that graphics alone won't sell a game. But this is not by any means proof that they simply don't matter as some personally feel.
Re: KZ2. Never played the original. Ignored the hype and when it didn't deliver, I didn't bother buying it when it came out. As for KZ2, I can't have an opinion, legit or not until I play a demo. Visually, it looks like Guerilla has delivered on their 2005 (only slightly less impressive for a 2009 game) target render. I'll go far as to say that as long as the play implements aspects from the current best of breed and that the controls don't inhibit the ability to play through the game, I'll play through it completely.
