'Crysis 3' leaked screenshots show off stunning lighting

Four new screenshots of Crysis 3, showing off the "Canyon" environment seen in the E3 demo, leaked today.

Four new screenshots of Crysis 3, showing off the "Canyon" environment seen in the E3 demo, leaked today.

The gorgeous images were posted on the blog of Pierre-Yves Donzallaz, a senior lighting artist at Crytek, who has since taken them down.

According to Donzallaz, the lighting and post-processing effects exhibited in the screenshots are running in real time. They make the game world look particularly alive, which it is — Crysis 3 takes place in a New York City that has been terraformed after the events of Crysis 2, turning it into a literal urban jungle. It also brings back some of the wide-open spaces that were characteristic of the original Crysis' tropical setting, while retaining the verticality of its sequel.

Crytek, the German studio making Crysis 3, has stated a desire to maintain parity across all three platforms, both in terms of visuals — as much as possible — and gameplay. "If something would radically change the experience on one platform, and we can't translate across all of them, then the feature will not be there," director of creative development Rasmus Hoejengaard told Polygon in April.

Crysis 3 is set to launch on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in February 2013.