C.E.L.L. (Crynet Enforcement & Local Logistics) is a third faction and the second antagonistic faction throughout Crysis 2. They are a private military company under the control and part of Crynet Systems. In Crysis 2, most C.E.L.L troops operating in New York City are under US Government mandate and under the command of Commander Lockhart.

Overview Edit

C.E.L.L. is run by the CryNet corporation and were under contract from the US Department of Defense and deployed to New York City to police the evacuation in place of the military, who were currently fighting the Ceph invasion. C.E.L.L. is considered a brutal and corrupt organization, where its soldiers are increasingly trigger-happy and unprofessional as the story unfolds.^[1] C.E.L.L. Operatives are witnessed killing Force Recon Marines, and assisting in the "sanitation" of infected civilians.

C.E.L.L. operators are antagonistic towards the Ceph, but also antagonistic towards Alcatraz. Under the orders of C.E.L.L. Commander Dominic Lockhart, C.E.L.L. operators pursue and engage Alcatraz (thinking he is Prophet) in an attempt to return the Nanosuit 2 to CryNet founder, Jacob Hargreave. Eventually this antagonism is based solely on Alcatraz's efficiency at killing C.E.L.L. soldiers, leading to Commander Lockhart eventually ignoring the orders of Hargreave to assist and protect the wearer of the Nanosuit 2.

As witnessed by Alcatraz throughout the events of Crysis 2, C.E.L.L. troops are inept at fighting the Nanosuit 2.0 and Ceph in small-scale firefights, but make dangerous opponents when encountered in large numbers.

C.E.L.L. was later rescinded of its authority by the Department of Defense and US Marines were deployed in their place under the command of Marine Colonel Sherman Barclay. C.E.L.L. forces, loyal to Commander Lockhart and the Board of Directors, splintered from Jacob Hargreave's control and were intent on hunting down Alcatraz. Given C.E.L.L.'s relinquish of their power, some C.E.L.L. units were placed under military arrest as seen in Grand Central Terminal where three C.E.L.L. soldiers were placed behind bars.

The remainders of C.E.L.L. were in the headquartered on Roosevelt Island, where they tried to capture Alcatraz and protect Lockhart, who was then ultimately killed by Alcatraz. The former C.E.L.L. units still loyal to Hargreave were given the order to aid Alcatraz's ex-filtration after the Ceph attacked the island as it prepares to self-destruct; during the chaos, a computerized PA announced to C.E.L.L. that their "employee duties are terminated." It is presumed that many if not all C.E.L.L. personnel that did not evacuate perished from the destruction of Roosevelt Island.

Organization Edit

During the events of Crysis 2, C.E.L.L. operations in New York are commanded by Dominic Lockhart.

Tara Strickland is a "special advisor" and apparently represents Jacob Hargreave. It's not clear what rank she has in the organisation, if any. She seems to have some authority in C.E.L.L. but is deeply unpopular in it and receives little respect from Lockhart or the soldiers themselves. She does issue commands to C.E.L.L. personnel but with mixed results in terms of compliance; ranging from grudging acquiescence to rude dismissiveness. A particularly contentious point was whether to kill Prophet (actually Alcatraz, but this was not known at the time). Strickland wanted him taken alive while Lockhart (and most C.E.L.L. soldiers) was determined to kill him because they were unwilling to take any further risks to capture him alive and also wished to avenge their fallen.

There seems to be mixed views amongst C.E.L.L. soldiers on whether Lockhart took orders from Tara Strickland.

UnitsEdit

Like all military organizations, C.E.L.L. is made up of various military units. Ones specifically named are listed below. They seem to have a naming scheme involving colors. Groups are organized by colors and individuals in that group have a number, i.e. "Drab Fifteen", "Azure Seven", or "Blue Eleven".

• Azure Section
  • Contains Helicopters.
  • Name amusingly mispronounced in-game (Final e is sounded).
• Cobalt Section
  • All of the C.E.L.L. operators until Alcatraz reaches the LTVs before the crashed Ceph ship. Half wiped out by the playable character, Alcatraz.
• Blue Section
  • Guarded the crashed Ceph ship.
• Drab Section
  • Guarded the checkpoint where Alcatraz steals an ICV.
• Hazel Section
  • Guarded the Hargreave-Rasch Building.
• Maroon Section
  • Half wiped out by Ceph at Greenwich Village.
• Saffron Section
  • Guarded the Prism.

Armament Edit

C.E.L.L soldiers wield a large variety of weaponry during the events of Crysis 2. The different types of C.E.L.L Operators carry the majority of weapons available, including the Grendel, SCAR & SCARAB rifles, DSG-1 and M2014 Gauss sniper rifles, Marshall and Jackal shotguns, Feline and K-Volt SMG's, M12 Nova, Hammer, and Majestic pistols, JAW rocket launchers, MK60 Mod 0 machineguns, L-TAG launchers, as well as fragmentation grenades. Players can see on C.E.L.L demolisher troopers that they have small frags instead of the M17 Frag Grenade.

Some C.E.L.L. weapons feature a white and grey camouflage scheme, and on most weapons (such as the SCAR and Hammer), the iron sight color is changed from green to blue.

Variants Edit

Main article: C.E.L.L. Assault Operative

There are five types of C.E.L.L. soldiers that are fought throughout the game. Each unit has a specific designation and task.

Vehicles Edit

There are five types of C.E.L.L. vehicles:

• LTV (Light Tactical Vehicle) - Most commonly encountered and comes with a heavy machine-gun at the back. Comes with driver, soldier and a gunner manning the machine-gun.
• Marine LTV - Used by Commander Lockhart at the end of the mission "Dead Man Walking ".
• VL-90 APC Transport (Armored Personnel Carrier) - A vehicle that can carry a lot more soldiers than the LTV and also comes equipped with a heavy machine-gun.
• ICV (Infantry Carrier Vehicle) - A very dangerous vehicle as it has a main cannon and rockets. It does not seem to carry troops in the game as the name suggests.
• AH50 Attack Helicopter - Has a heavy machine-gun and missiles. Usually if the gunner is shot down, it might leave but sometimes it might stay and fire missiles until it is destroyed.

Characters Edit

There are three named CELL characters:

• Dominic Lockhart

• Tara Strickland
• Mitchell Reeves - Reeves was a C.E.L.L. operator leading his own team of soldiers loyal to Jackob Hargreave. According to Hargreave, he was "best of his men aside from Tara Strickland". Reeves and his team were killed by Ceph during the events of Crysis 2. Dead bodies of his squad members are found in the "Dark Heart" level. Alcatraz can find three surviving members of the squad in the alien-infested subway, but they are usually overrun by Ceph Stalkers. Reeves team was equipped with SCARs, Novas, Marshall shotguns, DSGs and AY-69, but they also have a container with X-43 MIKE. The only documentation of Reeves' tale is in Alcatraz's recounting of the events in Crysis: Legion.

GameplayEdit

C.E.L.L. troopers, unlike the Ceph, have weaker health and can be killed with just about every weapon in the game. They often pause before reacting to the death of their fallen comrades and are slightly slower and much clumsier than the KPA soldiers in the older games. Sometimes, they would act like they're hanging out in intense warzones, despite the action going on around them. Other times, they would often pause to confirm the target before engaging. In most intense situations, they would often fire randomly and/or spray bullets everywhere if they are unable to find their enemy or if they are pinned down. In combat, a C.E.L.L. trooper would be defeated by Marines and the Ceph. Even when both a Marine and a C.E.L.L. trooper wield the same weapon, they would still lose due to their poor tactics. The only time that they win is if they outnumber their enemy or wield deadlier weapons.

GalleryEdit

Alcatraz fighting two Cephs along with two C.E.L.L. soldiers

Alcatraz launching a C.E.L.L. soldier into solar panels

Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

Trivia Edit

• The name CryNet OPS was only a temporary name, and is replaced by the name C.E.L.L. in the final version of the game. However, there is caution tape present in the retail release that reads "DO NOT CROSS - CRYNET OPS."
• The body armor worn by C.E.L.L. operators is based on early concept art of the Nanosuit 1 from the development of the original Crysis.
• C.E.L.L. info on the visor HUD states all operators are hostile and will use lethal force, even later in the game when C.E.L.L. troops are supposed to be allied to the player.
• C.E.L.L. operators are far weaker than Ceph Troopers, and in most cases only defeat alien units when they outnumber them or wield deadlier weapons.
• C.E.L.L. operators will make comments during higher alert phases and firefights, such as "He's cloaked!" or "If he's cloaked right now he could be watching us." They also frequently converse about Prophet's actions in the suit before Alcatraz obtained it, such as attributing him to the death of half of Maroon section.
• Some C.E.L.L. soldiers use sound recordings done by the voice actor Bruce Johnson, who also voiced the part of Samuel Redford in other EA games , Battlefield: Bad Company and Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• Considering their complete occupation of New York and given their ability to perform quarantine operations while fighting off the invaders, it seems that C.E.L.L. forces could easily number that of an entire army theatre.
• C.E.L.L. has many similarities to the Korean People's Army from Crysis.
  • They are all brutal and corrupt military organizations.
  • It is heavily hinted at that the KPA killed civilians on the Lingshan Islands in Crysis.
• They are the first antagonistic faction to be American.

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ Adviser vs. Commander