I have no idea what kotaku had up their ***. I bought Crysis 3 per the review's of other sites and I cannot fathom how Kotaku can recommend not playing this game - or calling it mediocre. I had a freaking blast. The single player campaign was very, very satisfying; I had more fun than with Crysis 2 or even Halo 4. The Crysis series to me is hands down the best first-person shooter experience, what with the varied gameplay and on-the-fly customization of your weapons; every other series just becomes so monotonous by comparison. I beat the campaign yesterday and almost immediately started over on a higher difficulty, to try making my way through levels in different ways.
I'm playing in 3D on Xbox with surround sound, and the picture/sound is so incredibly immersive. The visuals are of course stunning, but I think the game deserves much more praise for its sound and music than it's received. The story's no worse or better than Halo 4 in my mind, so to me there's no sense harping on the game for that aspect either.
Nothing about this game to me feels anything short of polished, and most aspects are more polished than any other game I've played. How someone can walk away from Crysis 3 feeling its mediocre is beyond me.