I wouldn't be surprised Crysis 2 does have lower sytsem reqs., it has a lot more of a console feel to it and plays like it. It's pretty, and it's good, but not as good as Crysis or Crysis Warhead. It almost feels, and plays like a port. When I saw the interview of one of the devs saying, or maybe I read it hear, about how they felt meeting console requirements was holding them back. This game doesn't feel like a step ahead at all. It feels like a step back game-wise, but a little better graphics.
Oh, and there are lots of quirks that you associate with a port that are in the game, namely in things like graphics options. Also, every time I am killed, I have to reload the game for some reason I lose melee, and there isn't any first -person perspective for driving vehicles, which I've done once. The levels also feel smaller and more restrictive. Oh, there also isn't any quick save or load. Pure Console BS.
As an Edit note, if I had known EA was the publisher, I probably wouldn't have purchased it. IT's one reason I quit playing the Battlefield games, etc. Seems like every thing EA touches these days, they ruin for me.