The powersuits cloaking field energy runs out way too fast in this game. I was just playing at the part where you infiltrate a North Korean base to free a hostage, and the cloaking device energy couldn't even last long enough to get me across the bridge.

And approaching the base from any of the sides is fruitless because of landmines and tall barbed wire fences.

Your comrade on the radio suggests blowing up the gas station to make a distraction (presumably by shooting it), but the only weapon I have that seems able to reach it at a distance far enough away to not be detected is the sniper rifle, but it can't be equipped with a suppressor to muffle the noise.

I ended up just sniping the guards in the machine gun nests at the base perimeter, then charging in with the assault rifle rambo style.

Shame... I think the mission would have been more enjoyable taking the stealthy "James Bond" style approach.

And I couldn't shoot the gas station with the suppressed assault rifle because when I zoom in on the gas station, the draw distance is far enough away that the game doesn't "display" the gas tanks to shoot at, so shooting in that direction does not result in explosion at the distances I need to be away in order for the two sentry gunners in the machine gun nests to not see me from across the bridge.

It runs out fast if you move. Was there no way to stop and recharge? I cannot remember after so many years.

Right. So you can step out from behind cover while cloaked, aim and shoot, then dart back into cover. But if the cloaking lasted longer, you could do a lot more with it, so imo it would be a good idea to make it last longer for the gameplay value.

Getting across the bridge undetected is very much doable. However, it could be tricky for the first playthrough, so instead I suggest using one of the four other ways to sneak into the village:

1) Crossing the brook under the bridge.
2) Taking the small path over the waterfall.
3) Approaching from the beach.
4) Driving a boat all the way to the tunnel entrance at the far end of the village area, then waiting out a short scripted artillery strike of some sort, strength-jumping the conveniently stacked boulders up onto the road and there you go... This one may sound like too much hassle, but the Koreans don't expect you to show up from behind - no machinegun nests, no patrols, no sentries.

I've successfully used all five options when doing stealth, many times each. But I agree that the existing suit energy limit should've been reserved for the hardest difficulty, leaving the easier ones with more cloak, more armor etc. After all, the suit battery management in this game takes quite a bit of getting used to.

That said, there are four files in Crysis\Game\Config - diff_easy, diff_normal, diff_hard and diff_bauer. They contain the line g_suitCloakEnergyDrainAdjuster = 1, among other things. I don't remember whether you have to increase or decrease that number to make the cloak to last longer, but I guess you might want to experiment with it.
_ I like to destroy one of the tanks with it, dropping its roof right on the turret. :)
_ Oh, it's great fun! Too bad the early Crytek games hardly give you any hints, tips and tutorials. As a result, some of the nice tricks and features - including proper stealth - are overlooked by most players.
_ You're not limited to darting back into cover with zero energy after every shot. If that's what you meant, there is this technique:
- cloak
- aim
- decloak
- shoot/punch/throw/jump
- cloak

It gives you a lot more freedom to move around and more tactics to choose from.

To cross the bridge, as a diversion I fired on its guards (it's dangerous), then went under the bridge, continued along the river to the right under the waterfall, took the trail, along the rock, then the barbedwire: as I had attracted guards, the machinegunner had quit, I could approach and with silencer kill him when he wanted to take his duty back. Then I jump through the MG in the village.

The fun thing with this developer's games is that there are often several ways to approach targets.