Crysis Warhead has got some well deserved recognition. At the German Developer Awards 2008 Crytek and Warhead got much praise yielding four awards for Crytek, and there for Gamasutra rated Crysis Warhead as one of top 5 PC games of 2008.

 In mean time Crysis Warhead also got IGN's Best Graphics Technology award.

Crytek is the big winner at the German Developer Awards (Golem.de, Google-translated)

Best of 2008: Top 5 PC Games at Gamasutra

Sometimes derided as nothing more than tech demos, Crytek's Crysis games indeed demand capable rigs and generate some of the most impressive real-time rendering in the medium -- but they are much more than that simplistic characterization suggests. Few non-simulation shooters have been as uncompromising in their willingness to let the player explore the world at will and carve out a particular tactical approach (with one exception in Far Cry 2, below).

Even Crysis Warhead, which consciously takes a few steps back from last year's sometimes overwhelmingly wide-open Crysis, offers leagues more freedom than the rest of today's on-rails shooter experiences in the vein of the Half-Lifes and Call of Dutys (great games in their own right). What Warhead trims in terms of scale is balanced out by a greater attention to pacing and sensible gameplay variety, as well as level design that seems more tuned to the game's unique (and enjoyable) combat and suit mechanics.

Finally, the "tech demo" detractors do have the right idea in one respect: Crysis Warhead is gorgeous, declining to make a statement with nontraditional rendering techniques and instead allowing the composition of its sprawling natural vistas to speak for itself." - Gamasutra

IGN's Best of 2008
"PC graphics technology got even more dazzling throughout 2008, with the release of the latest AMD and Nvidia graphics chips. While plenty of games began to take advantage of that power to deliver even more amazing visuals, Crytek still remained ahead of the pack with Crysis Warhead, the follow-up to last year's jaw-dropping graphical feast. From lush, tropical jungles to frozen, frigid worlds, Crysis Warhead had it all. There just aren't that many games that can compare."

Warhead awarded "Best Graphics Technology" (Crytek.com)
"At this years IGN Best of 2008 Awards, along with many other blockbuster titles, Crysis Warhead has been awarded the 'Best Graphics Technology Award of 2008' for it's stunning visuals and in-game graphics. Crysis Warhead also received a nomination for the Best Shooting Game."