I think that's a little harsh to say they try to break GPU's. It's true that the first Crysis was often cited as a GPU slayer, and was had some fairly beefy requirements. But Crysis 2 is almost the opposite. In game visuals are significantly better in Crysis 2 than in the first, the difference is very noticeable. At the same time most other effects in C2 are superior than it's predecessor. But the optimization is also hugely improved.
I run Crysis 2 with most settings at medium, and environmental effects on high, at 1280x1024 and I get a solid 35+ FPS. I only ever experienced lag while playing once, but that was a lag in electricity, as not 3 seconds later I was sitting alone in the dark and uttering death threats at the City

By comparison, I get roughly similar results (if not worse) using approximately the same setup for Crysis. Medium settings and 1280x1024. The optimization is really not what it could be.
And in all reality, Crysis 2 on minimum STILL looks better and runs smoother than Crysis at maximum.