What does "console port" mean in relation to games?
I think there's a difference between the dry definition of a port and the thing that people complain about.
The term "a port of a game" means a game was developed for one set of platforms, and it was later released for other platforms. Technically, a game released for multiple platforms from the get-go - such as Crysis 2 you have mentioned - shouldn't be called a port.
But that's not what people complain about. A game can be a port from its version on another platform, and still be a great game which was carefully ported. What people really complain about are games that exhibit elements not appropriate for the platform they are running on; unfortunately, this is a common occurrence with ports, hence the connection.
The problem isn't really exclusive to ports - a port may be a good port (modified to fit the new platform perfectly), while a non-ported game released on many platforms may simply work better on one platform vs another. The truth is, though, that many game today are designed with consoles in mind, and unfortunately their PC version (whether a port or a simultaneously-released version) is inferior because they are not properly adapted.
Common examples of things not properly adapted are UI elements - e.g. where mouse navigation is lacking while keyboard navigation is fine; aiming - where in consoles FPS often have auto-aiming mechanisms that should not appear on the PC; driving - where the accurate gamepad control does not have a parallel in a PC keyboard; etc. One of the biggest ones is something a little less obvious, and that's performance - a poor "port" might have poor performance on the platforms it was not originally designed to work with.
EDIT I've recently found this nice piece listing problems or missing features that plague PC releases of console-oriented games nowadays. Although it specifically bashes some select titles, it does mention problems that I've seen in many recent games, and I thought it's worthy to include the link here.
From Wikipedia
"Console Port" is a term specifically used to describe a game that was originally made for a console (such as PS3 or Xbox 360) before an identical version is created which can be played on a personal computer. This term has been widely used by the gaming community, primarily in a negative way due to the higher levels of performance that computers had during that generation of gaming.
The negative connotations also sometimes focus around things like:
- Lack of support for customizations
- Lack of support for mods
- Lack of a console (to perform commands in game)
- Lack of dedicated servers for multi-player
The games aren't always specifically created for a single console, but people can often perceive it to be that way. It's quite likely the developers are trying to keep their code-base as consistent as possible to require less work to maintain multiple versions.
It means that the game was ported from a console. It was first developed for a console, the code was initially written in such a way that the game runs on a certain console (PS3, Xbox360, Wii etc.) and then they took that code and modified it so that it will run on a PC (usually, under Windows).
The same code or the compiler that runs or makes the game run on a PS3 does not run on an XBox, it needs to be modified first. This is what is called "a port", as far as I know. I might be entirely incorrect about the specifics, I only know about the concept as a whole.