Crackdown Review 136
When it was first announced that Halo 3 Beta keys were being included in the retail release of an Xbox 360 game, I rolled my eyes. I assumed that whatever they were slapping that key onto was going to be a crappy bargain basement eyesore. It has been a great pleasure to learn that, maybe, they bundled the Halo 3 key with Crackdown so that more people would be exposed to the simple greatness this game contains. To be sure, the game has deep flaws; not much of a story, a few racial stereotypes, and somewhat unsatisfying boss fights mar the experience. At the core, though, this is a mindlessly fun game that does a lot of things right. If there's a sequel, and there's no reason not to think there won't be, it's good to know that Realtime Worlds has established an extremely solid base for future endeavors. Read on for my thoughts on this superjumping shooter.
- Title: Crackdown
- Developer/Publisher: Realtime Worlds, Microsoft Game Studios
- System: 360
- Genre: Sandbox-Style Action Shooter
- Score: 3/5 - This game is flawed, but will appeal to genre fans. Any gamer might enjoy renting it, but this won't ever be a classic.
This power progression is wrapped in a paper-thin story wrapping. You're a genetically engineered police officer cooked up to combat an overwhelming gang presence on the planet's capital city. As a part of a world-girding (kind of fascist-sounding) law enforcement organization called 'The Agency', your character is charged with the general task of 'killing all the bad guys'. As you bound and drive and run your way around the island-based city, you'll get intel on the kingpins who run the three gangs that run the town. You're given leave to take out the crime bosses and their henchmen any way you please. The only time the Agency gets cranky is when civilians get caught in the crossfire (or under an onrushing car). Individually, none of these criminals are a challenge to take out. The bosses are also fairly easy targets; all that separates them from their underlings is a bit more health. (Though you do get a well-voiced cut-scene after each.) The challenge here is that in a given fight you may be facing upwards of 15 or 20 gang members at once. If you allow them to surround you and set up a crossfire, even a super-powered agent can succumb to the stinging of gnats. This backdrop and the 'plot progression' of killing crime lords is all you'll get for a storyline. While it's disappointing, it's just barely enough to keep your attention.
And, on that note, anything you find you can't do by yourself can probably be achieved in co-op play. Online co-op mode is as flexible as any other portion of the game, allowing you and one friend to bound and race around the city in whatever fashion you desire. The whole city is open to your duo, and if you're not interested in staying together there's no reason to do so. Unlike with Gears, say, the co-op is only the icing on the cake for Crackdown; there's plenty of fun to be had on your own. It's still tremendous to play in such a wide-open environment with another voice ringing in your ears. We can only hope that GTA IV and future sandbox games take a page from Crackdown's very attractive book.
That attractiveness extends beyond the game's design to its visual style. Using a mild form of cell shading and an incredible draw distance, the city you've been charged with protecting is occasionally breathtaking. It's certainly not pushing the limits of UT-style imagery, but the game's look is still extremely appealing. The title's sound presentation is equally engaging, and especially in high places really adds to the game's sensation. Standing atop the Agency building, the highest in the gameworld, the wind rushing past you adds a real sense of vertigo to your extreme height. Beyond the sound, I especially enjoyed the city's architecture. Each portion of the city has a distinct look, and within the districts every building (it seems) has its own personality. From two-story flats to the black and neon skyscrapers, they've made your urban playground as varied as they can. They urge you to ever greater heights, and it's hard to overstate just how much fun it is to leap from a tall building into the midst of a firefight; it just never gets old.
Re:unnerving? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Still more questions... (Score:1, Informative)
- Only some buildings, generally the ones that hold the bosses. You can, however, climb anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE, which is a large part of the fun.
- The driving's OK. Car chases aren't anything to call home about. The agency cars you start with get upgraded as your driving skill improves (read: run over more people), and give you more powers.
- You can punch, kick and throw people. Particularly amusing is jumping off a tall building and landing on a perp.
- As you power up, you can throw people really far. And then keep them in the air by juggling them with rockets. Also highly amusing. And yes, they do go flying as you power up your strength. Throwing cars at the bad guys is also fun.
Re:unnerving? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Why? (Score:3, Informative)
incorrect (Score:5, Informative)
Have you seen the demo first-hand, or is that just something you heard from a friend of a friend? Every download of the demo I've played (and the retail game) has an african-american as the default character.
Re:Still more questions... (Score:5, Informative)
The driving is something i haven't even bothered with. Jumping from building to building, shooting people you fly-over in mid air... what's the poitn of driving when you can do Matrix-esque leaps across the city?
The hand to hand fighting when you are actually standing right next to someone consists of elbowing them or kicking them, depending on what button you press.
however, most objects in the environment are things you can bash, pickup, and throw. You can throw "generally" or you can throw at a target. This includes things like boxes, barrels, dumpsters, cars. You can melee attack a street lamp, then it will fall over, then you can pick it up and run with it. When you see 5 guys abreast on a sidewalk that are coming at you, you can throw the lamp post at them and it take them out at once.
As you get stronger you can pickup heavier thigns (liek cars) and throw them farther.
You can also melee attack heavy objects as well. I've completely maxxed out my agility, firearms, and strength skills (i've also beaten the game). I can run up to a big truck and kick it and it rolls over. If you're fast and a gang car comes your way you can get over to it and kick it hard enough to knock it over the side of a bridge before the gang members even step out of the car.
Yes, you can pick up bad guys and throw them at other bad guys. Yes, at my level of strength, any person i punch or kick goes _flying_.
Some other enemies will pick up bodies and throw them at _you_.
When you get sufficiently strong and throw a dumpster at just one person they go splat
I love it. I've been playing it almost non-stop since i got it.
Re:Still more questions... (Score:4, Informative)
You can go in some buildings, but very few. Most activity is outside (although many buildings have catwalks, tunnels, balconies etc to explore).
What is the driving like?
At first, very frustrating, but as your driving skill gets higher the handling and performance improves a lot. I'm currently on 3 stars for driving and it's pretty nice.
Are there decent car chases? Or are they a weak subgame?
There are fixed-course races which are essentially minigames. Not sure on what your definition of "weak" is though. In terms of chases, it's a lot like GTA. The cars are mainly used as ways of getting around, and as weapons (running bad guys down). There aren't any car-based missions like in GTA. Overall, this isn't a racing/driving game, but the cars aren't bad.
Is there any depth to hand-to-hand melee fighting? Or is it just punch, but the goal is to get strong enough that punches do more damage?
Your character will do different melee attacks (kick, punch, roundhouse, etc) but you don't really have much control over them.
Can I throw a bad guy?
Sure, you can throw anything if you're strong enough. If you're 3 or 4 star strength you can throw the car he's driving in too
How far?
Depends how strong you are and how high you are. If you can get a body to the top of a tall building I'm sure you can clear a couple hundred feet. The physics work pretty well.
What if I punch him really hard? Does he go flying?
Sure, and if you kick him off a bridge or building he'll fall down to the ground and stay there until you climb back down to get the weapons he dropped. Or if he ends up in water he'll float around for a while.
Re:And here I was... (Score:4, Informative)
Tycho at Penny Arcade did a pretty good bit on it. Basically, it manages to be incredibly fun and addictive and you have to want to look for reasons to not like it.
I've played burnout and gete tired of it, because i only like simulation driving games (i.e. i don't like mario kart).
I _love_ Crackdown, because it combines a bunch of different things that i find fun
1) blowing stuff up (you have "explosion" skills and the more you power them up, the bigger your explosions are
2) jumping really, really, really long distances
3) platforming (seriously, collecting skill orbs in this huge 3d world is one of the most compelling 3d platformer experiences i've had. Many of the 2d classic platformers really lost something in the transition to 3d.. in crackdown trying to get the orb at the top of some amazing skyscraper is really quite fun for some reason)
4) sniping/sharpshooting
5) co-op. i've only gotten to try this a little and the networking code must have some bugginess because i get lots of drops, but basically, if making crazy jumps and blowing stuff up sounds fun by yourself, its even more fun when you and a friend make a contest out of it.. with the subtext that there is crazy gang violence going on all around you but your characters are powerful enough that you mostly don't care. the XBL 2 player co-op is a good time.
Re:unnerving? (Score:5, Informative)
As far as stereotypes in sandbox games go, Crackdown is incredibly mild. If you're really that set on being offended by a game perhaps you should take a look at GTA: San Andreas or Saints Row.
Re:X-Play had a better review? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Still more questions... (Score:1, Informative)
Driving is hard at the start extremely fast and violent with snappy controls at the end of the game. You have 3 choices of agency vehicals (supercar/batmobile, SUV, and truck cab) in addition to what you nab off the street. Which varies WIDELY from sporty coups that drive like it, to minivans, and suped up gang cars which may include APCs and mobile missle launcers (they don't launch). There are no chases such as they are. With good reason, with the supercar in the begining and 0*s you wouldn't lose. Your super soldier dramatically outclasses any single foe in the game from the very begining. There are only a couple that might even be able to win in hand to hand combat with their extra health. The gang bosses need their many many layers of traps and guards. But that doesn't mean driving is tacked on or isn't fun. It's not centeral at all, and really, until you have 4*s in agility you probably won't really want to do that much of it unless you really like driving. Which brings me to Zonk's review being wrong. You get driving skill for just doing jumps. If you do stunts, barrel rolls, flips, very long or long lasting jumps you get a lot more. String them together for even more. And you can get some pretty serious air in the SUV (the jumping flying acrobatic car). You probably get the most for doing road races. Which can be pretty challenging. You've got a time limit and you have to hit all the checkpoints and cross the finish line in it to successfuly complete the race. They might send you through alleys, or just down the freeway against traffic. Even after you beat the game these can be difficult, as crashing into a building, or getting launched off the prescribed course can pretty much take you out of a race. Before you beat the game or with crimes on, and hundreds of gang members with machineguns, grenades, and rocket launchers, haha well it certainly adds a little something especially on higher difficulty levels where the gang members seem to lead cars a little better. The batmobile eventually ends up with machine guns in stead of a horn, the SUV get hydrolics which help blast the car to pretty increadible hieghts, and the truck cab, it gets a KITT like turbo and just blasts through anything.
The hand to hand is pretty much like a shooter, hit the melee button and you hit and generally kill something. However, there's a lot more depth to strenght. There's material all over the city, pipes, bags of cement, concret obstructions, scafolding, furniture, rubber ducks, bottles of beer, doors, gates, dumpsters, dead bodies, cars, car parts, trucks, busses, and of course a giant bronze globe with which you can smash your foes. And with which some of your foes can smash you. Every now and then you'll get an incensed gang member who picks up his recently slain boss and hurls them at you. Generally any hit on a regular guy past 1* of strength on the regular difficulty will kill them outright. And any hit on a guy that knocks them off a building or into deep water is also fatal. (you can survive falls of seemingly hundreds of feet, and swim anywhere but to the mainland.) As your strength progresses guys will just get launched when you hit them. Routinely soaring dozens of feet and banging into things when they hit them. When you throw a body you'll eventually be able to toss it more than 200 feet. I only know cause there's an achievement for that. Hell with 4 stars strength you can pretty much knock a bus off a bridge with a single kick. If that doesn't work, you can still pick it up and throw it off.
I should add a little bit on the shooting since that's gotten somewhat short chang
Gamerpoints (Score:2, Informative)