Nick Adams Games Blog

The Xbox has played host to some high profile spiritual sequels. Bioshock was a sequel of sorts to System Shock, Blue Dragon was developed by the guys behind Final Fantasy and Dragonball Z and Crackdown is developed by Realtime Worlds, a company founded by Dave Jones, the creator of games like Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings. Its also a spiritual sequel, of sorts, to the GTA series.

In this game you play as a genetically engineered super agent who is sent out to rid an entire futuristic city of organised crime, and you’re allowed to do it by any means necessary. This game puts a heavy emphasis on freedom; there are no missions you must complete in a set order, or sections of the city you can’t explore until later progression.

So whats the best way to go about ridding a city of gang crime? This game’s answer is to stroll in guns blazing and eliminate the gang bosses. There are 3 separate gangs each with a kingpin and 6 sub bosses. You can opt to kill any of them in any order you choose, and by killing sub bosses you’ll hinder the gang’s efficiency as a whole. For example, without their man responsible for supplying weapons their gang members won’t be carrying round as many lethal guns. The more of the sub bosses you kill, the higher the chances of being able to kill the gang kingpin.

One thing which really separates Crackdown from other games in the GTA mould are its platforming elements. Its entirely possible to jump and climb your way around the city, and you’ll soon become very familiar with window ledges and other bits of building architecture as your agent effortlessly scales buildings. Its very refreshing, as what once was an obstacle now becomes just another method of transport as you leap from rooftop to rooftop. Its clear that Realtime Worlds encourage this by including rooftop races, a mode where you have to leap across a series of markers placed at high points within a time limit. The freedom and fun offered from jumping is slightly reminiscent of Super Mario 64, and I was disappointed to find there wasn’t a wall kick to help you climb around.

The subtle cell shaded visuals give this game a slight comic book feel, which is fitting given the superhero traits displayed by your agent. There’s a very clean, shiny feel to the graphics which works well with urban environments but struggles to make beaches, rocks and water look convincing.

The more conventional characteristics of Crackdown such as its driving and shooting are sound, though the vehicles feel very light and floaty when you’re driving them. The shooting is worthy of a special mention, as its possible to lock onto vehicles and target their tyres, sending them spinning out of control, or their fuel cap, which will make them explode in a shower of debris. This is a subtle yet significant refinement which provides some creative options for causing chaos.

And causing chaos is always fun. Stuff like hijacking and crashing cars, blowing things up, running amok with a machine gun – they’re always fun until the police get involved to ruin your good time. Except with Crackdown, you’re part of the police force, which immediately makes them more reluctant to take out one of their own. Even when they decide enough is enough its still very easy to carry on.

Which brings me onto talking about the difficulty. Its not that Crackdown is just an easy game, its also very forgiving. The inclusion of a Halo style recharging health system means that even after you’ve sustained ridiculous amounts of punishment – like a direct hit from a rocket launcher that sends you hurtling off a skyscraper – all you need to do is hide for a few moments for recharged health. Even if you do die, you’ll respawn from a nearby place to find things exactly how you left them. This means that before long you’ll have wiped out the gangs and finished the game.

The biggest replay value is offered by the co-op mode. I simply can’t stress how much fun it is double teaming the unsuspecting victims. Kneecapping people from the roof of your friend’s moving car before he crushes them. Sandwiching someone between a high speed head on collision. The fun feels only limited by your mischievous creativity.

Crackdown is an extremely fun game while it lasts, but behind all its streamlined gameplay mechanics it doesn’t have that much character. The in car radio is a playlist of mostly unknown electronica with no spoof adverts or ridiculous radio presenters we’ve been spoilt with in the GTA series. The only character in this game is a disembodied voice which intermittently dispenses context sensitive advice.

If you’re looking for an extremely polished immersive story driven experience, you’ll be better looking elsewhere. But if you want a fun and thought out sandbox game, this game is near essential as it really does offer a level of unparalleled freedom in its genre.

8/10