Slashdot Mirror
Crackdown Review
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.
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.
Where the game fails with story, it excels with presentation. Over the course of the game you'll raise your character's skills by taking out gang members. It's immediately obvious what skills you are improving: kill a ganger with a gun, and little colored spheres with guns in them rush into your character. The game's voiceover enthusiastically calls that 'skills for kills'. Your five skills are Agility, Firearms, Explosives, Driving, and Strength. You start with zero stars, and can advance to four stars in each skill. Agility is the only skill that is raised through different means. Beautiful green glowing orbs on the tops of buildings (500 in all) tempt you to reach new heights and leap wider gaps. The collection of that sweet, sweet candy will probably be what catches your attention in the early part of the game. There's a wonderfully formed hum that alerts you to the presence of nearby orbs, and a cheery 'ping!' that sounds when you collect one. This mechanic is easily the most addictive in the game, but pretty much everything you can do is amusing in one way or another. Seeing how far you can throw things (like, say, cars in the later game), discovering the hidden orbs which improve all of your skills at once, running the rooftop and street-level races scattered across the map; giving you the chance to make your own fun is what this game excels at. The comparisons to Grand Theft Auto are understandable insofar as this is a well-made sandbox of a world, but Crackdown offers you even fewer barriers than GTA does in what you can and can't do.
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.
Like a Burnout for action games, Crackdown has pared away superfluous things like 'characters', 'story' or 'originality' to get at the meat of the game mechanics on offer. For those that expect a little more from their games, be forewarned that you're not going to experience the next step in storytelling here. For a great time, though, and a heaping portion of extremely enjoyable mindless entertainment, it's hard to ignore Crackdown's charms. It doesn't hurt that, as advertised, you'll eventually get access to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. There's talk that the beta for this retail offering may not be until May and, to be honest, this title won't keep you occupied until then. It's still a good few weeks worth of entertainment, and well worth your time for a rental or a borrow from a friend. Just don't forget to give co-op a try; racing from rooftop to rooftop with a friend is an experience not to be missed.
- 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.
Where the game fails with story, it excels with presentation. Over the course of the game you'll raise your character's skills by taking out gang members. It's immediately obvious what skills you are improving: kill a ganger with a gun, and little colored spheres with guns in them rush into your character. The game's voiceover enthusiastically calls that 'skills for kills'. Your five skills are Agility, Firearms, Explosives, Driving, and Strength. You start with zero stars, and can advance to four stars in each skill. Agility is the only skill that is raised through different means. Beautiful green glowing orbs on the tops of buildings (500 in all) tempt you to reach new heights and leap wider gaps. The collection of that sweet, sweet candy will probably be what catches your attention in the early part of the game. There's a wonderfully formed hum that alerts you to the presence of nearby orbs, and a cheery 'ping!' that sounds when you collect one. This mechanic is easily the most addictive in the game, but pretty much everything you can do is amusing in one way or another. Seeing how far you can throw things (like, say, cars in the later game), discovering the hidden orbs which improve all of your skills at once, running the rooftop and street-level races scattered across the map; giving you the chance to make your own fun is what this game excels at. The comparisons to Grand Theft Auto are understandable insofar as this is a well-made sandbox of a world, but Crackdown offers you even fewer barriers than GTA does in what you can and can't do.
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.
Like a Burnout for action games, Crackdown has pared away superfluous things like 'characters', 'story' or 'originality' to get at the meat of the game mechanics on offer. For those that expect a little more from their games, be forewarned that you're not going to experience the next step in storytelling here. For a great time, though, and a heaping portion of extremely enjoyable mindless entertainment, it's hard to ignore Crackdown's charms. It doesn't hurt that, as advertised, you'll eventually get access to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. There's talk that the beta for this retail offering may not be until May and, to be honest, this title won't keep you occupied until then. It's still a good few weeks worth of entertainment, and well worth your time for a rental or a borrow from a friend. Just don't forget to give co-op a try; racing from rooftop to rooftop with a friend is an experience not to be missed.
You can choose the race of your main character, so fears about this becoming a KKK future world simulator are probably unfounded. :)
Plausible conjecture should not be misrepresented as proof positive.
Only the first island is Hispanic. The second island is comprised of eastern Europeans and the third island is made up of English speaking Caucasians and Asians. As the other poster mentioned, you can also choose the race of your character. Current skins include Black, White, Asian, Polynesian, and even Albino characters; the default character is Black. You're really reaching if you're looking for White on Hispanic racial undertones in this game.
The demo floating around on XBL features some good old-fashioned ultraviolence perpetrated by a Caucasian protagonist (the player, natch) against your stereotypical Latino gangbangers.
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.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
You can go into some buildings that are relevant to the plot. The average building, you can't go into.
:)
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.
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
Can you go inside buildings? Or is everything outdoors?
:)
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.
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
The game is really, really fun. It has none of the control/camera/this is a pointless task things that make the GTA series unfun. to be fair, it has none of the story of the GTA game either.
:)
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.
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
um... I'm pretty sure the default character is Black. According to the game's creators, the look of the default character, as well as many of the abilities, was inspired by the Blade movies. People who look for racism everywhere will find racism everywhere, even where it doesn't exist.
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.
I just re-watched the x-play review and they didn't say anything like what you just said. They said that they though it wouldn't be any good when they found out that the halo 3 beta came with it but "wonders never cease." They loved the game and gave it a rare 5 out of 5 rating. Last 5 of 5 rating was Guitar Hero II which was about 100 reviews ago. Never did they mention renting it. The online review said "It's an absolute blast to play." They basically said the opposite of what you think they said.