Crackdown Review |

I think we all owe the crackdown an apology.

First of all, it was branded as a basic GTA clone, albeit one with interesting cel-shaded graphics. Then it was seen as the kind of lightweight expense that needed bundled access to a Halo 3 beta to ensure it flew off the shelves. Well, it turns out we were wrong on both counts.

The first is just nonsense. Unlike, say, Saint’s Row or Scarface, Crackdown has none of the usual gang banging, pimping, dealing tosh. It’s played in third person, involves cars, and takes place in an urban open-world setting, but that’s where the comparisons end. And while the Halo 3 beta is a definite bonus, Crackdown doesn’t need it to grab our attention. This is a game that can proudly stand on its own two feet.

Maybe one day we can play an open world game without mentioning GTA, just as we don’t necessarily mention Command and Conquer or Doom now when a new RTS or FPS comes out. For now, instead of thinking about GTA, you could consider two more sensible points of comparison. First, last year’s Just Cause, both for its assassinations and the way you get around was part of the fun, and second, 2005’s Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Why the latter? Because it’s probably the most successful game to include superpowers in an open world, and because those superpowers help make that open world fun. All of this applies to Crackdown.

Confused? Here is the facility. You are a genetically engineered super cop unleashed on a city teetering on the brink of social collapse. Three gangs roam the streets, each claiming a certain part of the city. Eliminate the gang leaders and you can restore peace, but it won’t be easy. To stand any chance of bringing down the three kingpins, you must attack their lieutenants one by one, tracking each one to his or her hideout and making sure you incapacitate them permanently.

And that’s basically it. There’s no storyline, no cutscenes to wade through, and no missions as such, just gameplay. You won’t even know who and where your targets are until an up-close intelligence briefing appears. This means that you are basically free to wipe out the twenty-one key villains in any order and however you want. The catch is that while you can try whoever you want, when you want, your odds won’t always be that good. On your first try, the game’s excellent commentary – a mix of online help and cutting observation – will show you your predicted odds, and the game will cheerfully recommend you come back later if you need to, when you’re better equipped to tackle.

In other games, that might mean heavier weapons or armor, but here it means enhanced abilities. You start out with skills in five categories – Agility, Strength, Driving, Explosives, and Marksmanship – and by attacking the gangs in appropriate ways or collecting specific markers, you’ll collect upgrade orbs that will eventually enhance that power. As the game progresses, you will become better at targeting and locking on to enemies at a distance or on the move. make enormous leaps and scale the sides of the tallest buildings, leaping from ledge to ledge; Pick up blocks, containers and even cars and throw them at attackers and much more. In the beginning you can wade into a group of enemies and bang out their lights, but five hours later you’ll be beating them halfway down the street before their freshly hewn butt hits the pavement.

Not only is that an excuse to show off the game’s Havok-based physics – although it certainly does a fantastic job – it really opens up the whole experience. Once you win the first upgrade for your acrobatics, the whole city turns into one giant platform game. The buildings are not only meant to look impressive and give a sense of massive size, although they certainly do; The entire cityscape has been cleverly designed to challenge your jumping skills. You’ll soon be scanning the rooftops for more Agility Upgrade Orbs, knowing that if you can’t quite make it there, it’s only a matter of time.

In addition, there are many side missions to help you level up, such as: B. Driving challenges and daredevil rooftop races where you dash from point to point with breathtaking abandon. If you thought Just Cause had any thrills left, Crackdown makes it look coy. Cleverly, you might also notice that this all means that the game rewards you for doing what you love to do most. As you wade into the gangster headquarters, throwing grenades and spitting bullets, you’ll soon fill up the upgrade meter in the Marksmanship and Explosives categories and get better at them. If you’d rather acrobaticly find your way back, you’ll earn upgrade points for doing so.

It might not have worked if these ideas weren’t executed so brilliantly, but they are. The controls are smooth, with responsive, quick movement, and melee and aiming capabilities that put other open-world games to shame. In a way, it’s a compliment that driving is probably the least compelling aspect of the game. The handling model is fantastic and there’s an excellent choice of vehicles, but why bother with something as prosaic as driving when you can leap over tall buildings with just a few jumps?

Over time, the game boils down to figuring out the locations of the various bosses and sub-bosses, working out a logical order, and then trying to find a weak point. Along the way, you’ll also snag supply points, which are handy places to drop off weapons, move around instantly, and — most importantly — respawn if large numbers of gang members beat you into submission.

Now it has to be said that the actual encounters sometimes lack drama – the bosses are almost always lurking on a rooftop or in a compound surrounded by gang members, and while the AI ​​isn’t bad, it’s hardly the stuff of FEAR, which the game encourages to create your own set pieces. One minute you might be dizzyingly climbing a lighthouse, the next you’re single-handedly storming an island hideout. With bullets and bodies flying everywhere, fuel barrels and grenades exploding in every direction, and you hurtling headlong through the middle, games just don’t get any better.

Of course, not everyone will agree. The look, for example, is firmly against the current trend towards photorealism, although I think the combination of cel shading and applied detail – reminiscent of a dark sci-fi graphic novel – suits the style of overpowering action much better than that Gears of War approach. Some don’t like the lack of structure, find the plot repetitive, or complain that it doesn’t last long enough. Well, maybe this isn’t an epic of GTA proportions, but I can only imagine that those who cracked Crackdown in less than eight hours a) really blew it and b) missed a lot of fun in the process. The action only repeats if you do the same thing on each boss. Take your time exploring your skills and the game will constantly surprise you by catering to almost every whim. This isn’t the kind of game that propels you from climax to climax like a symphony. It’s a game where you improvise, play – just want to have fun.

And in that respect, it’s arguably better than any game I’ve played this year. If you want proof of how well it handles everything, all you have to do is look at how it integrates live games. A smaller game would have built in a lazy collection of deathmatch or capture-the-flag modes, but Crackdown implements a drop-in drop-out co-op mode where you can decide to play your single player game with friends or even leaving strangers open to join or request participation in another player’s game. That kind of generous spirit sums up the game as a whole. It’s like saying, “You’re having fun, why not share it?”. Needless to say, any game with this much auto-throwing, acrobatic, high-explosive action is a must-play with a mate, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the sheer silly joy of blowing things to pieces keeps that playground open at some point .

So let’s give Crackdown a big pity and thank the heavens that it’s out. It’s not deep, particularly deep, or overly revolutionary, but it never fails to entertain in the most wonderful, big-hearted way. That makes it the first must-have 360 ​​game of the year for me.

“‘Verdict”‘

A whirlwind mix of superhero and open-world gameplay, it’s a 360 must-play, even without the Halo 3 Beta invite. cracking stuff.

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