Ben MooreReview: Crackdown (XBox 360)
June 12th 2009 04:35
Category: No Category
Orb hunting, the eternal struggle
Ever dreamed about gaining superhuman strength, jumping over skyscrapers and blowing the hell out of everything in sight? Or maybe you just really, really like collecting round glowing objects. Either way, this is the game for you.
At first glance, Crackdown may appear to be just another Grand Theft Auto clone. After all it features the same ‘go anywhere, do anything’ approach that made the GTA series so popular. It features the ability to steal cars and buses and run people down and missions that can be taken on in a non linear fashion but that’s about where the similarities end really. The game takes place in a futuristic metropolis, known as Pacific City but unlike the GTA games; it is your job as a genetically enhanced ‘super agent’ to clean up the city from crime. The visuals in the game are great, with cel shading used to compliment to over the top nature of the game perfectly. It’s almost like you’re in a living comic book.
As all good ‘super agents’ should, you have access to a variety of abilities to help make cleaning up Pacific City all the more sweeter. The most notable of which, is the fact that you can jump extremely high, making traversing the city a matter of jumping from one building to the next. The city features some of the best architectural designs seen in a game, which really compliment it’s comic-book styling’s, so jumping from rooftop to rooftop is amazingly entertaining. Especially with the added bonus of your abilities leveling up during the game, you’ll never want to hi-jack a car again. Other abilities include superhuman strength, so by the end of the game you’ll be picking up buses and re-enacting that fight scene from Superman II, along with increased explosive power, which allows for some truly amazing chain reactions of exploding vehicles.
You’re going to want to develop that jumping ability early on because orb collecting is a big part of Crackdown. There are 500 agility orbs and 300 hidden orbs, scattered around Pacific City. Some on the highest points of the highest buildings, some hidden away in underground tunnels and others in plain view on shop fronts. Agility orbs naturally develop your agility attributes, such as running and jumping, while hidden orbs give a nice boost to all your skill areas. Hunting down every last orb is an extremely addictive task and while it may be frustrating to find those last few, it’s an extremely rewarding feeling once you’ve found them all.
There are however some areas of the game that could still be improved. The mission structure is very loose and there is very little variety in the missions required to complete the game. These revolve around wandering the city, until you get close enough to a gang leader, at which point you get a briefing of who they are and then it’s your job to seek them out and kill them. There are over 20 of these gang leaders and while it’s fun to seek them out for a while, they all basically act the same so fighting them can get a little tiresome by the end.
Other frustrations include the lack of co-op on a single console. The game does feature online co-op, which is great fun providing that both players have a good internet connection but for those who want to play together, online is their only option. This is especially disappointing considering there are a variety of co-op only modes, (available as downloadable content) such as ‘rocket tag’ and ‘checkpoint races’ that are quite entertaining.
There are a range of other activities, scattered around the city that you can participate in at any time. Rooftop races are a fun, checkpoint styled race against the clock, with missions that include scaling the Agency Tower (the tallest building in the city) in the fastest time possible. There are also a series of road races available, which although aren’t perfect, are a nice diversion.
As well as the co-op, another aspect of XBox Live, which the developers have well utilised, is the downloadable content. While many originally bought the game to get access for the limited time only Halo 3 beta, there are a few other reasons to check out Crackdown’s downloads section. The game features some of the best downloadable content seen yet on Xbox 360. There are a variety of different agents that can be downloaded for free and then for only another 800 points (AU$13.20) you get access to a huge range of extra features. These include vehicles that can drive up walls, extra game modes such as street racing and stockpile missions, as well as weapons such as the mini-gun and harpoon and even several more achievements. This really adds to the overall entertainment of the game and is very reasonably priced.
The audio in the game is of a high standard too. On street levels you can hear the pedestrians and vehicles around you or reach the top of the agency tower and you get a subtle but soothing musical piece that really re-enforces the solitude of being so high above the city. One minor annoyance to do with the sound would be the games announcer, he constantly talks to the player saying things such as “It’s rare for anyone to reach magnitudes of this height”, even for some reason when you’re standing on ground level. There also could be more music tracks included when driving the vehicles, there are no radio stations like in the Grand Theft Auto games so it won’t be long until you’ve heard all the songs on offer.
Overall Crackdown is a very refreshing take on the GTA formula. The main storyline won’t take you very long to complete but achievement junkies and those who want to see everything the game has to offer, will definitely be playing this for a long time. Now, back to finding those hidden orbs.
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Presentation - 8.5
The main map would definitely benefit from a zoom feature but otherwise the presentation is very nice.
Graphics - 8.5
The cel shaded approach, works wonderfully and undeniably compliments the architectural design of Pacific City.
Sound - 6.5
A great orchestral opening score, let down by the constantly talking of the games announcer and lack of in vehicle radio stations.
Gameplay - 8.0
Extremely fun take on the free roaming genre. Jumping is a highlight but mission structure may be too loose for some.
Lasting Appeal - 8.0
The short main story mode is made up for by the addictiveness of the achievements and orb hunting.
OVERALL - 8.5 (Out of 10)
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