Crackdown Review - Xbox 360

8.5

Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 8
Audio: 9
Multiplayer: 8
Innovation: 8

A lot of people would take one look at this game and say, “Yeah, another GTA clone” when in actual fact, they’re dead wrong. Crackdown isn’t just an open world shoot-em-up where you can do whatever you want to the hookers down at the strip club. It’s also a game where you take control of a super human with not only super ego powers, but also super strength, super speed, and of course that thing that makes it all worthwhile, super jumps. Crackdown is all about jumping around from building to building firing a heat-seeking rocket at a group of gangsters and watching their burning bodies fly up in the air and then fall miserably to the ground 40 floors below. Join us as we explore the depths of Crackdown from the gang violence to the action-packed driving challenges through the streets.

Gameplay

When you begin your life on the streets of Pacific City, you soon find out that your strength and agility are slightly better than a normal human. The Agency, the department that controls the city, introduces you to the game by throwing you smack in the middle of a Agency vs Gang street shoot out. Before you know it, you’re off on your first mission to take out a gang. Crackdown is basically about taking out all the gangs in the city, and with over 20 gangs at unique locations such as an oil rig, a seaport, and basically every other notable landmark that you can think of, including a Sydney Opera House style car showroom, you get a lot of scenery to check out.

The game sort of works like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion believe it or not. The more you play and use certain skills, the more those skills will improve and upgrade. There are only a handful of skills however, unlike Oblivion. You’ll find yourself wanting to max out the Agility skill as soon as possible so that you can jump and run really far, but the other skills, driving, strength, guns and explosives are all equally useful. Once you’ve maxed out all your skills you can start competing in the time trials. All of a sudden, the game only takes an hour to complete as you jump through the missions, skipping all the bad guys to take out the boss in a few shots to try to get a good rank online. It’s nearly impossible to get in the top ten, but you should be happy if you can at least get in the top 500 times worldwide, and you can also view your friends’ times.

An impressive addition that isn’t really used all that much to kill the gang leaders is the Agency vehicles. Apart from the standard cop car that you can jump in, you also get ... (continued next page)