Crackdown

"Crackdown on Physics"

Crackdown is a free-roaming action game where you can steal cars, use weapons and kill people. Sound familiar? While on paper it may sound similar to Grand Theft Auto, in reality the game plays much different. You won't be doing menial tasks for petty drug lords in Crackdown, in fact, you'll be the one killing them.

In Crackdown, you play a genetically enhanced policeman created to fight crime in Pacific City. Three major gangs, Los Muertos (Spanish for The Dead), The Volk and the Shai-Gen Corporation, have taken over parts of the city. Each gang has seven key gang members, including the kingpin of each gang. Removing each key gang member will improve your chances of defeating the kingpin, not to mention your skills.

Your bionic policeman has five different skills that can be leveled up, firearms, strength, agility, explosives and driving. The skills are increased when used in combat. For example, if you kill enough gang members by beating them with your fists eventually you'll level up your strength and be able to kill faster, pick up heavier objects and throw objects farther.

This is where the game truly shines, the physics. Once you've leveled up enough, you'll be able to lift cars to use as weapons, jump from roof to roof and make massive explosions. If you ever need to kill time in this game there's nothing better than piling up cars, streetlights, debris and corpses then lobbing a couple of grenades in to create an awesome explosion and showcase the incredible power of the Havok engine.

In a way, this might also be the downfall of the game. Skills progress too fast and the game itself is short. I finished the first area two hours after starting the game and had already maxed out one of my skills with two more already at the two-star rating. However, the Xbox Live Marketplace holds the promise of additional content. After all, on the day Crackdown came out five additional agent skins were released for free on XBL, plus Crackdown has only 900 total gamerscore, as opposed to the traditional 1000.

Speaking of Xbox Live, co-op almost makes up for the short length of the game. Two people can cause massive havoc on Pacific City, and anything you could do in Single player can be done bigger and better in co-op. Create bigger scrap piles for bigger explosions, kill more gang leaders faster or just have a great time with a friend. Just make sure that friend has his own Xbox and copy of Crackdown, because there is no single-console multiplayer.

Although the graphics and sound are not great, they still do a great job of creating an unique atmosphere for Pacific City. The city, itself feels alive and vibrant, with its own buildings and rooftops to explore. Parts of the city also have unique features, such as the music that plays in the cars, the accents of the citizens or the architecture of the vibrant buildings.

The controls are simple and similar to what you would expect for a third-person action game. It won't take long before your familiar with them and can start jumping around, throwing grenades and shooting gang members. The only problem are the Vehicles, which are hard to control and often seem unresponsive.

Overall, Crackdown is a quality game. It's short, but if you enjoy free-roaming, sandbox games it's all for the better. After all, it won't be long before you can use your maxed-out skills to have fun in the playground that is Pacific City.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/22/07