Crackdown

"Halo 3 Beta featuring Crackdown!"

No matter what you say about Crackdown, it's one of those games that's going to be remembered mainly for being packaged with a highly desired goodie. This isn't a new situation; no one remembers Tobal No. 1 for anything except the FFVII pack-in. It's still disappointing though, and you'd expect to see Crackdown and Tobal commiserating at a bar ten years from now, complaining about their mutual dilemma. While it's true that neither Crackdown or Tobal are at the height of their genres, or their respective consoles, or...anything really, they're still both very good games that are very much worth playing.

For all its next-gen trappings, Crackdown is really a very old-school game. You'll take on six smaller crime bosses to weaken one much larger kingpin. Then you'll do it again twice, with no clunky narrative or lavish presentation to get in the way, and that's it. There's a lot to be said for that; complaints about how the game is too easy can be easily addressed by its mind numbing "Psychotic" difficulty. There's a lot of extracurricular content, as well: you'll run races, collect hidden icons, raise skills and collect achievements. Co-op multiplayer over Live is also available, as are Time Trials for the crime bosses. Co-op in the game's main mode is not very interesting, but running Time Trials with a friend can be fun, if you're into that.

Crackdown draws comparisons with Grand Theft Auto, mainly as a sandbox game, but it has more in common with Treyarch's Spiderman offerings, especially Ultimate Spiderman. For one thing, the games share the same comic, cell-shaded style; more importantly, they share the same acrobatic, rooftop hopping gameplay. Crackdown's vehicular gameplay does quite a bit in providing something to do after you've finished the game, but as far as killing Kingpins, it's pretty useless. If the vehicles had been scrapped in favor of an enhanced multiplayer mode or some more crime bosses, the game might have benefited much more.

Crackdown doesn't bust any barriers, but it's a damn good game that's worth a look, even if you can't get a Halo 3 invitation with it.

Gameplay: 8/10

Taking out crime bosses is a blast, but picking up semis and throwing them a hundred feet is surprisingly dull.

Controls: 7/10

For the most part Crackdown handles well, but the shooting interface could have used some polish, and catching the right ledge on exceptionally difficult jumps is more luck than skill. Vehicle controls make using vehicles impractical for anything except vehicle objectives.

Graphics: 8/10

Crackdown's visuals will rarely leave you wanting, and some views from high buildings are very impressive. Other views are less impressive; limited viewing distance can clip textures and make seeing icons necessary for skill advancement difficult.

Sound: 9/10

Explosions, gunshot fire and ambient noise are all great; your Agency adviser is annoying, but you can mute him. Game provides an excellent small-speaker option that makes quiet noises louder.

Lasting Appeal: 8/10

There's an awful lot here, but it's not as diverse as Saint's Row or Grand Theft Auto, making it unsuitable for extended playing sessions. A downloadable competitive multiplayer module would do wonders for this game.

8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/26/07