Review

The bosses aren't the only thing that doesn't feel fully developed; I was also let down by the hand to hand combat. While it's not as big of a problem as some of the other complaints I have, the non-weapon attacks feel like a last minute addition. Even after you've fully developed your strength meter, you still basically have one move: A roundhouse kick. This kick gets the job done, but how cool would it have been to be able to do something other than kick? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing cooler than being able to kick a car and make it fly into the air, but it would have been nice to see a real combo-based attack system implemented.

 

And it's not just the hand to hand stuff that is disappointing; I would also like to add that the weapons themselves are extremely lame. Towards the end of the game you will have the ability to choose from a couple of different missile launchers, but outside of those effective weapons there just isn't much originality here. For being a futuristic city there just isn't much here that strikes me as being set in the future. Given that the game has a futuristic bent and is inspired by comic books I was hoping for something more, perhaps a few weapons that are way over-the-top and so unrealistic they could only be seen in this game. But instead we get the usual mix of automatic machine guns, a shotgun, pistols and rocket launchers. The guys at Realtime Worlds could learn a thing or two from Sony developer Insomniac.  

 

But despite its flaws Crackdown still remains incredible fun to play. There's no doubt that I would have preferred better bosses, a little structure and a cooler combat system, but as it is Crackdown proves to be one of the most exciting action games I've played in recent history. Now that Realtime Worlds has laid down the groundwork for the series perhaps these are the types of enhancements we can expect from a Crackdown 2.

 

Crackdown does manage to do one thing right that I never saw coming, and that's multiplayer. While both Saints Row and Grand Theft Auto have recently dabbled with multiplayer modes, Crackdown is the first to really make it work. What's great about the co-op modes is that you can enter and exit a friend's game any time you want to, and you don't even need to be there helping each other. That is to say, if you enter a co-op game each player can be on opposite sides of Pacific City doing different things, just co-existing and having fun playing in this world. Of course, it's probably more fun to actually play with your buddy and help him take out the bosses and rid the city of gang activity. A second player is also good for experiments, such as throwing a car with him in it only to have him jump out and see how high up he can get. There's something to be said about working together to test the limits of the technology, this is definitely one of the best elements of the game. But while this is cool, I can't help but wish that the game allowed more than two people in one room. It would have been nice to see four, eight or even sixteen friends all playing in the way city doing different things (or starting deathmatch-like games).

 

The graphics in Crackdown do an excellent job of walking the tightrope of being too realistic and too cartoony. The world of Pacific City is made up of cel-shaded graphics, but this isn't the type of cel-shading used in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker or Jet Set Radio. These graphics are detailed, but you can tell where the dark black border of each character is, giving off the impression that you are watching a living comic book. Some of the locations on the map are simply breath taking, there's no doubt that this is a beautiful world you are playing in. It's also worth mentioning that stuff blows up real good, there's nothing quite like stacking a bunch of cars and then blowing them up and watching them fly through the air with their various parts raining down on you.

 

The sound is equally good, especially when it comes to the sounds of your weapons and special abilities. When you land after a giant leap you can feel the sound effect, it's definitely the type of sound that gets the point across. I'm not the biggest fan of some of the music choices in the game, but obviously those are the types of things you can change thanks to the custom soundtrack. The voice acting is also good, even though there isn't a whole lot of it. Since there aren't any cinema cut scenes, most of the dialog is spoken by your boss who is there to tell you about the various gangs and bosses.

 

Even with its faults Crackdown is still a solid game that is well worth playing through. While it's not nearly as strong as some of Microsoft's other first party offerings, Crackdown does prove to be a solid first entry into what will no doubt be a franchise. Realtime Worlds is already on record saying that they are going to release some sort of free expansion pack to the game; one can only hope that it includes some better mini-games and a better boss or two. There are going to be a lot of people who buy Crackdown just to be able to play the Halo 3 beta, thankfully they will find that this is a fun game that's worth every penny. It's not perfect, but it's a good start to something that will hopefully be spectacular the next time we visit it. 

 

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