Review: Crackdown

Crackdown is an action sandbox game released for the Xbox 360. It was developed by Realtime Worlds.

An Agent at the top of a building in Pacific City, that presumably the player jumped up to.

Pacific City has been overrun with crime. The situation has become so desperate that the defense force the Agency has been asked to create genetically altered policemen to stop the crime wave by any means necessary. It is up to the player controlled Agent to topple the three biggest criminal organizations that control the city.

The Agent has to get rid the three groups that control the three parts of Pacific City. To do that the Agent has to take down each organization’s generals and kingpin that are scattered throughout the city. How the Agent accomplishes this is left up to the player. The Agent is given access several weapons, can fight, and is allowed to use whatever vehicle is around, plus a couple of armored vehicles the Agency has access to. In addition, due to the Agent’s genetic enhancements, he or she can run really fast and jump several stories in the air.

Each general is hiding out in a part of the city that the Agent has to locate, surrounded by a small army of thugs that the Agent has to get through to kill the general. The player is allowed to kill the generals in whatever order they want. Killing the generals makes all the grunts running around the city weaker.

The Agent is able to increase his or his abilities through repeated use. Using weapons makes the Agent’s aim better, running over enemies with cars a lot makes them faster and fly farther off jumps, using explosives a lot makes them more powerful, and fighting hand to hand makes the Agent stronger. Increasing the Agent’s running and jumping is ability is achieved by finding green orbs that are scattered around the city.

Since finding enemies to run over with cars and the green orbs are hard to find, the Agent can also participate in a couple of races, either on foot or in a car that will also increase those abilities. The foot races are an okay diversion, but the car races are frustratingly difficult because they often take place in areas with lots of people, and hitting innocent people causes the Agent’s abilities to decrease in effectiveness.

Before going to fight the generals, the Agent can hunt down hideouts. These are two or three buildings found in each section of the city. Once found the Agent can teleport between hideouts, which is a much more convenient way of traveling around Pacific City than running or driving.

The biggest selling point of Crackdown is the freedom it allows the player. The player is given full access to all of Pacific City at the start of the game. Soon the player can get several powerful weapons and vehicles to tear up Pacific City with. The best part though, is the ability run really fast and jump really high. Being able to jump around a bunch of buildings with a rocket launcher, firing maniacally at a bunch of gang members with puny assault rifles is a real power trip.

There are only two restrictions. While the entire city is indeed open, the three sections vary in difficulty. It is possible to drive around the entire city, but because the gang members get more powerful in the different sections, it is best for the Agent to stay in one section until he or she has leveled up their abilities enough to deal with the increased weaponry. Luckily there is plenty enough gang members to kill in each section that there is not that much of a loss.

Also, if the Agent kills enough civilians, then the rest of the police start hunting down the Agent. They are never as well equipped as the Agent, and can be pretty easily killed, but it is mildly inconvenient.

The city and people do not look realistic; they in fact look rather like a cartoon or comic book. But since the game involves super genetically enhanced policemen fighting overpowered gang members, the game design fits well.

There is no story besides going around and killing all the criminals, but a plot would get in the way anyway.

Crackdown is a simple but fun game that not only allows the player to act an incredibly powerful superhuman, but rewards such actions, making them all the more enjoyable. It is not that challenging, or particularly deep, but that does keep it from being fun.