|
|
| | Difficulty: 1 | | Learning Curve: 1 | Published by:  sjohn | | Date: 2007-03-01 |
| | Gameplay |    | 9
| | Graphics | | 9
| | Sound | | 10
| | Value | | 9
|
|
|
|
Crackdown, as most everyone knows comes with an “invite” to the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta, this of course is one of the deciding factors in buying the game for quite a lot of people. This should not be the case though, the game has many merits which justify the purchase and I am sure you will agree after playing it for a few hours. Some of the best parts of the game are not directly tied to the story; it’s how you progress through the game gaining more power in order to do your job more efficiently. Your job in the world of Pacific City is to rid the three islands of all crime. In order to do your job you will need to kill 21 boss characters, and more than likely thousands of other gang members.
 This game is an open world game, much in the same vein as Grand Theft Auto, after all some of the lead designers worked on the original series. But as far as Grand Theft Auto was open horizontally, Crackdown seems to go more three dimensional, as you will not only be running and driving around the streets of the three gang territories, you will also be climbing to roof tops of the local buildings and jumping to and fro in order to improve your abilities, to sneak into the boss compounds, and to try and finish the foot races in the least amount of time possible.
Crackdown takes its skill progression in a way so that you will get better at what you actually enjoy doing in the game. Whether you like just shooting gang members, jumping to the tops of buildings to find Agility orbs (markers which increase your skill), driving around doing stunts, or just blowing things up. If you enjoy doing it, and do it enough, you will get better at it. Of course, later in the game you will definitely need these skills in order to kill those who wish harm upon you. Firearms skills help with accuracy and speed of firing off precise shots. Where Explosive skills increase the range of the detonation of your grenades and rockets, and other items such as car gas tanks, and barrels filled with flammable contents.
Most games of this sandbox variety try to throw many side missions in so that you will stay busy when you are either bored with the story or just want to do something else. In Crackdown these options are quite limited. You will only be able to do the story, go on rampages, do either driving or running based races, or hunt for orbs that are scattered around the city. There are no delivery missions where you need to get certain items or people from point A to point B. This is both good and bad, it keeps you focused on the story, but it also shows how lacking the story really is. You can basically play through the game using the same formula for every boss, run in, evade the guards, and kill the boss. You don’t even have to escape afterwards, if you die, a clone of you with your stats comes back and you are free to continue on with the mission at hand. The later bosses add some variety such as some simple puzzles to get the boss into the open.
 The graphics are very good on the game; the draw distance is the best I’ve witnessed so far. You can ascend to the top of the tallest building in the middle of the city, and literally see for miles in pretty good detail. If you can see it on your screen, you can find a way to get to that point. The graphics also have a hint of cell shading which makes this super hero game seem much more like a comic book that you are able to play through, especially after you gain some higher level abilities.
The sound on the game is really meant to be played on a 5.1 Surround Sound setup. The bullets whizzing by your ears, the explosions in the distance, and the sound systems in the cars are all built around your in game character. The environmental sounds are phenomenal as you not only hear the traffic going by, but phones ringing in office buildings, water crashing onto the shore on the beaches, the birds in the mountains, everything they did with the sound engine makes the city seem much more alive.
This game is definitely one of the best games I have played on the Xbox 360. I am somewhat worried about longevity of it, as you may become bored of it shortly after finishing everything there is to offer at the moment; however, Microsoft Game Studios is promising extra content for the remaining 100 gamerscore soon, and this content will be based off of what the players are doing in order to improve their fun, so that should at least add a few more hours of game play later this year when they release that. Look for my upcoming Co-Op review covering only that portion of this game coming soon.
|
|
  | Most Recent Guides for Crackdown (3) |  |
| Most Recent Unlockables for Crackdown (1) | |
| Most Recent Xbox 360 Reviews for Crackdown (2) | |
| Most Recent News for Crackdown (82) | |
| All News for Crackdown (82) | |
| Most Recent Forum Discussions for Crackdown (27) | |
| All Forum Discussions for Crackdown (27) | |
| HQ Crackdown Xbox Live Gamers (23) | |
| |
APB
Webzen introduces All Points Bulletin (APB) for the PC and Xbox 360™, the only massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) to combine nearly limitless customization with blisteringly intense action in a city that never sleeps.
Designed by the creator of the original Grand Theft Auto® (GTA) franchise, APB brings players into .. | | |
View All Games Developed by Real Time Worlds (2) | |
|
| |
Halo 3
Bungie's popular first-person shooter makes its debut on the Xbox 360 with Halo 3.
The epic saga continues with Halo 3, the hugely anticipated sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo franchise. In this third chapter of the Halo trilogy, Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict b.. | | |
| |
Gears of War
“Gears of War” is the first game developed by Epic Games exclusively for Microsoft Game Studios and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. “Gears of War” thrusts gamers into a deep and harrowing story of humankind’s epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the plan.. | | |
| |
Gears of War 2
“Gears of War 2” is the highly anticipated sequel to the 5 million-selling blockbuster action game and one of the most popular Xbox games in history.
Players continue as Marcus Fenix, a reluctant war hero and leader of Delta Squad, six months after the events of “Gears of War.” The last cities on Sera are sinking, swallowed by a new Locust.. | | |
| |
Halo 3: ODST
Halo 3: ODST's tale focuses on the legendary ODSTs or "Orbital Drop Shock Troopers" as they drop into the ruined city of New Mombasa, looking for clues behind the Covenant's catastrophic attack on the city.
Sgt Mgr. Johnson, the toughest, cigar chomping-est, Marine on the battlefield can be yours to play in Firefight when you preorder .. | | |
| |
Mass Effect
Set 200 years in the future in an epic universe, “Mass Effect” places gamers in a vast galactic community in danger of being conquered by a legendary agent gone rogue. A spectacular new vision from legendary developers BioWare, “Mass Effect” challenges players to lead a squad of freedom fighters as they struggle against threatening armies to restor.. | | |
View All Games Published by Microsoft Games Studios (283) | |
|
 
| | |
 | You are NOT currently logged in..
Please log in or register for free by clicking here
Important Note:
All new users must click a activation link within 24hrs. |
|
Register for Free! | Lost Password
|
Dynasty Warriors: GUNDAM 3
 Views: 85,133
Set in the future, chaotic warfare has engulfed the universe. The world is ripe with strife as gigantic mecha called Mobile Suits march to war on land and in space. Featuring characters and mecha from.. |  |
|
View All Xbox 360 Games
|
| Most Recent Xbox 360 Trailers / Movies | |
| Most Popular Xbox 360 Trailers / Movies | |
|
HQ Network: 10,326 | 
Guests: 6703 |
Members: 0
- Feb 20, 2007
- Feb 20, 2007
- Feb 20, 2007
8.6
