Tech Blog

[#1]

I wrote up Crackdown 2 a little while ago in a preview , where I said, "I feel like what people (game reviewers, I guess) are going to say when they play the finished product is 'it's good, but it's just more Crackdown.'" Well, I've been playing the finished product solidly for over a week, and do I feel that way?

Yes and no! Let's go a little askew with this review and do it as a sort of bullet point back and forth.

GOOD: It's just more Crackdown. Everything I already knew and loved about Crackdown is still there. You play a super-powered agent that you gradually power-up, increasing his agility, fighting, shooting, explosive and driving skills. The play is pleasingly vertical (leaping around as an agent is tweaked perfectly) there are over 900 orbs to collect, and when you get into a battle--either with the shooty-shooty enemy cell or the punchy-punchy enemy freaks--while the battles can be a bit confusing when you bring out the big weapons there's probably no other game that makes you feel as powerful or has as much explosive chaos on screen.

But,

BAD: It's just more Crackdown. This is much more of a problem than I had expected aftera  couple of hours play in a preview. The biggest issue is that it's the same city from the first game. Well, that's not quite true. The city from the first game was bright and pleasant, this one is all "post-apocalyptic" and actually quite boring as a result. Plus I don't remember the "last" island (you don't really have to do them in any order, but it's the one with the tallest buildings) being so annoying to climb even with a fully powered agent. On top of that, a lot of the issues from the first game--wonky aiming, lack of variety in the "main" game--are all still here. You have to really like collecting orbs, which is, admittedly, really addictive.

Also,

BAD: The changes they have made don't really change anything. They've added some stuff. The freaks mean there is some good scrapping to be had at night. The new "wingsuit" means that you can fly around if you carefully learn how to make it work (you have to swoop down and then up to keep continually flying, it's a little awkward but can be a lot of fun.) However, they don't really change anything about what you spend your time doing, most notably because the mission design is all basically the same thing: kill a lot of dudes. Four player co-op doesn't really change anything in that respect either.

GOOD: The changes they have made don't really change anything. I can't help but feel if they did change anything it wouldn't be Crackdown any more. The "game" of Crackdown isn't really the mission design but what you choose to do in the world. Played with some friends, it's more of a playground in the truest tradition of the "sandbox" than a game like GTA. Why not spend some time throwing enemy bodies off buildings, or doing synchronized wingsuit flying? Or just shooting each other with rockets. It's a game for chatting with friends over Live while messing around, not seriously trying to progress through the story. It's odd to say, but the game really is "pure."

Ultimately,

Think of Crackdown 2 as "Crackdown, too." I've heard quite a lot of people moan about the game not being as good as the first, but I think that's crazy. It's really just more of the same, and if you enjoyed messing around in the first game with friends, or were just hypnotically addicted to collecting orbs, it's what the doctor ordered after such a long absence. Plus, there are a couple of DLC packs coming that might change things up.

I will admit: if there is a Crackdown 3 (maybe, the ending certainly implies there could be) then it will have to be a bit different. At least a significantly different city. But until then... well, I've still got some of those rogue agility orbs to collect...

[#2]

You have no idea how addicted I am to collecting those Agility Orbs.  It's ridiculous, I can't resist it!!

[#3]

Yeah. I think it's almost a shame that your powers stop at level 5, because I have collected way more agility orbs than I "need." I have tried to tear myself away from the game though, but when the DLC comes out I might go back and finish the last sixty or so agility orbs I need to collect them all.