Crackdown downloadables detailed

There may be peace and quiet on the streets of Pacific City for now, but Microsoft is looking to bring chaos back to the Crackdown locale later this week with a game update and two downloadable content packs.

According to a posting on the site of Xbox Live director of programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, the game update will include a number of fixes and new features, including a jumping ground strike attack and tweaks to the autotargeting feature. And for gamers intent on hunting down every last orb, the range for the audio cue that means an orb is nearby will grow as the number of undiscovered orbs dwindles.

This week should also see the release of the Free-For-All Pack, a downloadable content assortment that is, appropriately enough, free to download. Among the pack's goodies is a "Keys to the City" mode the developers are calling "the ultimate cheat mode." When activated, players can spawn vehicles wherever they please, max out skills at will, go beyond the maxed-out range with superstrength and superagility cheats, and get all the weaponry (with unlimited ammo). Naturally, this mode disables leaderboards and achievements.

If that's not enough for some Crackdown fans, Microsoft is also going to sell the premium Getting Busy Bonus Pack. For 800 Microsoft Points ($10), players get three new vehicles (a buggy, a race car, and an armored tanklike vehicle), a street racing mode, and new weapons (including a minigun and a harpoon launcher). There are also new solo, competitive, and cooperative game types, including a two-player rocket tag game where one player is given a pistol and must survive for 60 seconds against a fellow agent equipped with a rocket launcher and infinite ammo.

Both content packs bring with them the opportunity to earn new achievements. The free pack has two extra achievements while the pay pack adds another five. However, three of those premium achievements can be earned for free during multiplayer sessions when playing with someone who has already purchased the Getting Busy Bonus Pack.

A full listing of each download's additions is available in Hryb's posting.