Ruffian Games took a good IP and turned out a game with a lame story and features missing from the game.
I love how Pacific City has fallen apart. You can feel the despair in the world. When the sun goes down, you can feel the fear that the citizens have when the mutants come out.
**SPOILERS**
Basically the premise of the game is to eliminate these mutants by powering a grid of UV energy that gets focused underground and kills these mutants. However, that is really all the game is. You upgrade your skills, connect the satellites, and then venture underground to defend the UV amplifier from the mutants until it detonates. There is also a rebel underground fighting against the agency and you simply retake territory from them. There are no leaders and the battles are repetitive .
Unfortunately, the city never comes back to life as you eliminate the freaks and retake territory from the rebels. Everything remains derelict and falling apart.
Also, the orb system of upgrading your abilities has remained. I can't think of anything more tedious than hunting for orbs so you character can jump higher, or driving around performing perfect turns and running enemies down, to improve driving skills. Its lame and boring.
Also, what happened to Keys to the City mode? A sandbox game like this should have this or cheat codes so you can run around and trying things.
All in all, I finished the game in one sitting overnight and I wish that I would have picked up Red Dead Redemption instead. There is no innovation in this game and in some ways it is inferior to the first Crackdown.
This is a weekend rental, save your $60 for something worth having.