Crackdown is one of the least structured games ever made, but is that a good thing?
Graphics and Sound: Crackdown’s graphics eschew the typical photo-realism that is prominent in games now for a cartoon-esque cell shaded look. Although it may sound to be a bad move to many, the cartoon graphics actually contribute to the game’s larger than life gameplay. With such cartoon like graphics, it’s much easier to accept a man leaping more than 7 stories in a single bound. There are a few graphical glitches here and there, but nothing too noticeable or detracting. The game boasts a terrific draw distance that makes climbing the many skyscrapers that much more rewarding, offering a view of cars traversing the streets and the beautifully done sky (Something that many games don’t seem to capture). However, as you move closer to buildings or other things, you notice that all of the detail disappears and the textures are bland and boring. Overall, the graphics are fairly good, especially considering it’s one of the first cell-shaded games on the new consoles. The music is nothing spectacular, and only plays while you’re driving, a la Grand Theft Auto. All of the tunes are completely forgettable, and you’re going to want to listen to your own music on your hard drive so you get music playing constantly.
Story: Crackdown simply does not have a story worth any recognition. You are a genetically enhanced agent working for, what else, “The Agency”, and are tasked with cleaning up three different gangs. No other story is present at all, leaving the gameplay to support the game. Grand Theft Auto this is not.
Gameplay: Crackdown puts all of its effort into gameplay, with mixed results. With no story to speak of, and a generic character you don’t care about, the gameplay is the only thing that can save the game. Luckily, it comes through. Somewhat. Crackdown is the extreme of open ended design. There are three gangs, controlling three different islands. The “Agency” island (where you can access Agency vehicles) is nestled in middle of the triangle. There are tunnels that lead from the Agency building to each of the three islands, allowing quick transportation. In addition, there are Agency supply stations scattered across the three islands that you can capture. Once you do, you can choose to respawn there and select any weapons you have acquired. In order to acquire a weapon, all you need to do is grab it from the world and bring it to a supply station, and it will be accessible from any of them. If you have played Mercenaries or are familiar with the “Deck of 52” from that game, then Crackdown’s power structure of the three different gangs will be familiar. There are the lowest class, the middle class, and the main head. You can attack them any order you want to, whenever you want to, although taking out the grunts will make the head honcho much easier to takedown. In addition, you can take on any of the thee gangs any order you want. There really is no structure to the game at all, although each gang is harder than the previous. You can tell the difficulty of the gang by the height of the buildings around. In order to “level up” your different stats (firearms, strength, driving, explosives, and jumping) you must do that action. Shoot people, and little orbs will pop out and give you boosts. Throw something and your strength increases, drive over people and your driving skill increases, and so on. The only difference is the agility orbs you need to get to increase your jumping stats. They’re by far the best aspect of the game, as your constantly trying to climb that impossibly high building to grab one. There are no side missions to speak of, and once the gangs are done, the game is over, leaving you to jump around in a city with nothing to do. The co-op play is decent with a stranger, and a blast with a friend. Jumping around trying to kill each other with rocket launchers when you’re supposed to be hunting baddies is too much fun. Overall, what Crackdown tries, it gets right, but it doesn’t try all that much. You have complete freedom, but none of the goodies that go hand-in-hand with some structure. Overall: Crackdown is a fun and amusing romp while it lasts. However, when it’s over, you’re left with an empty city that suddenly feels very empty, despite the towering buildings around. Co-op alleviates some of this, but not to a degree where you’ll play it for more than a month or two, and I expect more out of a $60 purchase.