lost
07-05-2010, 11:02 AM
Title: Crackdown 2
Platforms: Xbox 360
Platform Reviewed: Xbox 360
Developer: Ruffian Games (http://www.ruffiangames.com/)
Publisher: Microsoft (http://www.xbox.com/)
MSRP: $59.99
Writer: Martin 'lost' Perry
Crackdown 2 Review
Welcome back Agent.
Crackdown, the original, is often heralded as one of the sleeper hits of the 360 back-catalog. I find this pretty surprising given exactly how hyped I was for the game. My penchant for superhero action secured Realtime Worlds a safe day-one purchase. I almost cried when I tipped my Xbox, scratching the disk beyond repair – but don't tell the game store I traded it in to. After all this, it was even more surprising to me when the reveal of the game's sequel failed to get me excited. With a new team, Ruffian Games, at the helm and a focus on mutants rather than policing it just hit a bum note. I expected unwelcome changes, zombie fatigue and deviance from the brilliantly open mission structure of the original. I was wrong...for the most part.
Crackdown 2 is an odd beast – it is at once too different from the original and too similar. Dealing with the former first the city has seen significant change in the years that have passed since you first grabbed an agility orb. A deviant Agency employee sabotaged the Agent programme and supposedly unleashed the 'freak' plague among the residents of the three familiar islands. An anti-Agency gang, The Cell, have sprung up taking back control of the streets and barricading large areas to maintain their own security and defend against the nightly visits from the hundreds of mutated humans that now roam freely. The devastation has been widespread with old buildings, many of which housed key players in the original gangs, now abandoned and collapsing.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/LostGames/Crackdown-2_2010_02-11-10_01.jpg
Now, on the plus side this gives you an altered playground with plenty of spaces being re-purposed as well as those which have been laid to waste. Once empty hillsides bustle with shanty towns, the Agency Tower is now an even more imposing totem and, in general, the activity within the game is now focused on the areas which served less of a purpose than they once did. On the flip side some real favorites have been all but forgotten with the stunt arena now useless, the secret tunnels under the Agency collapsed and inaccessible and, in general, the once open streets are now more closed and trickier to navigate in the faster vehicles. I felt really conflicted about these changes – I wanted new, I demand new, I'm glad they did new but did I want the new that they have decided to offer?
The answer is most definitely no when it comes to the removal of some of the very coolest, if not particularly significant in terms of gameplay, features that made you the biggest bad-ass in town. Removing the aforementioned access tunnels means that the Agency Tower no longer feels like a Batcave, and I love Batcaves. The vehicles that that Batcave used to house have changed for the worse too now. Rather than having three Agency vehicles from the start (supercar, SUV and truck) you instead unlock new vehicles, with a tank replacing the truck, as you level-up your driving skill. Want to know the worst of it? These vehicles no longer transform so, instead of an awesome Agentmobile you now get a fairly standard looking sports car. The helicopter, accessible once you reach a high level of agility, is a poor replacement for morphing vehicles when it is essentially, given the skill level you much reach, a game completion unlock.
It definitely feels like change for change sake and that continues into the mission content. While early promotion for the game promised a more objective based experience the structure remains essentially the same. Rather than killing key targets, you now activate beacons around the city – essentially the same thing but with a different lick of paint. The impact of capturing these points is less than that of taking out a key gang member as it no longer changes the combat effectiveness of your opponents making the gameplay mix significantly more similar from player to player. Capturing of drop points around the city now involves grander firefights but are, similarly, the same concept with a slight upgrade. With roof-top races and street races both returning the major additions are linked to the freaks that inhabit the world.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/LostGames/Crackdown-2_2010_02-11-10_06.jpg
First up, after activating a series of beacons you are tasked with journeying into the den of the freaks for that area. These subterranean arenas are Ruffian's biggest additions to the game world and some of the hidden areas, away from these missions, are pretty cool to find. Once you've leapt into a whole world of hurt you must defend what is essentially a big freak killing bomb. Waves of enemies attack, some small, some huge, as you attempt to let it charge and detonate. If you attempt to rush the game these will quickly become the most tedious events in the game but enjoyed apart from each other they offer individual challenge in varied environments. The secondary freak objectives revolve around burst points, which only activate at night, where you must blast away wave after wave of mutant as they flood into the street. In all, while not terribly original, these new objectives are a positive addition to the mix of objectives on offer to players.
I've been reasonably negative about how much things have changed, and most of those changes are for the worst, up until now. There must surely be a reason though why since the review copy of the game was made available to me that I have had little desire to play any of the other games in my write-up queue? In the end the answer to that question is pretty simple. Crackdown 2, like its predecessor, is an absolute joy to play with the progression from weakling to law-enforcing god being one of the most rewarding in gaming. Leaping fifty feet, throwing a car at your enemies and blowing it up with a rocket – all within about 5 seconds and completed with ease – is exactly the type of game that I want to play and definitely the type of game that I want to play with friends.
The almost endless fun on offer, altered or not, can once again be enjoyed with friends but now up to four players can inhabit the same city for co-op. That means every task in you, or your friend's world, can be taken by a larger group orchestrating grander acts of destruction and chaos. The cars might not morph, the access tunnels might be gone and the character of the key gang targets may have been lost to time but when it comes to me and three buddies using the tricky, but eventually fun, new wingsuit to glide into the newly massive groups of mutants and blowing them to pieces none of those trivialities really matters. The new competitive online game modes (DM, TDM and Rocket Tag) are fun, stable and add a lot more to the value of the package than I expected. The lock-on feature is tamed down, with skill being required to properly align your shots, and the dynamic nature of the gameplay and the environments it takes place it means that a steady community will likely grow up around the game.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/LostGames/Crackdown-2_2010_02-11-10_05.jpg
Despite some faults, despite some changes for the worse, Ruffian Games have added compelling new online features, fresh powers and maintained the core of what made Crackdown such brilliant fun. Without the 'Halo 3 Beta' being attached this game gets to stand on its own and, despite ageing technology and visuals, delivers more fun per minute than you will get from the majority of this year's releases. Alongside Just Cause 2 it delivers one of the truest sandbox experiences available with hours of playtime to be had among the many toys available to blow up, throw and leap over by yourself or with friends. It's a recommended purchase for everyone, right now, but not one without its faults or unwelcome simplicity.
Score: 4 out of 5
http://evavhost.com/public/4.gif
The Good All those super-powers still feel totally awesome. More varied gameplay with some fun new areas to explore and explode. Co-op and competitive multiplayer is absolutely brilliant - game best played with friends.
The Bad No morphing cars, no cool access tunnels and a city that feels too similar. The core missions lack the character of the original assassination list and they don't impact the game world at all. Evolution rather than revolution from a franchise that, just a couple of years ago, broke new ground.
The Ugly The Agency Tower is no longer a hub, nor a fortress of solitude but is now actually a bit of a pain in the ass to navigate.
Platforms: Xbox 360
Platform Reviewed: Xbox 360
Developer: Ruffian Games (http://www.ruffiangames.com/)
Publisher: Microsoft (http://www.xbox.com/)
MSRP: $59.99
Writer: Martin 'lost' Perry
Crackdown 2 Review
Welcome back Agent.
Crackdown, the original, is often heralded as one of the sleeper hits of the 360 back-catalog. I find this pretty surprising given exactly how hyped I was for the game. My penchant for superhero action secured Realtime Worlds a safe day-one purchase. I almost cried when I tipped my Xbox, scratching the disk beyond repair – but don't tell the game store I traded it in to. After all this, it was even more surprising to me when the reveal of the game's sequel failed to get me excited. With a new team, Ruffian Games, at the helm and a focus on mutants rather than policing it just hit a bum note. I expected unwelcome changes, zombie fatigue and deviance from the brilliantly open mission structure of the original. I was wrong...for the most part.
Crackdown 2 is an odd beast – it is at once too different from the original and too similar. Dealing with the former first the city has seen significant change in the years that have passed since you first grabbed an agility orb. A deviant Agency employee sabotaged the Agent programme and supposedly unleashed the 'freak' plague among the residents of the three familiar islands. An anti-Agency gang, The Cell, have sprung up taking back control of the streets and barricading large areas to maintain their own security and defend against the nightly visits from the hundreds of mutated humans that now roam freely. The devastation has been widespread with old buildings, many of which housed key players in the original gangs, now abandoned and collapsing.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/LostGames/Crackdown-2_2010_02-11-10_01.jpg
Now, on the plus side this gives you an altered playground with plenty of spaces being re-purposed as well as those which have been laid to waste. Once empty hillsides bustle with shanty towns, the Agency Tower is now an even more imposing totem and, in general, the activity within the game is now focused on the areas which served less of a purpose than they once did. On the flip side some real favorites have been all but forgotten with the stunt arena now useless, the secret tunnels under the Agency collapsed and inaccessible and, in general, the once open streets are now more closed and trickier to navigate in the faster vehicles. I felt really conflicted about these changes – I wanted new, I demand new, I'm glad they did new but did I want the new that they have decided to offer?
The answer is most definitely no when it comes to the removal of some of the very coolest, if not particularly significant in terms of gameplay, features that made you the biggest bad-ass in town. Removing the aforementioned access tunnels means that the Agency Tower no longer feels like a Batcave, and I love Batcaves. The vehicles that that Batcave used to house have changed for the worse too now. Rather than having three Agency vehicles from the start (supercar, SUV and truck) you instead unlock new vehicles, with a tank replacing the truck, as you level-up your driving skill. Want to know the worst of it? These vehicles no longer transform so, instead of an awesome Agentmobile you now get a fairly standard looking sports car. The helicopter, accessible once you reach a high level of agility, is a poor replacement for morphing vehicles when it is essentially, given the skill level you much reach, a game completion unlock.
It definitely feels like change for change sake and that continues into the mission content. While early promotion for the game promised a more objective based experience the structure remains essentially the same. Rather than killing key targets, you now activate beacons around the city – essentially the same thing but with a different lick of paint. The impact of capturing these points is less than that of taking out a key gang member as it no longer changes the combat effectiveness of your opponents making the gameplay mix significantly more similar from player to player. Capturing of drop points around the city now involves grander firefights but are, similarly, the same concept with a slight upgrade. With roof-top races and street races both returning the major additions are linked to the freaks that inhabit the world.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/LostGames/Crackdown-2_2010_02-11-10_06.jpg
First up, after activating a series of beacons you are tasked with journeying into the den of the freaks for that area. These subterranean arenas are Ruffian's biggest additions to the game world and some of the hidden areas, away from these missions, are pretty cool to find. Once you've leapt into a whole world of hurt you must defend what is essentially a big freak killing bomb. Waves of enemies attack, some small, some huge, as you attempt to let it charge and detonate. If you attempt to rush the game these will quickly become the most tedious events in the game but enjoyed apart from each other they offer individual challenge in varied environments. The secondary freak objectives revolve around burst points, which only activate at night, where you must blast away wave after wave of mutant as they flood into the street. In all, while not terribly original, these new objectives are a positive addition to the mix of objectives on offer to players.
I've been reasonably negative about how much things have changed, and most of those changes are for the worst, up until now. There must surely be a reason though why since the review copy of the game was made available to me that I have had little desire to play any of the other games in my write-up queue? In the end the answer to that question is pretty simple. Crackdown 2, like its predecessor, is an absolute joy to play with the progression from weakling to law-enforcing god being one of the most rewarding in gaming. Leaping fifty feet, throwing a car at your enemies and blowing it up with a rocket – all within about 5 seconds and completed with ease – is exactly the type of game that I want to play and definitely the type of game that I want to play with friends.
The almost endless fun on offer, altered or not, can once again be enjoyed with friends but now up to four players can inhabit the same city for co-op. That means every task in you, or your friend's world, can be taken by a larger group orchestrating grander acts of destruction and chaos. The cars might not morph, the access tunnels might be gone and the character of the key gang targets may have been lost to time but when it comes to me and three buddies using the tricky, but eventually fun, new wingsuit to glide into the newly massive groups of mutants and blowing them to pieces none of those trivialities really matters. The new competitive online game modes (DM, TDM and Rocket Tag) are fun, stable and add a lot more to the value of the package than I expected. The lock-on feature is tamed down, with skill being required to properly align your shots, and the dynamic nature of the gameplay and the environments it takes place it means that a steady community will likely grow up around the game.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/LostGames/Crackdown-2_2010_02-11-10_05.jpg
Despite some faults, despite some changes for the worse, Ruffian Games have added compelling new online features, fresh powers and maintained the core of what made Crackdown such brilliant fun. Without the 'Halo 3 Beta' being attached this game gets to stand on its own and, despite ageing technology and visuals, delivers more fun per minute than you will get from the majority of this year's releases. Alongside Just Cause 2 it delivers one of the truest sandbox experiences available with hours of playtime to be had among the many toys available to blow up, throw and leap over by yourself or with friends. It's a recommended purchase for everyone, right now, but not one without its faults or unwelcome simplicity.
Score: 4 out of 5
http://evavhost.com/public/4.gif
The Good All those super-powers still feel totally awesome. More varied gameplay with some fun new areas to explore and explode. Co-op and competitive multiplayer is absolutely brilliant - game best played with friends.
The Bad No morphing cars, no cool access tunnels and a city that feels too similar. The core missions lack the character of the original assassination list and they don't impact the game world at all. Evolution rather than revolution from a franchise that, just a couple of years ago, broke new ground.
The Ugly The Agency Tower is no longer a hub, nor a fortress of solitude but is now actually a bit of a pain in the ass to navigate.