Spring Break
Xbox 360 release lets players 'crack down' on three gangs
Users get to take down evil villans
CLARKE SCHWABE
Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: Variety
- Page 1 of 1
In any game, nothing is more satisfying than finally tracking down some vicious villain and eliminating him with smooth, swift efficiency.
Unless, of course, this elimination involves heat-seeking missiles sent screaming from 500 yards out toward the highly-flammable barrels the villain and his buddies don't notice behind them.
Platform: Xbox 360
Grade: B+
Verdict: "Crackdown" is drenched in high-octane, comic book style action. A solid buy with only a few flaws.
That's what "Crackdown" for Xbox 360 is all about.
In "Crackdown," you play a genetically-enhanced crimefighter known as an Agent, and you work for the Agency. You are charged with the task of ridding Pacific City of the three gangs terrorizing it. This is no small feat, but an Agent is more than equipped for this kind of task.
As you explore the city and take out all manner of ne'er-do-wells, you gain proficiency with various abilities. When these skills "level up," the effects are immediate and gratifying: your explosions are bigger, you can jump higher or you can pick up a Honda instead of a telephone booth.
The combat in the game is outstanding. Your shots can connect from huge distances, grenades act as the equalizers you'd expect them to, and rockets create the kind of explosions that make you stop and say Wow."
The graphics that back up all of this are great. Cell-shading gives a subtle comic book feel to the game without getting cartoony.
Cooperative play adds a dimension to the game depending on which way you and a friend want to play. If you're just in it for the carnage, you can engage in city-wide titanic clashes. To take down some bad guys, co-op allows your strikes on kingpins to employ more strategy.
The game is not without its flaws, however, and foremost among those is its lack of a good plot. There is a good twist in the story, but throughout the game you're executing the same mission over and over again: find kingpin, destroy, repeat.
In addition, some of your Agent's abilities aren't used to their full potential. For example, your Melee skill, as it grows, does allow you to pick up heavier objects, but when you throw anything, it feels like the object just floats away from you, up and then down. You'd expect someone able to lift a bus to be able to really hurl, say, a trash can or a pipe.
Still, "Crackdown" is a great game: a "Grand Theft Auto"-style affair with equal parts of "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Punisher" mixed in.
Unless, of course, this elimination involves heat-seeking missiles sent screaming from 500 yards out toward the highly-flammable barrels the villain and his buddies don't notice behind them.
CRACKDOWN
Platform: Xbox 360
Grade: B+
Verdict: "Crackdown" is drenched in high-octane, comic book style action. A solid buy with only a few flaws.
That's what "Crackdown" for Xbox 360 is all about.
In "Crackdown," you play a genetically-enhanced crimefighter known as an Agent, and you work for the Agency. You are charged with the task of ridding Pacific City of the three gangs terrorizing it. This is no small feat, but an Agent is more than equipped for this kind of task.
As you explore the city and take out all manner of ne'er-do-wells, you gain proficiency with various abilities. When these skills "level up," the effects are immediate and gratifying: your explosions are bigger, you can jump higher or you can pick up a Honda instead of a telephone booth.
The combat in the game is outstanding. Your shots can connect from huge distances, grenades act as the equalizers you'd expect them to, and rockets create the kind of explosions that make you stop and say Wow."
The graphics that back up all of this are great. Cell-shading gives a subtle comic book feel to the game without getting cartoony.
Cooperative play adds a dimension to the game depending on which way you and a friend want to play. If you're just in it for the carnage, you can engage in city-wide titanic clashes. To take down some bad guys, co-op allows your strikes on kingpins to employ more strategy.
The game is not without its flaws, however, and foremost among those is its lack of a good plot. There is a good twist in the story, but throughout the game you're executing the same mission over and over again: find kingpin, destroy, repeat.
In addition, some of your Agent's abilities aren't used to their full potential. For example, your Melee skill, as it grows, does allow you to pick up heavier objects, but when you throw anything, it feels like the object just floats away from you, up and then down. You'd expect someone able to lift a bus to be able to really hurl, say, a trash can or a pipe.
Still, "Crackdown" is a great game: a "Grand Theft Auto"-style affair with equal parts of "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Punisher" mixed in.
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