Crackdown

One small step for an agent, one giant leap for 360.




Version
Xbox 360
Developer
Realtime Worlds
Publisher
Microsoft
Genre
Action



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By Alex Wollenschlaeger

Crackdown for the Xbox 360 is not about sound. It's not about graphics. It's not about shooting or jumping or driving in traffic. It's about Achievements. Because of this, it's a sterling example of a game that could not have been made at any other time for any other system. And it's also a hell of a lot of fun.

I've spent more time putting off writing this review than I care to remember. Every time I wanted to start, I felt I owed it to myself, and to you, to play it a little longer, to make sure I was getting what Dave Jones and his team at Realtime Worlds were trying to say. I'd like to say that this was done as part of a selfless quest for the truth, but the truth is that I had lost myself in a virtual world that was even starting to encroach into my own.

"The truth is that I had lost myself in a virtual world that was even starting to encroach into my own."

There's an interesting dichotomy at the heart of Crackdown in that you're both free to do whatever you want and hopelessly tethered to the rules that govern how you earn the dozens of Achievements that give the game its nuclear-powered momentum.

The three main islands that make up Pacific City have their own gangs and bosses that you can approach however you please, and the only guide you have to how to proceed is the savage ramp in difficulty should you attempt a new area too soon.

P L E A S E   V I S I T   O U R   S P O N S O R :

While you're getting to know the world and your abilities, the rules are straightforward. Go to the boss's hideout, kill him (or her) and earn your reward. Repeat another 20 times. While enjoyable (and interesting, thanks to the game changing based on the order you tackle bosses), it's only once you get past this that you start to see the real game, the one that rewards you once for climbing to the highest point in the city to observe it from afar and then again for diving back into it. There are rewards for jacking 100 cars from gang members and for throwing an item more than 200 feet.

The brief scriptures in the always-at-hand Achievements commandments dictate your behaviour with achievement points being your just reward. I found myself becoming obsessed with earning as many of them as I could.

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Video Coverage
(See Latest Videos & Video FAQ Here)
PLEASE DO NOT DIRECT LINK TO ANY MEDIA FILE ON KIKIZO
DescriptionDur.SizeDetails
Crackdown
E3 2006 trailer
01:05 16MB DF, SD, 16:9
640x360p30
2.3Mbps
Crackdown
Announcement trailer (hi quality)  
1.46m 38MB HD, 30, CAM
800x448
3.5Mbps
Peter Moore Interview
Extensive interview with Xbox boss
24:22 217MB CAM, ED, 16:9
856x480/60p
5Mbps
Chris Lewis Interview
Xbox EMEA boss exclusive feature
14:46 148MB CAM, ED, 16:9
856x480/60p
5Mbps