Crackdown

Cracking...

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There's been a lot made of Crackdown prior to its release, and not because of its own strengths but rather because of a certain 'golden ticket' beta invitation that can be found beneath the game's instruction manual. Generally speaking, a publisher bundling an attractive gaming freebie with a software release - other than the one it directly relates to - immediately warrants a degree of suspicion regarding the quality (or lack thereof) of the host game, not to mention the motives of the publisher. And, moreover, Microsoft casually throwing invitations to Halo 3's beta into Crackdown begins to seriously toll the bells of doom regarding a possible need to help garner software sales for a disappointing title on the back of 2007's biggest inbound release.

But then, personal paranoia is a condition not best brought to bear in the reviewing arena, so you can appreciate that it came as somewhat of a surprise to find that Crackdown is a damn fine game that's deserving of your time, regardless of the Halo 3 bait that dangles tantalisingly on its consumer hook. Crackdown, while not especially original in terms of content and gameplay (it's much like the bastard child of Grand Theft Auto, XIII, Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, and Mercenaries) delivers an incredibly accessible sandbox experience, which, although wildly violent, clearly doesn't take itself too seriously.

From a narrative point of view, the player slips beneath the cloned skin of a genetically engineered peacekeeper assigned to The Agency, and from start to finish there's only one mission mandate to enforce: "clean up the streets" of crime-addled Pacific City. Split across a collection of interlinked islands that house three separate crime organisations (Los Muertos, The Volk, Shai-Gen) and their respective kingpins, the player must seek out and eliminate a selection of lesser generals and their henchmen hoards in order to weaken each organisation and stand a chance against the eventual kingpins. Given such seemingly insurmountable odds, it would be fair to expect plenty of 'game over' messages to flash on the screen, but Crackdown instead returns the player's deceased character back to The Agency, where their consciousness is simply downloaded into a fresh clone and returned to the fray - and players can freely switch between the game's proffered agent host bodies and choose to respawn at any liberated Agency supply point in the game world too.

To stand a greater chance of avoiding untimely death in the first place, agents are able to steadily evolve a selection of HUD-based character attribute meters that gradually grant access to progressive gameplay skills. These skills are "Strength", which is increased by picking up evermore-weighty objects and hurling them at enemies - to the point where vehicles can be launched at gang members just as easily as trashcans. Then there's the "Firearms" proficiency, which, much like physical strength, evolves through continued collection and efficient use of Crackdown's vast array of destructive weaponry. "Explosives" is much the same and expands based on creative and opportune use of grenades, limpet mines, etc, thus delivering greater explosions and significantly more damage. "Driving" ability is nurtured by quite simply competing in against-the-clock street races that litter the city, improving handling and speed ability attributed to each vehicle, be it an official Agency model or merely a commandeered vehicle from the city streets. Finally, there's "Agility", which is perhaps the game's most used character skill and will eventually see the player leaping effortlessly across great distances in order to traverse the city's towering skyscrapers. Unlike Firearms and Explosives, Agility is honed by collecting (500) climbing and agility orbs that are hidden around the city - usually on difficult to reach rooftops.

All of the above soon makes the player a force to be reckoned with in the fight against Pacific City's cancerous crime wave, and before too long weapons-lock and precision accuracy becomes a synch, vehicle handling becomes a joy rather than a woolly chore, explosive power causes mighty chain reactions, and, what's more, the default Agency vehicles evolve alongside the player's driving prowess. Starting as a basic sports coupe, a functional SUV, and a plain truck cab, the Agency offerings soon look like something more suited to Batman and Gotham City, altering physically to introduce onboard weaponry that directs yet more firepower at the waiting gang members.

Aesthetically, there's little doubt that Crackdown is a thoroughly next-gen title. Everything delivered by the Havok engine is slickly produced and beautifully implemented, whether that be the richly designed environments, the reactive light sourcing on vehicles and buildings, or the ragdoll physics as gang members are blown skyward in ridiculously extravagant explosions. There's nothing on show that's remotely 'old' where visual flare and execution are concerned. More importantly, from an immersion perspective Crackdown is bustling with activity. Pacific City is absolutely awash with pedestrians, either calmly going about their business, avoiding clashes between the peacekeepers and gang members, or even staggering about drunk. If the player pauses every now and then from the joys of wiping out crime, the sheer amount of character wandering about (unnoticed) on the streets is superb. And the same can be said of the city's roads and highways, with vehicles cramming every inch of accessible tarmac; and it's worth noting that, despite all the on-screen action, there's not a hint of slowdown, jagging, and draw is minimal at best.

Musically, Crackdown tends to lean a little too closely to Grand Theft Auto. Thankfully there's no horrid 1980's soundtrack to grate against every moment of the gameplay, but the majority of the in-game tracks are delivered via vehicle stereo systems that can be controlled through the gamepad's left and right bumpers. When on foot Crackdown's soundtrack is much more traditionally orchestrated, allowing Agency directives to pass clearly over the top of the music while also granting room for gang taunts, weapons fire, car crashes, and the general hustle and bustle of a living, breathing city. To be honest, though, the flowing gameplay is such that player's won't even notice the music because they'll be too immersed in frantic gunfights, or looking for the next chain reaction explosion opportunity.

There's no tangible Xbox Live multiplayer component on offer with Crackdown, though players will be able to join up to tackle the game cooperatively (or via system link), as well as access content downloads and also leaderboards - all of which is somewhat of a disappointment considering the massive game world canvas that Live players could have existed in.

The only serious criticism to be levelled at Crackdown - and some may choose to dismiss it as trivial compared to the package as a whole - is that it isn't remotely original. It positively reeks of derivative thinking from Scottish developer Real Time Worlds. Initial impressions scream Grand Theft Auto as innocent drivers are hauled from their vehicles, pedestrians flee from imminent death, and bullets fly as gangs face-off with authorities on virtually every street corner. Then, as the player's character attributes evolve, the superhuman strength and agility feels noticeably like the destructive freedom of the criminally ignored Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. And the game's rising body count and explosive power, while not delivering the same destructive impact as Mercenaries, certainly offers similar freedoms where anything goes and 'by any armament necessary' becomes the player's favoured war cry.

However, regardless of its lack of originality, Crackdown is never anything less than a fun-filled blast that places absolutely no pressure on the player and is happy to accommodate any gameplay whim that he/she wishes to follow - missions to track down and remove generals and kingpins remain open at all times and can be executed whenever the player chooses to return to the core action. Specifically, all 500 agility orbs and all 300 hidden icons can be sought out as the game cycles patiently through day and night; road races and roof-bound agility tests can be bested until attributes are maxed-out; or, if the player so desires, piping, explosive gas canisters, gang members, pedestrians, and a host of other items can be hurled from rooftops...just because!

As much as a sore ass is the sign of a poor movie, sore eyes from a lack of blinking is a sure sign of an excellent videogame. Perhaps the biggest endorsement worth assigning to Crackdown is that hours of enjoyable gameplay will fly by as the player endeavours to rid Pacific City of its criminal contingent - and not much blinking will take place in the process. Oh, and incidentally, that sparkling Halo 3 beta invite will fade into insignificance for a while too, surely testament to Crackdown's value based on nothing more than its own merits.

87%

By Stevie Smith