Review: Crackdown 2

Jul 10, 2010

It’s been 3 long years since Realtime Worlds brought us Crackdown and for many we have been impatiently awaiting the arrival of it’s sequel, Crackdown 2. The new installment by Ruffian Games throws you right back in to Pacific City, for those that played the first game it will look very similar. There are been a few cosmetic changes to your surroundings but at its basic level it’s still the same city. The same fundamental principles also show up in the game play, this game’s Agent is tasked with defeating the bad guys and restoring order to the city.

Who are these bad guys you ask? Well there are still the gang faction(s) found in the first game but this time you are only dealing with one, The Cell. The other enemy in the game is the massive and seemingly unending stream of genetically mutated Freaks. That old saying, “Freaks come out at night,” is never more true than in Crackdown 2. The horde of Freaks will only arise from the depths under Pacific City after the sun goes down. The good thing though as you will see as the story progresses is that light is your friend when it comes to dealing with the Freaks. Now back to The Cell, it seems these criminals have been assigned one mission and that is to slow you down as your work to create a network of light absorption units that once a group of 3 are activated allow you drop a light emitting bomb into a Freak lair. One of the biggest negatives that I found in the game though is this is all you have to do to progress the story. It’s like a shampoo bottle says, lather, rinse, and repeat. I would like to have seen some more depth from the story, but alas this is what we have been given.

There are some side objectives that you can do to ease your movement through the city as you restore order. The first secondary objective is to defeat The Cell’s tactical strongholds throughout the story. These missions are very similar to Crackdown 1, where you would infiltrate a gang hideout and wipe out all of the gang members. Some of these strongholds have multiple areas where you have to take back control of all areas or you will allow The Cell to regain control of an area you have already captured. The reward you get from taking back control is a new Agency supply drop point, where you can refill on ammo or have a vehicle air dropped to you.

A second side objective involves closing down various Freak breaches throughout the city. These are areas where Freaks surface at night. The process here is to simply stand next to the breach, allow the freaks to come out of the hole and then annihilate every last one of them. I think for me this was the most boring of the missions, at least once your got your skills up to a reasonable level. Once your abilities have been ranked up, basically all you have to do is either hold the trigger button or use hand-to-hand combat and the Freaks will be wiped out quickly. The final side objectives are another rehash from the previous game, rooftop agility races, car races, and the vehicle stunt rings. As you complete each of these though you do receive skill points so they aren’t for nothing.

Another new addition to Crackdown 2 is the ability to have 4 player co-op and online multiplayer. The 4 person co-op is where the game shines for me. It is drop-in/out and allows for great freedom. The host is the one who gets the credit for story progression but the other players are eligible to keep their skill points and earn achievements from the host’s game. This would be the only aspect of the co-op I would like to see changed. It doesn’t seem fair that you can’t get credit for the story because you aren’t the host, you can easily complete the story solo so co-op isn’t mandatory. However, if you want help from fellow players to finish your game remember to return the favor. Allow other party members the chance to host so they can get credit for the groups hard work too. Another nice feature is that you aren’t tied down to any specific task when playing co-op, you could essentially let the host work on their story and the other members could hunt orbs or work on races or stunt challenges. I have not logged much time with the online multiplayer but you do have 3 game types to choose from. There is rocket tag and 2 types of deathmatch, free-for-all and team. You can also set up private lobbies which could be a bonus if you have multiple friends with the game. I did play a few games of FFA deathmatch and it is pretty standard, you start out with the basics, an assault rifle , shotgun, and grenades with the option to pick up better weapons at various locations around the map.

No review of a Crackdown game would be complete without a mention of skills. The same skill set returns in Crackdown 2. You will be working to upgrade Agility, Guns, Strength, Explosives, and Driving. There are 3 that will mainly be ranked up as you work on the story those being, Guns, Strength, and Explosives. Nothing too difficult here just do your thing and they will come naturally. If you spend a fair amount of time behind the wheel of a vehicle your driving skill will rank up quickly also. I do have to admit though this is my weakest skill because to me it’s more fun to just run and jump around the city. The final skill is Agility and this is the one that is primarily ranked up by collecting Agility orbs that are perched around the city. As you rank up your agility you gain the ability to run faster and jump higher and farther. Once you reach Level 5 you will be given a wing suit that allows you to glide around the city. This is one that will take time and practice to master though.

The final piece of the Crackdown 2 puzzle is orb collecting. This is one of the most addictive aspects of the game and the most time consuming. Just like the previous game there are various orbs hidden throughout Pacific City. The most common will be the green Agility orb. These are perched on various locations throughout the city, some easy to reach and some that will take some creative approaches to reach them. There are also the 300 hidden orbs you will have to find to get 100% game completion. These in my opinion are the most annoying because very few of the them are in plain sight, but they are the most rewarding in they give up points for each skill. Most of these will require you to really look and listen to find. One nice addition though is your orb radar. If you hit Up on the d-pad it will ping your nearby location and show you a general area the orb is in. You also have to deal with the pesky renegade orbs this time around. There are 2 types of these Agility and Driving and both will do everything than can to not be caught. These are moving orbs and you have to catch them in order get their reward, a few will undoubtedly give you a headache and if you are just starting out some will have to be saved for later once you’ve built up for skills. The final orb type is the Live orbs, these can only be gotten when playing in at least 2 player co-op and give up the same multi-skill rewards as the hidden orbs.

If I where to rate this game on our B A C O N scale, I would give it a B A C O. For me it loses points in its repetitive nature and also it’s length of story. I played the game through on the second of three difficulty settings and finished in about 12 hours of gameplay. While some might say this isn’t bad for a full game release, I did spend a fair amount of time hunting orbs that have zero to do with story progression. The ability to have 4 player co-op and the general level of the fun this game provides at least warrants a rental. Do yourself a favor and head down to your video store or put it in your Gamefly que. It also appear that Ruffian plans to support the game as there have been 2 different DLC add-ons planned for release in the future. Crackdown 2 won’t be a definite buy for the masses but if you liked the first installment or are a fan of sandbox games in general I would at least give it a look.