Crackdown 2 (Xbox 360)

I loved the first Crackdown - the ongoing search for orbs, the super-human jumps, the mass destruction.... Good times.
I went into this with low expectations, as I was burnt before with Bioshock 2. And the verdict? It's fun.

Once you get past the visual changes - the graphics, for some reason aren't as good as the original, the HUD isn't as good looking as the first - the cool opaque blues are replaced by no-nonsense, ugly whites and reds - and the biggest crime, the lack of transforming vehicles, then it's business as usual. The missions may be different, but the jumps, the guns, and the orbs are all there, just in a run down version of Pacific City.

A few changes to the game play are welcome. The frankly MASSIVE amount of freaks on display is impressive, and driving through them all in a beefed up car is good, dirty fun. Just one gang this time, too. The Cell.

All in all, it is a true sequel if ever there was one. A new story, but the locations and action is the same. If you enjoyed the first one, there is no reason why this won't appeal to you too.

Crackdown 2 is a third-person shooter featuring open-world, sandbox style game play. You control a genetically engineered agent assisting the Agency in the battle for Pacific City against a terrorist organization known as the Cell, and you're also tasked with keeping the run-down city clear of mutated freaks.

After a brief tutorial to give you an introduction to the controls and gameplay, then a couple of missions to introduce you to the main elements of the game, you're then left on your own to roam Pacific City and play the game as you wish. In order to complete the game you are tasked with activating beacons which destroy the freaks. You can also attempt (optional) Freak Breach and Tactical Location missions, which net you additional weapons and experience which go to improve your characters strength, agility, weapons skills, explosive skills and driving skills.

The beauty and curse of Crackdown 2 is that you're left to your own devices for most of the time. The beauty is that you can do the missions in any order you wish, or you can ignore the missions and do any of the optional activities in Pacific City, such as stunt jumps, running races across buildings, driving challenges etc etc. The curse is that there is virtually no storyline, and what little snippets you do get are from collecting the many audio tapes left lying around the city. A player could miss all the audio tapes and really have no idea of what is going on in the game, apart from the information given right at the start and right at the end of the game.

Much has been said about the similarities between Crackdown 2 and Crackdown 1. They are virtually the same game - the graphics in Crackdown 2 have received a slight polish (although it's still never going to be winning any beauty contests), the game is set in the same city and everything `feels' the same. Although it's quite interesting to go back to Pacific City and see it in a state of disrepair, it does smack of laziness on the part of the developers. In contrast, Saints Row and Saints Row 2 were both set in Stillwater, but SR2 never felt like it was a rehash of the prequel. There are some differences, some for the good and some for the bad. The good additions include wingsuits, the ability to pilot helicopters, 4 player online co-op, and being able to `ping' orbs, whereas the bad include non-morphing cars and the lack of any storyline or `enemy' that you have to bring down. The first game had you targeting gang members to bring down a crime ring, whereas in Crackdown 2, there is no real `enemy' apart from the hordes of freaks, and not much sense of achievement when you beat the game.

In the end, I really did enjoy Crackdown 2. It had me completely hooked for a very enjoyable fortnight, and I played it when I had any spare time. The game is great fun, blowing stuff up just never gets boring and hunting for the different kinds of orbs is both addictive and rewarding. The game really lights up if you can get a group of players together for some online co-op action, but it's equally fun running around the streets of Pacific City with a homing rocket launcher being told off by The Agency Voice for blowing up peacekeepers!

I have never played Crackdown 1 so I cant compare them, but for the price I got this for I had to buy it. In the game your an agent who has to rid the cities of freaks and terrorists. Its great fun, you collect bonuses which help with getting stronger and faster and a lot of big guns. Everything a man needs.