Crackdown (Xbox 360) Review

Everything sounds great - the pop and hiss of an incoming RPG, the thud of hitting the ground after a 100 foot fall, the smack of the butt of your rifle hitting an enemies face, and the roar of your super-car hitting 100 MPH down the main strip. The voice of your contact at the Agency is hilarious, and laden with satire. Having incoming communications like "Pedestrians are a barely tolerable nuisance" or "That music is a clear indication of illegal activity! Get in there and shut that party down!" are an effective comedic interlude to the intense action.

Music only plays when you jump in a car, but you can hear muffled music coming from cars passing by, or nearby clubs which is a nice subtle detail. There's a couple of really nice tunes in here - DJ Krush and Amon Tobin being pleasant surprises to contrast some of the absolute shockers - one in particular from an act that can't decide whether they want to be rock, cheesy trance or club house. Eww. Thankfully you can cycle through the tunes by using the LB and RB buttons, but wasn't the whole deal with hard drives in consoles that we could dump some MP3s on there and stop enduring music that doesn't sit with our tastes?

Lastability

After around 30 hours of gameplay, I've completed the game on it's easiest difficulty setting, found over 400 of the 500 Agility orbs, about 80 of the 300 Hidden orbs, and my character has maxed stats for everything but driving - for reasons explained earlier. My several failed attempts at beating the last stage, before getting someone to help out over Xbox Live, are a pretty good indication that if you don't have a friend with you, you'll want to take the time to max out your stats before taking it on.

Then there's the plentiful side missions. Rooftop races, which lead the player on foot through intricate paths all over, under and around the city, car races that range from bloody intense to throw-your-controller-at-a-wall frustrating, and car stunts that often require cunning placement of a classic action-game/movie device - the car transporter with its ramp lowered. I've barely scratched the surface of these aspects, but can definitely say they're more enjoyable as a four star agent, twice as enjoyable with a mate, and if you're the anal type who doesn't stop until absolutely everything in the game is complete, you'll be going for yonks before you can claim ownage.

Multiplayer

Unfortunately, those of you without Xbox Live Gold, or a mate with an Xbox aren't going to be able to get a piece of co-operative action. Not sure the reasoning behind this - but it doesn't strike me as a technical limitation, as I'd imagine Gears would've pushed the 360 equally hard, and it still coped with split-screen multiplayer. Being able to enlist the help of a friend (or a complete stranger) over Xbox Live when you get stuck is a welcome addition, and infinitely more desirable than having to walk away because you're stuck somewhere, but don't alienate those of us that have friends who still come around for a game.

This is a real shame because, well, it kicks ass. What is already a fun filled title gets twice as good when you're cruising the streets with a buddy. Take on a boss together, show each other where the Hidden orbs you've found are, or cool stuff like the Base Jumping achievement - it's all good. Two people can jump into one car to travel together, which is a nice touch.

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