Crackdown 2 Review

Are you sure we got all the key points in the box art? Did you remember to add explosions? Very good!

The camera tracks a lone Agent, clad from head to toe in cybernetic armour, as he leaps across the deserted rooftops of Pacific City.  He jumps effortlessly, only seeming to graze the concrete surfaces before he hurls himself forward again.  Suddenly, wings snap open between his arms and he glides down to street level, bathed orange by the light of fire and flickering street lights.  Below, shambling mutants cover the ground like ants, moaning and baying in their lust for blood.

Cut camera to the ground.  The Agent slams into the pavement fist first, scattering mutants left and right with the shockwave.  Those unfortunate enough to break his fall explode into a green mist, the impact leaving no remnants.  The Agent stands, unhooks the machine gun on his back, and begins to fire indiscriminately into the swarm.  The mutants fall before the hail of bullets like wheat before the harvester, green blood spraying everywhere and staining the asphalt.

The scene continues for a few minutes, the only pause in the carnage comes when the Agent needs to reload.  When the last mutant falls to the ground, and the final tinkle of shell casings has echoed away, we hear the Voice of the Agency.

“Good work, Agent,” he says in a confident, authoritative tone, “now how about we see how many rings you can drive a car through?”

I’ve been struggling to write a review of Crackdown 2, because I’ve found it a little difficult to work out just what the game is trying to present to the player.  On the one hand it’s a very simplistic, fairly enjoyable sandbox game with a focus on exploration and experimentation.  On the other hand, it appears to want to imply a very deep, immersive experience that just isn’t there … and charge you accordingly.

Set in the same environment as the first Crackdown, the plot (if you can really call it that) involves a peace-keeper Agent attempting to rid Pacific City of a violent strain of mutants referred to as Freaks.  To do so he has to reclaim Agency technology from an anti-Agency terrorist group called Cell, who’ve managed to take over pretty much the entire city while the Agency struggled to create the new Agent.  Once recovered, the stolen technology can activate powerful UV bombs (the tools of “Project Sunburst”) that need to be detonated in Freak lairs all over the city to eliminate the mutant threat.

As there is no cover system, gun battles are waged "Civil War" style

The game’s major drawcard is the ability to play the game in four player co-op online.  Buddying up instantly makes the game more enjoyable, as there are any number of stupid things you can get up to.  Rooftop races become interesting the moment you throw another player into the mix with a UV shotgun.  Actually, pretty much ANY activity in the game becomes more enjoyable with the amazing griefing power of the UV shotgun, which can launch other players over long distances for minimal damage.

If you can’t buddy up, however, you’re about to find that single player is a much more reserved affair, and relies on the attraction of the sandbox to push the player’s interest.  Crackdown 2 would have to be close to the purest form of a sandbox game.  Although you have multiple objectives, the game treats them all as if they were optional.  As much importance is placed on driving your car in checkpoint races as is placed on rescuing the city from the mutants.  You’re also encouraged to explore, increase your skills and discover new and creative ways of crushing your enemies.  It’s a great game for just fucking around, leaping from roof to roof in search of elusive skill orbs and occasionally descending to the street level to blow something up.

But it’s major problem is that this directionless style of play will probably put off twice as many people as it may attract.  Although there’s a certain joy to roaming the city in an over-powered cyber suit, it can grow old quickly, and once you’ve had enough of exploring the city you’ve basically had enough of Crackdown 2.  The central plot is practically non-existent, and relies on a series of audio logs to fill in the blanks.  But audio logs don’t crop up as often as you might assume, so even if you explore a good deal of the city while forwarding Project Sunburst, by the time you reach the game’s “ending” you’ll still have no idea what’s supposed to be going on … or even why you should care.

Brace yourselves for cybernetic fist-bump impact!

It’s a real issue, because there are parts of the game where Cell contact you to try and convince you to help their cause.  At these points I was intrigued, thinking “OK, here’s where things get interesting”, but nothing ever comes of these messages as you mindlessly continue with the Agency’s agenda.  For a game that’s all about the freedom to do what you want, the story is depressingly linear.

The game is also littered with rather annoying gameplay mechanics and glitches.  Auto-aim, for instance, can be completely useless in some situations as the game seems to feel the need to prioritise irrelevant targets over the one your crosshairs are pointing at.  For example, I’d often find my auto-aim would lock onto a vehicle rather than the multiple enemies shooting at me.  It happened with such alarming regularity that I just started leaving the aim locked on a car and moving until enemies occupied the space between us.

Climbing can also be extremely frustrating at times.  Your agent will sometimes ignore obvious hand-holds and other times bump his head into the tiniest of outcroppings.  For someone who can leap over three storey buildings and lift a truck above his head, the Agent scales a wall with all the grace and style of a drunken beach ball.  It’s not so bad when you’re jumping between low-rise buildings, but when you start to attempt high-rises and skyscrapers in search of agility orbs (or heaven forbid actually chase a renegade agility orb) the inaccuracy can become a real test of patience.

Vehicles have a similar problem.  They’re either under-powered or over-powered and can be incredibly awkward to handle.  There never seems to be any weight when you jump behind the wheel, which means obtaining the moving driving orbs can be as much of a test of luck as skill.  Tell the truth, once your agility stat is high enough you’ll probably dismiss vehicles altogether as an unnecessary hassle.

Despite posing for this face-off poster, Agency vs Freaks hockey matches never became popular

Competitive multiplayer can be good fun, although there’s not actually much on offer.  There are simple deathmatch and team deathmatch modes to play, but you’ll probably find most player in Rocket Tag, the mode that arms every player with a rocket launcher and score is awarded by how long you can hold a yellow orb for.  It’s somewhat exhilarating, snatching the orb and watching as eight or more red arrows on the mini-map all swivel towards your position and the rain of rockets begins.

Visually the game can be fairly impressive, but it’s the city itself can really take most of the credit on that account.  There are sections of the map that look great in their battle-scarred and broken state, where other sections of the city are less impressive with their generic “grey walls and windows” theme.  Viewing the city from the sky puts the game’s commendable draw-distance on show, which is something you’ll be given ample opportunity to check out the moment you get your hands on a helicopter and the wing-suit.

Down on the ground, things are more functional than fancy.  Car models are broken up into Agency, Cell and civilian, and none of them are incredibly interesting.  If you see one Freak you’ve seen them all, and Cell operatives are equally bland.  You could describe the game as quite gory, but the gore is so cartoonish that you can’t take it seriously.  Even brushing against a pedestrian or enemy in certain cars will explode them into a cloud of red mist, something that’s more likely to illicit a laugh than any sense of horror.

In the end I don’t really think Crackdown 2 does enough to warrant it’s full retail price, as this isn’t really a game as much as it is an experimental super-soldier hobby simulator.  Look at it this way: If Crackdown 2 were a roleplaying game, it would be 100% side quest.  Yes they’re fun as a distraction, but you still need that underlying main quest to push the game forward.

Which kind of sums up Crackdown 2 in a nutshell.  It is a pleasant enough time waster, but there are far better and cheaper time sinks on the market.

The Verdict:

Pros: There is a lovely big city to explore, and agility and hidden orbs make sure to reward you for doing so.  Co-op is great fun, and multiplayer is a laugh when you can find enough players.

Cons: Everything about the game feels optional, which is an awful vibe to get after you’ve paid full price at the checkout.  There’s no immediate story, and really no reason outside completion achievements to go looking for the audio logs plot.  Controls are inaccurate and at times rage inducing.

Overall: If you are looking for a return to Pacific City, do yourself a favour and wait.  Wait until it’s about half the price, buy yourself and a friend a copy and play it through together, because entertaining co-op is really the only thing Crackdown 2 does particularly well.  Otherwise, I hope you like orb hunting.  2 out of 5 stars.