Crackdown™ 2 – Review

Crackdown 2 is the same as Crackdown 1. This is the statement that echos throughout other reviews. Thing is, they say it like it’s a bad thing. It isn’t, not one bit. Sure, as it’s a sequel I think everyone expected a lot more fundamental changes, but being the same isn’t all bad. Sure Pacific City is almost the same 10 years on, and sure the Agency still has to combat gangs, specifically Cell in Crackdown 2, but there’s enough new things to add to all the old that made the first game such a hit that you won’t care if Crackdown 2 isn’t new or not, you’ll just be too busy having fun.

Let’s get to the old things that have stayed the same since the original Crackdown. There’s still super Agents meaning you can climb, jump and run at an inhuman ability. You can beat cars on foot, you can scale the sides of skyscrapers with effortless ease, and you can jump across these skyscrapers like they’re small gaps in your way to Agent greatness. There’s still the abilities that you can level up and with each level unlock new things to play with or become a better Agent. Level up your Agility- run faster and jump higher. Level up Firearms- unlock better guns for you to explode things with. Strength- gain the ability to pick up and throw heavier objects, like cars! Level up Explosives- unlock more explosives, what else. And finally, level up your Driving skill and you unlock more Agency cars for you to roam around in. There’s still a loose storyline to the game as there was with the first game, but it’s not there to drag you through it, it can be done at any time that you want and even if you want to do it, you’re probably going to get distracted by something awesome along the way. There’s also still plenty of things to do, more details in the coming paragraphs.

Firstly, the story. The story this time around is that Pacific City has become infected with a Freak virus which leaves hundreds of Freaks on the streets of Pacific City at night, along with Cell, a terrorist group which patrol during the day. Where the Cell play the part of your typical rebel group, they don’t provide much variation. When the Freaks take to the streets at nightfall, they provide a different challenge. The sheer number of them is the main challenge. There are hundreds surrounding you at times and so the game has introduced UV weapons for you to dispose of the Freaks with, besides this, the best way to dispose of them is to beat their freaky green head’s up.The story has you going around Pacific City powering up Absorption Units, 3 at a time, and then progressing onto a Beacon for every 3, a project called Project Sunburst to rid Pacific City of the Freaks. It’s a decent thing to do, but merely a distraction to the main fun you can have, alone or with up to 4 players in co-op.

The Orbs are back too! Yes, the Orbs that you chased throughout Crackdown are back and have bought along Renegade Orbs too! If you think the regular Orbs provide a challenge, Renegade Orbs run away from you, whether you’re on your super powered Agency feet or in one of the super powered Agency whips. These provide another level of a challenge and will keep you  obsessed with the orb sound for another few weeks at least.

Fun is the main thing to be done in Crackdown 2. Whether it’s scaling buildings to obtain the aforementioned Orbs or whizzing round Pacific City in an Agency Buggy flying through Stunt Rings or even just blowing up Freaks, there’s a hell of a lot of fun to be had in Crackdown 2. This is where Crackdown 2 is at it’s best. You may be planning to go activate an Absorption Unit, but then see a perfect line of Agility Orbs that you must obtain, or get distracted by mowing down a load of Freaks in a line and seeing their green mush fly all over your screen. You often get distracted with cool stuff in Crackdown 2, and you won’t be annoyed by it either. You can easily waste away hours just traversing rooftops to gain Agility Orbs, and you won’t mind because as you do, your Agent is evolving and allowing your Agent to do even cooler stuff.

The biggest new addition to Crackdown 2 is multiplayer, player vs player multiplayer madness. There’s Deathmatch and Team Deathmach which join Rocket Tag. Rocket Tag involves one player carrying an Orb around while the others fire endless rockets at his bouncy self which almost sounds like a cruel game of cat vs mouse. With the cat being armed with rockets! I was unable to get into many multiplayer games during my time with the game, but it felt like a decent addition to the game, if not unnecessary. Most gamers are probably satisfied with causing havoc against the Freaks and Cell with their friends without the need for player vs player multiplayer, but it’s still nice to have the option right?

‘Crackdown 2 is the same as Crackdown 1′. So it may be, but it’s also different in it’s own ways.  Crackdown 2 may lack many major changes, but don’t fix it if it ain’t broke is the old saying, and this is a perfect example of it.

Review by Daniel Brookes