Crackdown, possibly one of the funniest games I’ve played in years
I bought Crackdown the other day with a friend because there was a clearance sale. I know it’s a bit late for a review as this game has been out for some time now, but I believe it deserves mention.
The game offers some of the best co-op play I’ve had on the Xbox 360. The only real drawback is that you can only play one other friend. It would have been nice to have 4 other players or even 8, maybe Grand Theft Auto IV will offer something like this. This game however will provide you with many laughs, yes it’s mindless, but it’s fun, real fun as you run down the road, or drive down the highway blowing up everything in sight.
Crackdown got so many things right, but then again, I’m partial to sandbox type games, and I think this is as sandbox as you get. You can play the game in any fashion you like. Fight the bosses, do the races, build your character, or just go out and have fun. Half the times I find myself doing things that really have nothing to do with the overall objectives of the game. This is a huge success in any game in my opinion. When you reach the level of immersion where the player is deciding they just want to go check something out, or try seeing how many cars they can stack up before laying explosive barrels around them, you have a winner. Do a search on Youtube and you will find many funny videos of people doing crazy things in Crackdown.
There is one major flaw in this game. Luckily it has nothing really to do with the game mechanics and more to do with advertising. There is an 800 MS point add-on to crack down. There is also some free add-on’s. I obviously have no problem with free add-ons, and I don’t even mind the pay add-ons. Where the problem lies is that when you add the free add-on, it adds way points for all of the paid content. It also adds weapons and vehicles. All of this is in the game and asks you if you would like to purchase if every time you run to it or click on items. This is totally unacceptable. I bought the game; please don’t annoy me with what basically amounts to in game ads for more game content. When you buy a movie you don’t expect to be prompted to buy episode two half way through the movie. Please let us play the game, advertise the game content in the main menu or better yet, let us find it in the marketplace. Anyone who is interested in marketplace content will most definitely find it.
Other than the heavy handed advertising this game is hands down one of the funniest and funniest games I’ve played on the 360, and the best part is this game is dirt cheap now. If you want something to tie you over until Grand Theft Auto IV comes out, maybe swing buy your local game store and pick it up.
