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[dskillzhtown]

I played for a few hours last night. It seems more of a remix of Crackdown 1 than a true sequel, but I really am enjoying it. As noted before, the mini-bosses are gone, but they have been replaced with something similiar. So it is about the same process as the first, clean out an area, move on to the next. Though you can do it simultaneously, as you could in the first. The freaks do present something new and their numbers are a bit of a challenge, but I am only looking at them as a way to quickly build up my driving stats by running them over.

There are new guns, vehicles, special weapons and orbs. It is more of the same from Crackdown 1 and that is a good thing. But the fact that it is so much like the first is the problem. I know that the story wasn't the biggest draw in Crackdown 1, but that is what seperates games in a series. Is Gears 1 that different than Gears 2? Not really, but the story is what seperates the two. A better analogy would be the Saint's Row series. The mechanics are about the same, but the story is what seperates the two games. If they had continued the story arc of the agent rebelling against the agency with the same mechanics, same city then I would feel this is a true sequel, but as it is, it seems like a remix.

With all that said, I had a blast last night. The game is fun. Alot of fun. I will finish the SP, dabble in multi and then trade it in. I don't really see myself toying around with the city even after Key to the City is released.

I give it 7 skeets out of 10.

 

[The Interrobanger]

Tried out the demo last night. Wow, what a horrible experience.

I had no interest in the first Crackdown until I tried it and ended up having a blast. That was in 2007 though when there wasn't much else on the system...C2 feels like it's a step back in almost every area (especially graphics...holy shit are they ugly) which puts it in 2005/2006 territory.

I cannot believe this is being sold for full price. It feels like a rough launch title.

 

[Hugbot]

Played the full game for a few hours last night, my love for the demo transferred completely to the full game. The city does feel pretty different, which I wasn't really expecting. It's clearly the same city and all, but enough has changed that I was satisfied.

I can not wait for the wing suit, got-damn.

 

[ThingontheFloor]

I've done about 6 of the "defend the orb" missions in the freak lairs, all have followed pretty much the exact same formula. This morning I came across one that I have defend from this giant troll freak, I blasted away at him with UV shotguns, grenades, hand to hand, but barely took him down to half way before my orb was gone. What am I doing wrong? :lol

My defense if it's something obvious is that it was about 5:30AM and I wanted to get some play time in before work.

 

[afternoon delight]

I must hate the fun because I played this for three hours with two other people. And that's about the last I'm going to play. How did they manage to destroy the colors? How? They had such an amazing scheme the first time around. The design of the characters is great, but they're all fodder, no substance.

I don't know. I just can't justify paying more than twenty dollars for this when there are so many better games out there.

 

[goldenpp72]

I must hate the fun because I played this for three hours with two other people. And that's about the last I'm going to play. How did they manage to destroy the colors? How? They had such an amazing scheme the first time around. The design of the characters is great, but they're all fodder, no substance.

I don't know. I just can't justify paying more than twenty dollars for this when there are so many better games out there.

I think the colors look way deeper and nicer, on my tv anyways.

 

[Shurs]

There is a gamma adjustment option. The default setting was way too dark on my display.

 

[afternoon delight]

I guess I just felt uninspired by the changes they've made. It's good in short bursts but nothing makes me want to come back to it like the first one.

Sequels shouldn't feel like less even with more, if that makes sense.

Edit:

I think the colors look way deeper and nicer, on my tv anyways.

They're full that's for sure, but the variation is gone. At least that's how I feel.

 

[Lunchbox]

how do you use the wingsuit in multiplayer?

i havent unlocked it yet in single player (assuming that doesnt matter for your online character)

 

[Mrbob]

I must hate the fun because I played this for three hours with two other people. And that's about the last I'm going to play. How did they manage to destroy the colors? How? They had such an amazing scheme the first time around. The design of the characters is great, but they're all fodder, no substance.

I don't know. I just can't justify paying more than twenty dollars for this when there are so many better games out there.

What is maddening is the game looks awesome in the commercials on TV. They don't use the grimy filter which is in the game. Has a clean, colorful look. I think they are using higher res assets than what is in game but when I saw the commercial that is the look I wanted.

This game was rushed and much of the blame can be put on MS but Ruffian made some strange design decisions. As we are talking about the graphics. The textures are horrible in this game. This wouldn't be so bad if the game had the nice, pristine look of the first game where everything is nice and sharp. Most shooting games today have a muted tone in terms of graphics, not sure why Ruffian thought it was a good idea for Crackdown 2 to get rid of its unique look.

And then the underground sections. Crackdown was loved for its verticality and what you can do with it. Why focus a chunk of the game underground? The verticality is completely gone and you are in a small constricted area. What a horrible design decision.

At least Ruffian had the core of Crackdown to fall back on, which is what saves the game. It is fun but with the rushed development and odd design choices when I play the game I keep feeling it could have been so much more. Too bad this game wasn't called Crackdown: Enter Subtitle Here instead of Crackdown 2. It really isn't worthy of being a numbered sequel. I'm hoping the game sells well enough so we get another one, but at this point I'm not sure if I even want Ruffian handling it with some of the changes they have made. Give it back to Real Time Worlds now that APB is finished.

This might sound harsh because I am enjoying the title, but I really did love the first one immensely. In my top three 360 games, perhaps even number one. So I had high expectations for any sequel.

 

[daycru]

I believe you have to return them to an agency marker in a stronghold you already cleared.

Does it mark these anywhere on the map? Just lost my Flockit Launcher, I'll be fucked if I know where that freak lair was where I found it.

 

[CougRon]

Picked up my pre-order from gamestop last night and wound up playing a lot longer then I planned on doing. I've only gotten a couple hours sleep

So far I've gotten 100 agility orbs and 30 hidden ones. I actually found at least one game mechanic that makes it easier for me to find the hidden ones. Press up on the d-pad and you'll release a radar pulse (you'll hear a tone too) and any orbs near by will briefly flash on the radar. You will not be able to redo the pulse for a little bit. At first I thought there was a double-tone that would sound when you could pulse again, but now I'm not so sure thats what that was--it might be an indication that something significant just got added to the radar. it's a little difficult to see the hidden orbs locations since their marker is dark, but using the radar pulse on a regular basis has helped me to find hidden orbs I otherwise wouldn't have seen.

A lot of the game feels a lot like the first crackdown and that is not necessarily a bad thing. I do think though that on some things ruffian took away some of the wrong 'lessons' on how to improve things. Take driving. They seem to have thought the problem with driving was that the agency vehicles morphed, so they took that out--And then left the rest of the driving exactly the same. I hated the driving in the first crackdown, it was difficult and touchy and not very enjoyable and was the last skill I leveled up on--to the point where I took three years to do it. So far I've felt even less of an inclination to drive then the first game. I also ran into the same problem GhaleonEB did where I didn't unlock the first trio of absorption points and fought me way through to one before I discovered it wouldn't unlock and I would have to come back and do it all again later :-(

Still have a lot of the game to go through but so far so good. Unless something happens to ruin my experience or draw me away and not come back I'll be playing this game a lot until Reach comes out. I was originally expecting Dead Rising 2 to intrude on my fun, but that's been delayed and I'm not sure how long it will be until I play that game since Reach is looking to own my soul.

 

[Mrbob]

Does it mark these anywhere on the map? Just lost my Flockit Launcher, I'll be fucked if I know where that freak lair was where I found it.

If you have to respawn it doesn't mark on the map where the weapon was. Have to find it again. You have agency markers which show up on the map in strongholds you control where you can get weapons and vehicles.

 

[JambiBum]

So last night I decided to climb around a bit in the southern Unity Heights area and I happened across this incredibly fucking tall building. I'm pretty sure it's taller than the Agency Tower too. Reminded me why there is no other sandbox game that has platforming that compares to Crackdown. Once I got to the top I really didn't want to move because the view was amazing. Not to mention the effort that I put in to getting to the top. There are gaps everywhere while climbing. Especially at the top. There is a damn renegade agility orb at the very top of the building that is definitely going to be the last renegade I go for. There is also a set of wingsuit stunt rings that basically have you free fall all the way to the bottom until the very last second where it wants you to pull back up.

Also note that you can not climb this building without your agility being maxed out. Even then some of the jumps were difficult.


@Lunchbox, your character carries over to multiplayer so in fact it does matter. Unless you're talking about PvP, then I'm not really sure as I have yet to touch it. Although I do know that there is a different set of levels for it.

@Bob, you gonna be around for some co op later today? Or maybe now?

 

[daycru]

I've done about 6 of the "defend the orb" missions in the freak lairs, all have followed pretty much the exact same formula. This morning I came across one that I have defend from this giant troll freak, I blasted away at him with UV shotguns, grenades, hand to hand, but barely took him down to half way before my orb was gone. What am I doing wrong? :lol

My defense if it's something obvious is that it was about 5:30AM and I wanted to get some play time in before work.

I really struggled with that too, got much easier when I grabbed the Flockit Launcher and new grenades they have down there.

 

[Lunchbox]

@Lunchbox, your character carries over to multiplayer so in fact it does matter. Unless you're talking about PvP, then I'm not really sure as I have yet to touch it. Although I do know that there is a different set of levels for it.

yeah pvp. i saw a few people use it. i guess its a call of duty style unlock, but not sure

 

[Cornballer]

I had a great time playing this last night for about three hours. Most of that was running through the first few missions solo, but I got a couple of friends in for the last hour of co-op mayhem. Not surpisingly, the game is a lot more fun in co-op. I'm not sure how much longevity it will have for me, but I'll certainly play until I finish up the main missions and level up my agent.

Oh, car surfing is pretty effective - we were doing it last night with three of us tooling around in a two-door car. Two of us in the car and one riding on top shooting at everything. I also put some of my lower agility level friends into a car, picked it up, and threw it onto a roof so they could get agility orbs on top. Good times.

 

[see5harp]

I cannot believe this is being sold for full price. It feels like a rough launch title.

I played a few hours last night and have to disagree. I recognized the same landmarks from the first game, but after levelling up agility with a few friends, I quickly remembered what made the first one so fun. If you didn't play the first game, I still think this is a must have game with the jump in coop.

 

[Mrbob]

@Bob, you gonna be around for some co op later today? Or maybe now?

Not home at the moment...will be around 4:30cst. We can play then or tonight!

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

After 4 hours I'm done with my rental. I have all the beacons activated and 5 of the 9 light bombs done and I just can't convince myself to keep playing. This is one of the most disappointing sequels I've played in a long time.

- Graphics are the same. Yet the framerate is far worst.
- The lock on is broken.
- Freaks add nothing enjoyable to the game. The underground missions are boring and don't have any strategy.
- Physics and platforming are worse. It's hard to tell if you can grab certain ledges.
- No story again.
- The fact that the city is exactly the same, makes me not want to explore and collect anything.

I give this a 5/10. It's a soulless sequel that MS threw out there to make a buck.

 

[daycru]

If you have to respawn it doesn't mark on the map where the weapon was. Have to find it again. You have agency markers which show up on the map in strongholds you control where you can get weapons and vehicles.

I have no clue how I missed the agency markers, thanks. Was also able to retrace my steps and get the Flocket back from the lair.

 

[JambiBum]

Not home at the moment...will be around 4:30cst. We can play then or tonight!

Shoot me a message whenever. As long as I'm not passed out I'll play :lol. I haven't slept for two days due to some crazy insomnia. GT is Jambi Bum.

 

[ThingontheFloor]

I really struggled with that too, got much easier when I grabbed the Flockit Launcher and new grenades they have down there.

thanks, I'll check it out tonight when I boot it up. I figured there was something down there that would help, was just surprised when my UV Shotty was doing almost zero damage.

 

[CloakedPuppet]

Glad I picked this up. I was going to give it a pass but had an unused discount that turned the tables for me. I have to laugh at some of the comments in this thread as it seems like people are looking for a reason to hate this game. Suddenly more of the same is now a bad thing and not worth people's money? Spare me. This remains one of the few extremely fun pick-up and play / piss around open world titles (along with Volition's games).

Also, those saying that the graphics are worse are flat out wrong. The game is almost identical visually to the first game.

 

[Cornballer]

- From MTV Multiplayer: 'Crackdown 2' Developer Responds To Criticisms, Talks DLC

 

[Owzers]

- From MTV Multiplayer: 'Crackdown 2' Developer Responds To Criticisms, Talks DLC

Basically, do not buy this game if you are going to play it alone. I'm about 2-3 hours in and it's just terrible now.

 

[goldenpp72]

Basically, do not buy this game if you are going to play it alone. I'm about 2-3 hours in and it's just terrible now.

i've put in over 4 hours solo and I love it, I also loved crackdown 1 solo. I honestly don't get the problem.

I mean shit, I got every single achievement in the original game, something I doubt most people here have done, so if anyone should bitch i'd think it would be me. Game feels different enough and I hope it does well enough to get a third out the door

The game has flaws, but so did the original, if you expected them to make the production values of crackdown (which while one of my favorites was definitely not a '9' or above game by many standards) then I can see why you'd be disappointed, but if you just loved the experience of the original and want more I can't imagine being upset over this game, it's like saying you hate mario galaxy 2 but love mario galaxy 1.

 

[Kintaro]

- From MTV Multiplayer: 'Crackdown 2' Developer Responds To Criticisms, Talks DLC

Did the author of this article just call this game a AAA game?

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

There's something about finding a high perch, lining up a headshot, waiting for that targting sight to slooooly lock on, hearing the crack of the rifle and then, a good 10 seconds later, a mix of agility and firearms orbs floating my way as reward.

This is so the greatest thing.

 

[Owzers]

i've put in over 4 hours solo and I love it, I also loved crackdown 1 solo. I honestly don't get the problem.

I mean shit, I got every single achievement in the original game, something I doubt most people here have done, so if anyone should bitch i'd think it would be me. Game feels different enough and I hope it does well enough to get a third out the door

I think the fact that you DID get every achievement in the first game shows that you LOVED the first game so more of what you love is fine by you. That mentality rarely EVER applies to me, maybe just with Super Mario Galaxy 2 so far this gen.

 

[goldenpp72]

I think the fact that you DID get every achievement in the first game shows that you LOVED the first game so more of what you love is fine by you. That mentality rarely EVER applies to me, maybe just with Super Mario Galaxy 2 so far this gen.

Yes typically when I buy a sequel, it's because I want more of what was in the original. It's why I bought resident evil 5, devil may cry 4, halo 3, soon halo reach, mario galaxy 2, smash brothers, and a shit load of other sequels.

Crackdown is a unique game against all others, flawed as it was, the sequel fixes MANY of the problems I had with the original, perhaps I notice because I went for ALL of what crackdown 1 offered.

Stunt rings, orb hunting, orb variety, objectives, weapons, all of it is vastly improved over the original. Want all 500 orbs in the original? Good luck, it's a BITCH and a pain to do, in the sequel? challenging, but they don't leave you in the dark. Get annoyed finding those invisible trigger points for stunt rings? No problem here now. Almost every aspect for the individual facets of the original have been improved, and plenty of stuff has been added.

Now, if you don't want more crackdown, do not buy crackdown 2. I kinda figured this was a given for any sequel, I didn't like littlebigplanet much, and i'm not dying for the sequel.

 

[soldat7]

I think the fact that you DID get every achievement in the first game shows that you LOVED the first game so more of what you love is fine by you. That mentality rarely EVER applies to me, maybe just with Super Mario Galaxy 2 so far this gen.

Why is it OK to give SMG2 a pass? Or for people to give God of War 2 or Gears of War 2 a pass? Heck, I couldn't even stomach Assassin's Creed II beyond about 3 hours. I found all of these games to be EXTREMELY similar to their previous iterations.

I get the feeling that if the feature set of Crackdown 2 remained the same, but Pacific City was a new city entirely, opinions would be much different.

 

[goldenpp72]

Why is it OK to give SMG2 a pass? Or for people to give God of War 2 or Gears of War 2 a pass? I found all of these games to be EXTREMELY similar to their previous iterations.

I get the feeling that if the feature set of Crackdown 2 remained the same, but Pacific City was a new city entirely, opinions would be much different.

This is what's perplexing me, I loved mario galaxy 2 and gears of war 2 (sans its broken ass online but I still hit level 100 recently), but they are samey to the originals, so is halo, splinter cell, and a good deal of all sequels, it's kinda the point of them.

Crackdown 2 takes the elements of the original and adds upon and fixes many problems, it's not perfect and it could be a lot better, but it's still a great experience for those who loved the first, but i'd not recommend it for those who don't like the original.

I'm only confused by the ones who claim to love the original but dislike this one, it's almost like they wanted a game called crackdown 2 but for it to not be anything like crackdown.

 

[Owzers]

Why is it OK to give SMG2 a pass? Or for people to give God of War 2 or Gears of War 2 a pass? Heck, I couldn't even stomach Assassin's Creed II beyond about 3 hours. I found all of these games to be EXTREMELY similar to their previous iterations.

I get the feeling that if the feature set of Crackdown 2 remained the same, but Pacific City was a new city entirely, opinions would be much different.

Crackdown 2's missions blow. That's all there is to it. Crackdown was a new franchise and partly new experience for me so i overlooked a lot of problems, stomped around the city, and took out the rival gangs. Crackdown 2 is a repetitive mess that no longer has the new car smell. Activating the 3 beacons to enable the defend mission was boring the first time and that's basically the whole game. imo Ruffian didn't even make a game this time, the made a 4 player sandbox.

 

[CloakedPuppet]

Yes typically when I buy a sequel, it's because I want more of what was in the original. It's why I bought resident evil 5, devil may cry 4, halo 3, soon halo reach, mario galaxy 2, smash brothers, and a shit load of other sequels.

Crackdown is a unique game against all others, flawed as it was, the sequel fixes MANY of the problems I had with the original, perhaps I notice because I went for ALL of what crackdown 1 offered.

Stunt rings, orb hunting, orb variety, objectives, weapons, all of it is vastly improved over the original. Want all 500 orbs in the original? Good luck, it's a BITCH and a pain to do, in the sequel? challenging, but they don't leave you in the dark. Get annoyed finding those invisible trigger points for stunt rings? No problem here now. Almost every aspect for the individual facets of the original have been improved, and plenty of stuff has been added.

Now, if you don't want more crackdown, do not buy crackdown 2. I kinda figured this was a given for any sequel, I didn't like littlebigplanet much, and i'm not dying for the sequel.

Yep. Well said.

 

[goldenpp72]

Crackdown 2's missions blow. That's all there is to it. Crackdown was a new franchise and partly new experience for me so i overlooked a lot of problems, stomped around the city, and took out the rival gangs. Crackdown 2 is a repetitive mess that no longer has the new car smell. Activating the 3 beacons to enable the defend mission was boring the first time and that's basically the whole game. imo Ruffian didn't even make a game this time, the made a 4 player sandbox.

In crackdown 1 all you did was kill gang boss after gang boss, in crackdown 2 you kill freak nest, capture points and activate beacons while setting off those bomb thingies, basically, 4 or so main objectives vs 1. At least the campaign objectives make the sandbox stuff more fun, I love being able to get vehicles (or deposit them) in so many spots now rather than just one.

Is the campaign amazing? Not really, but it's still fun to do while doing the other sandbox aspects, it sounds like you didn't really dig the original for what it was and are bashing the sequel for being what the original was.

It's like saying halo 1 was cool because it's my first fps, but halo 2 sucks because it's an fps and it should have been a zelda game instead.

 

[Owzers]

In crackdown 1 all you did was kill gang boss after gang boss, in crackdown 2 you kill freak nest, capture points and activate beacons while setting off those bomb thingies, basically, 4 or so main objectives vs 1. At least the campaign objectives make the sandbox stuff more fun, I love being able to get vehicles (or deposit them) in so many spots now rather than just one.

Is the campaign amazing? Not really, but it's still fun to do while doing the other sandbox aspects, it sounds like you didn't really dig the original for what it was and are bashing the sequel for being what the original was.

It's like saying halo 1 was cool because it's my first fps, but halo 2 sucks because it's an fps and it should have been a zelda game instead.

Or liking Halo 1 and 2 but disliking 3 because the missions kept going downhill especially the "save Cortana from the flood ship". It's about disliking a game because it gets worse instead of better. Crackdown was repetitive. Crackdown 2 being repetitive and a sequel to a repetitive game isn't a GOOD thing. It's not something i excuse.

 

[Mrbob]

This is what's perplexing me, I loved mario galaxy 2 and gears of war 2 (sans its broken ass online but I still hit level 100 recently), but they are samey to the originals, so is halo, splinter cell, and a good deal of all sequels, it's kinda the point of them.

Crackdown 2 takes the elements of the original and adds upon and fixes many problems, it's not perfect and it could be a lot better, but it's still a great experience for those who loved the first, but i'd not recommend it for those who don't like the original.

I'm only confused by the ones who claim to love the original but dislike this one, it's almost like they wanted a game called crackdown 2 but for it to not be anything like crackdown.

The problem with Crackdown 2 is some things are worse than the original.

Freaks/Underground
Frame rate
Graphics
Targeting

The big name sequels (like Gears and God of War) take what is good and improve the rest. This is what I expected out Crackdown 2 instead of a mix of some things that are better and possibly more that are worse.

 

[Raide]

I cannot wait for Crackdown 2 but my thoughts are already heading to Crackdown 3.

I would love a Borderlands loot mechanic added but then I had a few more thoughts.

How about a prequel to Crackdown? Have it set before the Agency is born and have it X-Com style. You set up Agencies around the world and as you progress, you use points to research into tech, weapons and vehicles. You collect the orbs again but you use these as currency to research the upgrades for your Agents.

I also thought APB but using Crackdown would be pretty awesome. :lol

 

[soldat7]

Crackdown 2's missions blow.

I'm not necessarily going to argue that point, but Crackdown's mission structure is only part of the game. But yes, at the very least there should have been unique freak bosses in each lair and unique Cell bosses at each Cell stronghold.

I hated Assassin's Creed 1. I really did. The game was pretty but WAY too repetitive. I just don't see Crackdown 2 in the same light despite similar levels of repetition. There is just SO much other stuff to do in CD2 and the mechanics are way too fun for me to be that down on it.

 

[goldenpp72]

Or liking Halo 1 and 2 but disliking 3 because the missions kept going downhill especially the "save Cortana from the flood ship". It's about disliking a game because it gets worse instead of better. Crackdown was repetitive. Crackdown 2 being repetitive and a sequel to a repetitive game isn't a GOOD thing. It's not something i excuse.

if crackdown 1 and 2 came out the same day the sequel would be regaurded as quite a bit better by most I bet, halo 2 was a downfall from halo 1.

Also, I think the freaks are great, though a bit annoying at first, they are great usage for the new badass weaponry, and once you figure out that the yellow highlighted hud ones are the only thing to worry about when protecting the bombs, it's not a problem.

Graphically I don't see the problem, I think the sequel looks better by a bit, but I do wish it was more significant of an upgrade.

I do understand people saying I don't want to pay 60, it's more of a 40 dollar game for the average consumer, but as a crackdown 1 addict I have no problem paying the amazon dollars for it. But saying its outright bad or worse than the original is just crazy.

What boggles my mind more is that gaf jerks off games like viva pinata TIP or trauma center, they are quite a bit worse off than cd2, just different standards I guess.

 

[Mizzou Gaming]

Reviews had me worried, but I am closing in on 8 hours total played and its fun as hell. That was all single player. I have about 2 hours played in the multiplayer and was fairly impressed, because I knew it was going to be very vanilla. The co-op is just ridiculous fun, and I would recommend CRACKDOWN 2 just for that aspect. All in all, fun is how I would sum this up...ridiculous amounts of fun.

 

[goldenpp72]

Reviews had me worried, but I am closing in on 8 hours total played and its fun as hell. That was all single player. I have about 2 hours played in the multiplayer and was fairly impressed, because I knew it was going to be very vanilla. The co-op is just ridiculous fun, and I would recommend CRACKDOWN 2 just for that aspect. All in all, fun is how I would sum this up...ridiculous amounts of fun.

Exactly! For all the flaws the series has, I find it captures the most important element of games, fun. When games like gta4 focus on (shitty) narrative and other games are interrupted by stupid cutscenes or lame shit, crackdown is focused on being fun at all points, it has no dull points. The sequel is very much the same with improvements over the original, but if you beat the original and said I want more, the sequel is just great for that, if you wanted some huge game changing innovations to be applied then no, it's not for you.

 

[soldat7]

The problem with Crackdown 2 is some things are worse than the original.

Freaks/Underground
Frame rate
Graphics
Targeting

None of these are worse than the original, IMO.

 

[Mizzou Gaming]

I'm not necessarily going to argue that point, but Crackdown's mission structure is only part of the game. But yes, at the very least there should have been unique freak bosses in each lair and unique Cell bosses at each Cell stronghold.

I hated Assassin's Creed 1. I really did. The game was pretty but WAY too repetitive. I just don't see Crackdown 2 in the same light despite similar levels of repetition. There is just SO much other stuff to do in CD2 and the mechanics are way too fun for me to be that down on it.

THIS^^^^

CRACKDOWN 2 is what you make of it. To me its just a huge playground with stuff to climb and jump off of. Powerful guns, explosives, cars its all part of the toys. Racing, rooftop racing, stunt markers etc., etc., and etc..

 

[Gileadxv]

I'm still enjoying the game despite the unpolished feel of it. However, there are some things which frustrate me to no end.

1. Inconsistent platforming - Really now, what could be considered the bread and butter of the franchise, the game doesn't doesn't abide by the rules it creates within the game world. For instance, I could hear an orb was placed inside the center of a smoke stack, and despite the fact that I could launch myself nearly waist high above the lip of the structure, I was unable to grab on to the edge, despite being able to grab onto the blunt sloping rim below it. Rather than making the smoke stack too tall for me to reach, the developer seemed to arbitrarily decide that I needed to reach the next agility level to get the orb, despite evidence to the contrary (this was area was on a secluded island which made the decision feel more like an effort of creating a time sink). Then of course there's the abundance of protruding window sills you can not grab on to, and the frustrating fact that many of my climbs seems to be hampered by overhead ledges. Perhaps that was included to add to the "challenge", but for me, it's taking away from the flow and fun of the game. Essentially, these game elements prevent the player from having any confidence in the vertical landscape of the city. In Crackdown 1, I loved the buildings and the feeling making them my personal jungle gym. Now, when I see an enemy base on a roof top, I have a little bit of dread because there's no guarantee that I'm going to be able to scale the building I want.

2. Stun locks - I'm all for challenge in a game, but why do developers insist on thinking it's fun to have your character barraged with incapacitating stuns until death? As I progress further into the game, I'm finding it far more common the have grenade launchers and rockets immediately honed in on my position and taking 3/4 of my health before I'm allowed to respond. To compound this frustration, you often times have no idea where these attacks are coming from. Granted, now that I've finally been able to procure a grenade launcher for myself, I'm having a lot of fun going to town with it.

3. No waypoint indicator - This is inexcusable for an open world game. For a game that requires you to make trips back to your secured landing zones if you want to permanently acquire access to new enemy weapons, Ruffian has made it far too cumbersome to find your way around the city (not to mention a horrible menu interface). I spend far too much time having to leave the game and open a menu, scroll down to the correct menu option, and then find myself constricted to a bite sized city map that you can't enlarge! It blows my mind Ruffian allowed this.

As I said, I'm still enjoying the game (I've only played single player thus far), but this definitely feels more in line with a $30 expansion pack, rather than a full fledged sequel. Fortunately, as a rental, I'm able to still enjoy the game, and maybe when it hits the bargain bin (as it will be destined to do) I'll consider a purchase, though by then, I'm sure I'll have moved on. The Crackdown franchise has a lot of life and potential in it, and I'd love to see it explored in a legitimate sequel.

 

[Lunchbox]

they shouldve kept the gang leaders and added the sunburst thing on top of it

 

[Spasm]

Maybe this has been talked about already... But what's up with the unresponsive aiming when going diagonally? Especially when using a turret. Pushing up/right takes 4 times longer to get where you want, than pushing up, then right. Anyone else?

 

[Liberty4all]

As a reviewer all I can say is that rewarding Crackdown 2 with a high review score would send a message to publishers/developers that selling expansion packs for 60 dollars and calling it a sequel is ok.

It's not.

 

[derFeef]

As a reviewer all I can say is that rewarding Crackdown 2 with a high review score would send a message to publishers/developers that selling expansion packs for 60 dollars and calling it a sequel is ok.

It's not.

I wonder what the scores would be if CD2 were the first Crackdown game.