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Crackdown 2 |OT| of Orbs, Freaks, and Exploding Pedestrians

Mindlog

Member
When do reviews hit again?

/checks op

Sometime today I hear. Amazon is amazin. If the review hits early enough today I can still get in a pre-order with prime delivery.
 

Shurs

Member
DidntKnowJack said:
I heard a crazy rumor that once the game ends, it ends. No more orb collecting or whatnot. This can't possibly be true. Was wondering if you could verify that the rumor is bullshit.

It's bullshit.

Mindlog said:
When do reviews hit again?

Embargo ends in 8 hours.
 

Sill4

Member
Net_Wrecker said:
The ground pound looks SO badass now.

EDIT: The crowd has some really funny lines now too. I don't get how people are saying this game feels "dead" compared to the first one. Civilians had no personality in Crackdown 1.
Dude, for reals. There is so much going on it's amazing. Crackdown oozes personality, imo.

He's on an epic quest to find the damn duck grenades.

-edit- He found them :lol :lol
 

Domino Theory

Crystal Dynamics
matrix-cat said:
The thought of having another 500 Agility Orbs to collect is just mouthwatering. I can't wait for this.

Yup.

I got all 800 orbs in Crackdown without using a guide. Can't FUCKING wait to do it all over again.
 

cantona222

Member
Man, another good game.
It seems, that I can never catch up. I'm still playing Alan Wake.

Pending:
- Super Mario Galaxy 2.
- Split/Second
- Red Dead Redemption.
- Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Note: I'm only talking about 2010 backlog.
 

a.wd

Member
*looks around* is this the thread for the awesomeness??

*Reads op* Ah good

*settles in* in the demo the renegade orbs were pretty amazing, as was the general combat feel, though I never got the issues with shooting....maybe because I always go for lots of explosives and my blast radius is always the thing that gets lifted first! :D :D :D
 
I don't know... I'm not really feeling this game so far. I hate to say it, but it does feel very "dead" to me. I loved the first one right from the get go, but this one is boring me for some reason.

I think it probably has a lot to do with how the city is now in total chaos. There's so much shit going on, yet for some reason it feels like nothing's going on at all.

Admittedly I've only put about 3 hours into it so far, so I'm going to keep playing a few more hours to see if things change.

Also, the targeting system still sucks.
 

Sill4

Member
NaughtyCalibur said:
I don't know... I'm not really feeling this game so far. I hate to say it, but it does feel very "dead" to me. I loved the first one right from the get go, but this one is boring me for some reason.

I think it probably has a lot to do with how the city is now in total chaos. There's so much shit going on, yet for some reason it feels like nothing's going on at all.

Admittedly I've only put about 3 hours into it so far, so I'm going to keep playing a few more hours to see if things change.

Also, the targeting system still sucks.

I don't know man, it seems like Crackdown 1 on roids to me. I think that's a Crackdown fans dream come true. Stronger enemies, more orbs, new weapons, and vehicles that aren't useless.
 

Barrett2

Member
Just played the demo again, and I'm back on the hate train. There are just too many elements of the demo which feel so borked.
 

Shurs

Member
My review is not going up until tonight, but I thought I'd share some thoughts with you guys regarding the 20 or so hours I put into the game. I should note that last week I played the original Crackdown for the first time.

I'll get the negatives out of the way first.

The biggest issue I have with Crackdown 2 is its mission structure. In the first game, your aim was simple. You had to take out the most important members of three crime families. You could accomplish your goals in any order and in any way. In Crackdown 2, you can tackle most objectives any order you wish, but the issue is that you don't have that quite as much freedom you did in the first game. Don't get me wrong, there are still numerous ways to take down the enemy, and the more people you play with the more creative you can get, it's just that now you are "activating" missions, and therefore, you can "fail" missions if you step too far beyond the games imaginary borders.

My least favorite mission type was the nine in which you're tasked with protecting a beacon as it powers up, while waves of enemies attack it. Once again, within these missions you're free to protect the beacon any way you can, but it still doesn't change the fact that you're essentially tied to these beacons for a pre-determined amount of time.


Everything else is pretty good.

The feeling of progression is, once again, excellent. Just like the first game it follows the "practice makes perfect" rule in that the more you do something, the better you get at it. Other than driving, I never felt like I was grinding to upgrade my skills.

There's still a lot of freedom in how you engage your enemies. Even more so when playing with friends.

You're a superman by the end of the game, which I love. Going back to the area in which you start the game and effortlessly picking up orbs you couldn't reach when you started and toying with the enemies you had to hide from to survive is a great feeling.

This is a game that, while fun to play alone, is a lot more fun to play with other people. Play it with friends. You'll have a blast.

There are more things to collect, and they all help towards your progress in the game. 500 agility orbs, 300 hidden orbs, 30 renegade agility orbs, 30? driving renegade orbs. If you like hunting down orbs, you will be rewarded, not only with Achievements but also better skills.


I'd like to go on, but I have to get going.

Do you love Crackdown? If you answered yes, I'd recommend buying Crackdown 2. If you didn't love the first game, there isn't much here that's going to change your mind.
 
Okay, put a few more hours in it. Did my first "protect the beacon" mission and unlocked the good ol' checkpoint races from the first game. I also got a cool ass shotgun that reminds me of the gun in Minority Report. So, it has gotten better in that short time. I can only hope it continues to get better.

I think what's really bugging me is how little I care about my objectives. If the entire game is going to have me securing tactical zones, protecting beacons and powering up shit to unlock more of the same routine, then I'll probably quit long before I reach the end. I'm just going to optimistically assume I'm still in the "tutorial" stage of the game, and shit's going to open up real big before I hit the 10 hour mark.

I'm really torn here, because I do see the fun in this game, but it seems to be at odds with a lot of not-so-fun stuff. It's sort of how I felt about Just Cause 2. Fun game, but the size of the world map and SAMs put a damper on my fun real quick.
 

Shurs

Member
NaughtyCalibur said:
I think what's really bugging me is how little I care about my objectives. If the entire game is going to have me securing tactical zones, protecting beacons and powering up shit to unlock more of the same routine, then I'll probably quit long before I reach the end. I'm just going to optimistically assume I'm still in the "tutorial" stage of the game, and shit's going to open up real big before I hit the 10 hour mark.

It doesn't. Also, the "protect the beacon" missions become increasingly annoying.
 
I'm going with Eurogamer on this one and still get the game on friday.

Mojo said:
"You don't get to return to the city post-credits without starting a new game"

....wtf?

Can someone who has finished the game confirm/deny this?
 

Shurs

Member
ClosingADoor said:
I'm going with Eurogamer on this one and still get the game on friday.



Can someone who has finished the game confirm/deny this?

It's bullshit. I finished the game (15 hours) and then spent an additional 4 last night playig co-op with a friend, hunting down the orbs I didn't collect the first time through. After the credits you can jump right back in to your city.
 
Shurs said:
It's bullshit. I finished the game (15 hours) and then spent an additional 4 last night playig co-op with a friend, hunting down the orbs I didn't collect the first time through. After the credits you can jump right back in to your city.

Thanks. And is there some kind of reset, that you keep your powers but the Freaks and other enemies are back everywhere? The first one did that after an update if I remember correctly.
 

gazliddon

Neo Member
DidntKnowJack said:
I heard a crazy rumor that once the game ends, it ends. No more orb collecting or whatnot. This can't possibly be true. Was wondering if you could verify that the rumor is bullshit.

Yeah it's cobblers, you can play your city as long as you want

Where did you get that from though?

I've seen the same nonsense repeated only one other place:

Destructiod said:
That, in a nutshell, explains everything that the player has to do in order to reach the end credits (after which, the game ends. You don't get to return to the city post-credits without starting a new game). Whereas Crackdown at least had an illusion of progress and variety with the different gangs and key assassination targets, Crackdown 2's mission structure does away with pretense and just makes players perform the exact same tasks over and over again.
 

MrDaravon

Member
Yeah, this is reviewing about how I expected which is kind of a shame. Still looking forward to playing with friends a bunch though.
 

stawnkald

Member
I think what's confusing people about the ending is that when you complete the game and the credits finish, it takes you back to the title screen. Still kind of silly that they didn't, you know, try to continue playing with their save which lets you fuck around. It does roll back the game to the final mission (I guess, the final objective is marked on my status screen as incomplete and the Star pointing it out on the map is there, but I didn't go try and trigger it) but otherwise it's free roam to your heart's content.
 

FHIZ

Member
Just shipped from amazon, gah I can't wait. Does anyone know what the deal is with Keys to the City? I've looked it up and I've found conflicting reports that it's in the game / that it's dlc. Anyone know?
 

MMaRsu

Member
stawnkald said:
I think what's confusing people about the ending is that when you complete the game and the credits finish, it takes you back to the title screen. Still kind of silly that they didn't, you know, try to continue playing with their save which lets you fuck around. It does roll back the game to the final mission (I guess, the final objective is marked on my status screen as incomplete and the Star pointing it out on the map is there, but I didn't go try and trigger it) but otherwise it's free roam to your heart's content.

Wait so you cant keep playing after the credits roll??
 

Kujo

Member
stawnkald said:
Yes, you can. I said that. It just dumps you back into the main menu so you have to load your save to get there.
Can you play the game without any enemies around like after you beat Crackdown 1?
 

Caspel

Business & Marketing Manager @ GungHo
stawnkald said:
Yes, you can. I said that. It just dumps you back into the main menu so you have to load your save to get there.

Every time I finished the last mission and loaded the save file from the main menu, the last mission would pop back up as incomplete.

If I had to rate the game it would earn itself a 6/10. Pure boredom and frustration set in after 6-7 hours of gameplay.
 

ElyrionX

Member
Based on my impressions from watching the gameplay videos, the text of the reviews are pretty much in line with what I thought, though the scores given appear to be a little high.

I'm not buying this shit. The first Crackdown was very flawed as it is and this sequel doesn't seem to do anything to address that at all. My backlog is large enough as it is.
 

Caspel

Business & Marketing Manager @ GungHo
ClosingADoor said:
Why? I enjoyed myself for 20-30 hours at least with Crackdown 1. What makes this so much worse?

The climbing mechanics aren't anywhere near satisfactory for me. Enemies often shoot at you from 3 blocks away; when you are at the end of the game, minding your own business chasing a renegade orb and see a rocket coming your way from a distance with no enemy in sight, it's frustrating.

Driving is still as pointless as ever. Helicopter is worthless in the long run. There were bugs with the driving races and rooftop races. Unlocking the glider didn't improve the game whatsoever. After leveling up five times, the sixth time offered no benefits.

Storyline is nil to none. Ending is miserable.

Co-op is great though and ran smooth the entire time no matter how many people were in the game.
 

h3ro

Member
ElyrionX said:
Based on my impressions from watching the gameplay videos, the text of the reviews are pretty much in line with what I thought, though the scores given appear to be a little high.

I'm not buying this shit. The first Crackdown was very flawed as it is and this sequel doesn't seem to do anything to address that at all. My backlog is large enough as it is.

I was looking for a late night podcast game and was hoping this would be it. Something to pickup and play for a few minutes before bed. The demo was OK, but kind of knocked the game back from a launch day pickup to a maybe buy. If I do get it, I think I'll wait for a solid price drop.
 

BeeDog

Member
DoctorWho said:
Can you copy and past their score breakdown?

Thanks.

6.0 Presentation
Lacking in story and structure, clunky co-op maps.
6.0 Graphics
Ugly textures and an unsteady framerate. No points for style.
7.0 Sound
I love the Agency overlord voice, but that's about it.
8.0 Gameplay
Yeah, hunting down those orbs is still a lot of fun. The familiarity of everything is a bit disappointing.
8.0 Lasting Appeal
Collecting everything will keep you busy and the co-op game has a lot of room for creating your own fun.
 
DoctorWho said:
Can you copy and past their score breakdown?

Thanks.

k

CLOSING COMMENTS
If you played the original Crackdown and loved it and now you just want more -- or if you've never experienced the joy of hunting orbs – you'll find a lot to like in Crackdown 2. Collecting agility orbs, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, and playing around in the virtual sandbox of Pacific City is a lot of fun. The formula, unsurprisingly, still works.

But if you're like me, you were probably expecting a bit more. The new additions, specifically the expansion to four-player co-op, are welcome, but this hardly feels like it was worth the three-year wait. It's mostly just more of the same, in the same city, with the same shortcomings and a slightly expanded set of missions. Crackdown 2 feels uninspired and rushed, and it certainly doesn't feel like a full sequel.

6.0 Presentation
Lacking in story and structure, clunky co-op maps.
6.0 Graphics
Ugly textures and an unsteady framerate. No points for style.
7.0 Sound
I love the Agency overlord voice, but that's about it.
8.0 Gameplay
Yeah, hunting down those orbs is still a lot of fun. The familiarity of everything is a bit disappointing.
8.0 Lasting Appeal
Collecting everything will keep you busy and the co-op game has a lot of room for creating your own fun.
 
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