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

H

homez99

Member
h3ro said:
Is there a radar ping for orb collecting similar to the system that was in Infamous for shards?
Click to expand...

Yeah there is. It doesn't last for long though and you can't keep pinging, but it works all the same. There's also a map with the location of agility and hidden orbs you've already collected on the achievements part of the in-game pause menu.
 
S

Speedymanic

Banned
'Toy Box' and 'Deluge' DLC packs detailed.

Crackdown 2's first two pieces of DLC have been outed, via the game's unlockable Avatar Awards.

'Toy Box' and 'Deluge' will be the first two add-ons available for the sequel it seems, as the vanilla game includes four Avatar items reserved specifically for Xbox 360 owners who purchase the DLC.

Going by the descriptions of the unlockables, the two DLC packs will include in-game missions, with Avatar Awards unlocking for completing 'Fly Swat' in the Toy Box add-on and '15 Minutes of Maim' in the Deluge add-on.

Those who complete 'Fly Swat' will earn themselves a Green Agent Suit for their 360 Avatar, while those who complete '15 Minutes of Maim' will unlock a PVP Agent Suit.

Meanwhile a Green Agent Helmet will be unlocked for everyone who buys Toy Box, and a PVP Agent Helmet for those who pick up Deluge.

Expectedly, no price or release date have been released for the add-ons yet, but we'll let you know when the details go official.
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http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=254448

:D
 
C

ClosingADoor

Member
Caspel said:
Co-op is great though and ran smooth the entire time no matter how many people were in the game.
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I'm almost solely getting it for the co-op, probably won't be playing it alone very much.

Sounds like Ruffian just threw in some more stuff and didn't even pick up on the flaws of the first game. Very strange, but I'll probably enjoy it in co-op anyway and will prepare myself for some dissapointment next friday :(
 
T

TheFightingFish

Member
From the IGN review:

Riding around with friends and laying waste to an already wasted city or hunting orbs with a few friends is just plain fun, and it really makes you feel like every other sandbox game that doesn't have co-op is missing a key ingredient.
Click to expand...

This is really how I feel about Crackdown 2. I'm a big co-op fan and open world games just work so much better with a friend or two. I've not even touched games like Just Cause 2, GTA IV or Red Faction because I have no interest in tooling around a big open world without a friend to goof off and socialize with. The demo didn't bowl me over when I tried it by myself, but with a friend that good old Crackdown feeling came right back to me.

It looks like a flawed game in some ways, but with open world co-op action I'm sure that I'll get my money's worth.
 
Circle T

Circle T

Member
jred2k said:
In the review it's mentioned that there is no way to discern between different people on the mini-map while playing co-op.
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I noticed this problem in the demo, and was hoping it was fixed for retail. I guess not. If you have more than 1 friend playing with you, they all have the same color arrow indicator on the map, so if you are spread out a little on the map, it can be near impossible to tell who is who. A simple coloring scheme would have been nice.
 
stawnkald

stawnkald

Member
Mojo said:
Can you play the game without any enemies around like after you beat Crackdown 1?
Click to expand...

If you complete all the freak breaches and Cell hideouts, yeah. There's very small pockets of some Cell (usually in random events with Peacekeepers) but otherwise it's empty again.
 
K

Kintaro

Worships the porcelain goddess
tracky_dacks said:
1UP: B-
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3180248
Click to expand...

Man, he slammed the absolute shit out of the game on almost every aspect and it still earns a B-. A game really has to rape their mother over there at 1up for them to use their scale...

Still looking forward to my rental, but I never thought Crackdown 2 would be more than that. The demo felt like Crackdown 1.1 so it doesn't surprise me to see various thoughts reflecting that.
 
X

X26

Banned
loved the first game, and aside from the horrendous aiming thought the demo was pretty good, but I thin I'm going to wait on a few pricedrops for this one
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Can someone explain how character/game progression works when switching between co-op and single player? e.g. if I play in my friend's hosted game for a while and collect some orbs and clear out a few zones, what parts of that would carry back over to my game when I play some single player later. Thanks.
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
skillzors for killzors.

i'm running on a really tight budget at the moment and i'm still picking up Crackdown 2.

yeah it might be a bit more of the same. it might be a bit less interesting in it's open ended design... but i do love plowing through freaks at night. i do love the uv shotty.
 
C

Caspel

Business & Marketing Manager @ GungHo
Cornballer said:
Can someone explain how character/game progression works when switching between co-op and single player? e.g. if I play in my friend's hosted game for a while and collect some orbs and clear out a few zones, what parts of that would carry back over to my game when I play some single player later. Thanks.
Click to expand...

orbs and leveling up carries over. The rest doesn't. You'll have to clear out zones, turn on beacons, and what not in your own game too.
 
K

kaskade

Member
The reviews are basically what I expected. I did enjoy the first Crackdown but I think I'm just going to wait. There's still a few games in my backlog that I should go through, and I don;t really need to waste my money on another game right now.
 
S

soldat7

Member
Flunkie said:
WTF?! After you beat the game, the game ends?! You don't get to stay and free-roam for all the orbs? That's fucking stupid.
Click to expand...

Sounds like I need to update the OP.

Edit:

2igemis.gif
 
T

ToastyFrog

Inexplicable Treasure Hate
Kintaro said:
Man, he slammed the absolute shit out of the game on almost every aspect and it still earns a B-. A game really has to rape their mother over there at 1up for them to use their scale...
Click to expand...
If "flawed but still a lot of fun, especially with friends" isn't a B-minus, I don't know what is. Unless there's something someone's not telling me, the letter grading scale doesn't work like a school report card; a B-minus means "barely above average," not "80-82 out of 100."
 
P

Pooya

Member
Gamespot 7.0/10
video review

The Good

* Exploring the city and grabbing orbs
* Powerful abilities that increase as you play
* Romping around with friends in four-player co-op.

The Bad

* Inconsistent climbing mechanics
* Repetitive objectives
* Lacks momentum or narrative direction
* Announcer gets very annoying
* Not a significant improvement over its predecessor.
Click to expand...
 
S

Spookie

Member
Did I my chance on the monthly Jim-Sterling-is-still-a-fucking-idiot bashing? Bah.

As many will say if you liked the first don't hesitate to pick this up. It's an enjoyable romp but it's as repetitive as an episode of the Teletubbies. Once you get the rocket launcher though it gets more silly than Just Cause 2. :(

* Announcer gets very annoying

Yes. Very.
 
S

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
AgentOtaku said:
Nice review by Parish. In line with my expectations.

I think the single biggest thing I dislike about Crackdown2 (aside from the molasses aiming) are the freaks. Just completely uninteresting and just playing the one defend mission from the demo only bolstered this.

Bring back crime lords =/
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If they make a sequel they need to let you fight other agents. That or supervillains/superheroes. It starts to feel unfair when you're killing crime lords with their own vehicles and hired help.

I feel like they were just testing the waters with this game. If Crackdown 2 sells then Crackdown 3 will probably be a launch title for the Nextbox 720 or whatever.
 
V

vixlar

Member
I played the Demo, and well, I didn't like it. (u_u)

As I don't want to get my ass kicked, I will list the things I liked from it:

+The graphics: I liked this cel-shading.

+How your character got stronger.

+Zombies... a lot of zombies

+The OP: Really, great OP.

+Autohealing: For this game, the autohealing seems good to me.

+Multiplayer: Actually, I didn't play it, but it looks promising.
 
F

funkmastergeneral

Banned
Can you still target certain parts of cars? I liked sitting on the highway in Crackdown and shooting out cars tires just to see them flip over the guard rail.
 
K

kaskade

Member
funkmastergeneral said:
Can you still target certain parts of cars? I liked sitting on the highway in Crackdown and shooting out cars tires just to see them flip over the guard rail.
Click to expand...
You sure can. Shooting the gas tank, easiest way to make a huge explosion.
 
K

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
There seems to be a fundamental gulf in perspective on the game between the Eurogamer review and the other initial reviews.

Eurogamer seems to say "it's more Crackdown, but that's what people really wanted with just the right extra dash of variety and a refined leveling system. Even the city is fun to rexplore and be surprised by the differences you don't expect."

Everybody else says "It's 2010 and this game isn't up to scratch with the new state of the art, aka GTAIV and Red Dead Redemption - where's the progressive, nuanced, deep narrative?! Where's the world that's five times the size of the previous game? Who really wants to play more Crackdown? Collecting orbs is so 2006."

So basically, it seems to come down to if you really loved Crackdown this game is aimed at you and nobody else, and if you thought Crackdown was inferior to everbody else's sandbox games, you should play everybody else's sandbox games.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
tracky_dacks said:
1UP: B-
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3180248
Click to expand...
Very much what I was expecting based on the demo. It's Crackdown with an inferior game structure, on the same city, with zombies and few of the flaws addressed, but with more orbs and four player co-op. I'm down, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed: the potential Crackdown had in a sequel was tremendous, and it sounds like Ruffian/MS - in their effort to get the sequel out after a relative short dev cycle - were content to emulate and tweak the original.
 
S

sparky2112

Member
GhaleonEB said:
the potential Crackdown had in a sequel was tremendous, and it sounds like Ruffian/MS - in their effort to get the sequel out after a relative short dev cycle - were content to emulate and tweak the original.
Click to expand...

...and exactly why CD2 is a delicious appetizer and CD3 will make everyone its bitch. :D
 
M

mik

mik is unbeatable
Kaijima said:
where's the progressive, nuanced, deep narrative?! Where's the world that's five times the size of the previous game? Who really wants to play more Crackdown? Collecting orbs is so 2006."
Click to expand...
I think it's more that it's a sequel to a years-old game and: the climbing isn't better, the shooting isn't better, the missions aren't better, the story isn't better, the controls aren't better, the setting isn't better (or, in this case, even different), the graphics aren't better. Seriously--what other sequel gets a pass for that? Even from massive fans of the original (like me). If anything, the people who loved the first game should be the ones more upset at the lack of discernible progress.
 
S

soldat7

Member
Eurogamer said:
Even Ruffian's controversial cost-cutting measure of staging the sequel within the same space as the first game pays off. Pacific City is both warmly familiar and rendered new again by the ravages of a back-story that has toppled skyscrapers and ruptured concrete, providing you with lots of lovely new things to climb.

It offers you the rare pleasure, given the endless iterative rush of most games, to revisit an old playground, and the thrill of exploration is joined by the haunting charm of seeing how your favourite districts have changed: how the kidney bean racetrack around Shai-Gen has been broken up with barricades, how the old gym down by the beach has been swallowed by a quake, and how an ugly shanty town has erupted around that big house in the mountains where I once managed to get a truck stuck on a chimney pot. (Embarrassing!)

Everything clips into place sweetly and creates a game that, beneath its generic coating of crime, mutants and street-battling, is surprisingly hard to classify. Pacific City is snug compared to the likes of Just Cause 2 and in the very early stages you may find yourself longing for the speed offered by Rico's grapple hook - but you're rewarded with more detail and thought per square inch than Panau could ever afford you, and a gradual expansion of your own powers that makes your progress intoxicating.

Equally, the story may be negligible when held up against the Rockstar games, but Ruffian ultimately provides the perfect compliment to their appreciation of stage-setting and character: a glorious, free-wheeling playground where the focus is on action rather than motivation.
Click to expand...

Eurogamer Review
 
B

BenjaminBirdie

Banned
mik said:
I think it's more that it's a sequel to a years-old game and: the climbing isn't better, the shooting isn't better, the missions aren't better, the story isn't better, the controls aren't better, the setting isn't better (or, in this case, even different), the graphics aren't better. Seriously--what other sequel gets a pass for that? Even from massive fans of the original (like me). If anything, the people who loved the first game should be the ones more upset at the lack of discernible progress.
Click to expand...

Why?

It's fun as hell just like the last one. I really don't understand this whole conceit. It's more Crackdown with additions that make it a fresh experience. What exactly were people expecting or wanting? I don't want them to completely reinvent the wheel with this game. Yes, there's some jankiness in the controls here and there that make it disappointing but, shit, I've been playing Crackdown for like four years and haven't been bored of it yet. Why would I be bored by this?
 
A

AgentOtaku

Member
GhaleonEB said:
Very much what I was expecting based on the demo. It's Crackdown with an inferior game structure, on the same city, with zombies and few of the flaws addressed, but with more orbs and four player co-op. I'm down, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed: the potential Crackdown had in a sequel was tremendous, and it sounds like Ruffian/MS - in their effort to get the sequel out after a relative short dev cycle - were content to emulate and tweak the original.
Click to expand...

Pretty much
 
S

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
mik said:
I think it's more that it's a sequel to a years-old game and: the climbing isn't better, the shooting isn't better, the missions aren't better, the story isn't better, the controls aren't better, the setting isn't better (or, in this case, even different), the graphics aren't better. Seriously--what other sequel gets a pass for that? Even from massive fans of the original (like me). If anything, the people who loved the first game should be the ones more upset at the lack of discernible progress.
Click to expand...
If it was priced and marketed as a standalone expansion pack instead of a full sequel then that wouldn't be as much of an issue. But that's pretty rare on the consoles.
 
B

BenjaminBirdie

Banned
SapientWolf said:
If it was priced and marketed as a standalone expansion pack instead of a full sequel then that wouldn't be as much of an issue. But that's pretty rare on the consoles.
Click to expand...

But the whole city, block-by-block, is completely different. How could that just be an expansion pack?
 
K

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
mik said:
I think it's more that it's a sequel to a years-old game and: the climbing isn't better, the shooting isn't better, the missions aren't better, the story isn't better, the controls aren't better, the setting isn't better (or, in this case, even different), the graphics aren't better. Seriously--what other sequel gets a pass for that? Even from massive fans of the original (like me). If anything, the people who loved the first game should be the ones more upset at the lack of discernible progress.
Click to expand...

I tried the demo. The graphics aren't a quantum leap beyond the first game, but they did seem improved and tightened up. The eurogamer comments also seem to say that the elements essential to the core Crackdown experiences are actually a little more tightened.

I mean, there's already a radar to ping for finding orbs, collected orb tracking on a map, the ability to summon vehicles anywhere instead of returning to the garage, and several other key points.

To me it sounds like many things have been improved over Crackdown, but only the things that matter to how people really ended up playing the game. Maybe the problem, such as it is, is that the focus was only on one type of Crackdown fan's demands. I don't know. But I can't shake the taste in my mouth that several of the other reviewers are hauling the game up and asking between the lines why it isn't a Rockstar game and isn't dutifully ashamed of that fact.
 
B

BenjaminBirdie

Banned
mik said:
You got a different disc than I did. Can we please trade?
Click to expand...

:lol

What? You'd need 6 gig expansion pack! All the textures and construction are different. It's clearly, visually, the same city but 10 years later. Shit's crumbled and fucked up, etc. Isn't that on your disc too?
 
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