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

S

suaveric

Member
These reviews are kind of a bummer. I was wondering how they could have put out this game so quickly when they took such a large break after developing the first one. I guess I have my answer now. I'll just enjoy it for what it's worth and move on.
 
X

X26

Banned
SapientWolf said:
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.
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Given the first game's ending that really should have been the case here
 
P

PopcornMegaphone

Banned
Going in to the year this was my most anticipated game. I have to admit I'm pretty disappointed by the reviews. I'm still going to buy it, but I have a few games I'm going to clear out of my backlog first.
 
S

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
suaveric said:
These reviews are kind of a bummer. I was wondering how they could have put out this game so quickly when they took such a large break after developing the first one. I guess I have my answer now. I'll just enjoy it for what it's worth and move on.
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The blame for that lies solely on Microsoft. However, I don't think there is even one review out there that says that Crackdown 2 isn't any fun.
 
K

Kintaro

Worships the porcelain goddess
Giantbomb's Review - 3 stars.

There are some gameplay additions and some things in place to take some of the monotony out of the game's more tedious tasks, but by and large, Crackdown 2 is Crackdown 1 with marginally better graphics. The visual enhancement mostly manifests itself as a much longer draw distance, which makes standing on tall buildings and looking around the city pretty cool. While this is the same Pacific City from the first game, the city's fallen on some hard times, so more of the buildings are torn up and there's a darker style to the proceedings. This further manifests itself via the game's day/night cycle, which mostly seems present so that someone could make a great "the freaks come out at night" reference. When the sun goes down, the roving Cell vehicles are replaced with streets full of freaks, who come right up out of the ground. It gives the game a Dead Rising sort of feel, as you're given plenty of opportunities to race through the city streets, mowing down hundreds of freaks as you do so. For the most part, the game can ably handle all of those on-screen enemies, but a few late-game moments have the frame rate chugging a bit more than you'd like.
Click to expand...

Really, most of the game hasn't changed a bit. The way you jump and the occasional hassle of climbing a building only to find that those windowsills, for some reason, aren't objects you can grab onto are precisely the same as the original game. With most of the additions aimed at streamlining elements of the first game or, at least, making them less of a pain to deal with, Crackdown 2 occasionally feels like a big patch for the first game.
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I completed the game's primary task in around nine hours, then found myself drawn back in to mop up a few secondary tasks, but after 13 hours total, I've done just about everything I want to do in Crackdown 2, and the ending feels just as tacked-on and thrown together as the rest of the game's "plot." That's when you're supposed to turn to the game's 16-player multiplayer mode, but nothing about that mode is the least bit engaging. Applying the Crackdown mechanics to team deathmatch leads to even more annoyance with the game's targeting system. Rocket tag, a game where one player tries to grab an orb and stay alive for as long as possible while the other players--all armed with rocket launchers--blow everything up to get the orb for themselves, is just pure chaos. It's a bad fit for the franchise and probably won't draw your attention away from the main campaign for long.
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MMaRsu

MMaRsu

Member
Dissapointment with these reviews -_-.

Might have to wait a bit before I pick this up, just moved to a new house so I should get some stuff for that first.
 
B

Barrett2

Member
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.
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This. I mean, we were all excited for more Crackdown, but when the first thing you notice about the demo is that its almost exactly the same as the first game, but hey, the aiming literally doesn't work, and they also put literally zero effort into fixing the problems of the several years old first game... that's a problem.

Is that Dell promo legit? No way I can justify spending $60 on this, but will bite at $40.
 
A

AgentOtaku

Member
MMaRsu said:
Dissapointment with these reviews -_-.

Might have to wait a bit before I pick this up, just moved to a new house so I should get some stuff for that first.
Click to expand...

Coincidentally just got OG Crackdown from a friend, so I think I'm going to give that a proper replay on my new 360Slim. I will pick up CD2, just not right now...
 
K

Kusagari

Member
X26 said:
Given the first game's ending that really should have been the case here
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I completely agree. I've always felt sour on this game that they just went straight back to the working for the agency and fighting terrorists thing after that ending. Working as a renegade agent trying to take down the agency would have been a far better place to go with it than just adding zombies and making a new terrorist group.
 
S

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
Kusagari said:
I completely agree. I've always felt sour on this game that they just went straight back to the working for the agency and fighting terrorists thing after that ending. Working as a renegade agent trying to take down the agency would have been a far better place to go with it than just adding zombies and making a new terrorist group.
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That was probably the original plan but it must have been tossed when Realtime Worlds moved on and Ruffian was formed to do some wetwork.

My pre-order purchase was partially motivated by hope for the future of the franchise. If Crackdown 2 flops there won't be another one.
 
E

eek5

Member
Kusagari said:
I completely agree. I've always felt sour on this game that they just went straight back to the working for the agency and fighting terrorists thing after that ending. Working as a renegade agent trying to take down the agency would have been a far better place to go with it than just adding zombies and making a new terrorist group.
Click to expand...

After playing through this game, hearing some of the dialogue + audio tapes.. it makes me wish there were two mission paths here, one for the agent and one as a renegade agent working for cell. Oh well.

Does anyone know if the DLC content is going to be free?
 
J

Jb

Member
SapientWolf said:
That was probably the original plan but it must have been tossed when Realtime Worlds moved on and Ruffian was formed to do some wetwork.

My pre-order purchase was partially motivated by hope for the future of the franchise. If Crackdown 2 flops there won't be another one.
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I honestly don't see CD2 selling more than its predecessor (1.5m according to wikipedia). So I doubt we'll see a CD3 anyway.
 
T

TheKurgan

Member
Despite the so, so reviews I am still pumped for this game. I just think it is mispriced. MS is trying to sell the game for $69.99 here in Canada, which is $10 more than some of the recent AAA titles. I will pick it up when it’s sub $50.
 
A

AgentOtaku

Member
Wish I could find a YouTube link but I was just thinking how much I love the original Realtime Worlds splash screen that played before OG Crackdown started.
A wonderful chime that makes me feel so nostalgic

I'll be forever in your debt if someone could find and link it
 
S

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
Jay-B said:
I honestly don't see CD2 selling more than its predecessor (1.5m according to wikipedia). So I doubt we'll see a CD3 anyway.
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1.5M would be outstanding considering that this summer has more bombs than a B52. Infamous had similar sales numbers on its respective platform and it had no problems getting a sequel.
 
M

Mrbob

Member
Meh, sounds like my worst fears are realized with this sequel. Damn you MS for not letting RTW work on a sequel right away.

I still hope this game does well so perhaps we can get a real sequel this time instead of a modified revision of the first game. Of course this will depend on word of mouth so it doesn't look good.
 
T

The Librarian

Banned
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.
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I'm still excited, but it looks like Crackdown 3 will be something to really look forward to.
 
S

soldat7

Member
Son of Godzilla said:
You are assuming either RTW or Ruffian will survive to make it.
Click to expand...

Crackdown 2 was a quick turn for Ruffian. They probably don't stand to lose that much if it fails to sell up to their expectations. This isn't an Alan Wake situation.
 
D

dude819

Member
Played about 1/3 - 1/2 of the game thus far. It is very much more of the same thing. I loved the first one so it's absolutely fine with me, especially after 3.5 years between 1 and 2. If you disliked the first, I don't see you enjoying this one that much more.
 
S

S1kkZ

Member
i dont really care what the reviews say. i played the demo for hours and i cant wait to play the final version.

4 player coop, wingsuit, ground smash, helicopter, mag grenade, freaks that give you a reason to drive vehicles, tons of new orbs and all that with the near perfect crackdown 1 plattforming gameplay? YES PLEASE!

judging from the demo, cd2 is as fun as you want it to be. if you just do the standard missions you will not be having much fun (like in crackdown 1).
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Neuromancer said:
I wonder what this game would have been like if Real Time Words had gotten a crack at it.
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I wonder what the game would have been like if they'd put a full development cycle into it. They had, what, 18 months for the project? If either RTW or Ruffian had been working on Crackdown 2 since the first came out, we'd have a very different beast. A lot of the design decisions appear to stem from lack of time and resources.
 
S

soldat7

Member
Shurs said:
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.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the impressions. Where can we check out your review tonight?
 
TheUsual

TheUsual

Gold Member
SapientWolf said:
1.5M would be outstanding considering that this summer has more bombs than a B52. Infamous had similar sales numbers on its respective platform and it had no problems getting a sequel.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking that Microsoft will want Crackdown 2 to do more than 1.5M to warrant a third game.

Probably the same thinking on Sony's part for Infamous 2.

Then again, it depends if Microsoft will make a profit. If I recall, Crackdown 1 did make a profit, but the developer broke even...if that makes sense.
 
S

S1kkZ

Member
GhaleonEB said:
I wonder what the game would have been like if they'd put a full development cycle into it. They had, what, 18 months for the project? If either RTW or Ruffian had been working on Crackdown 2 since the first came out, we'd have a very different beast. A lot of the design decisions appear to stem from lack of time and resources.
Click to expand...
i thought they only had 8 months?
 
S

soldat7

Member
S1kkZ said:
i thought they only had 8 months?
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This is from the IGN article. Everyone should read it; Ruffian is pretty honest about things:

IGN said:
"The last 8 months have been solid crunch," says James Cope, producer on the game. "It was hell," he jokes, "but the end result was really good. We're really pleased with what we've done. We set ourselves some pretty aggressive, ambitious targets, and we've been very lucky. With some great guys and some hard work we've come up with something we're all very proud of."

Ruffian is very honest about what the short development cycle has meant, namely that there are some elements of Crackdown 2 that the team couldn't explore as much as they'd like to.
Click to expand...
 
S

S1kkZ

Member
bathala said:
well blame MS for rushing the dev of this game.
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yeah, that sucks. but we got a crackdown 2 in the end, with cool new features and 4p co-op. i prefer that over not having a sequel.

but i really hope we get cd3 and that ruffian gets enough time (and money) to make it awesome.
 
J

JdFoX187

Banned
I'm pretty sure if Crackdown 2 does decent, like a million worldwide, we'll see another one later down the road. Obviously Microsoft sees the value in the IP, as they wanted to get a new one out quickly. Hopefully, now they'll give Ruffian more time to really go into detail for a third one. Not that I'm complaining about Crackdown 2, from what I played, the game is awesome.
 
R

REMEMBER CITADEL

Banned
V_Ben said:
sounds like they should have given this another year, and packed it full of variety. :(
Click to expand...

To me it sounds like they've done the right thing. They made a game packed with more of the good stuff the fans have been clamoring for, and in 2012 we'll get a proper, full-blown sequel in Crackdown 3.

Really, reading the reviews it all seems very simple to me: if you liked the first game and want more of it (with more weapons, vehicles, orbs etc), you'll enjoy Crackdown 2. If you expected huge changes or didn't like the first game at all, then Crackdown 2 is probably not for you.
 
F

Flavius

Member
Everyone's entitled to an opinion, and I can respect someone not digging this game. However, that Destructoid review just seems like so much rubbish. Who at Ruffian fucked Jim Sterling's mother? Really, I cannot make heads nor tails as to what passes for a premise here. Is it that the game is gorgeous and all that made the first game great, but not as great as it should have been had Ruffian, by the author's estimation, not been standing around with their cocks in their hands for the past 12 months? Or is it that the game is shitty looking and plays horrible (again, just like the original title), and simply a lazy, unnecessary cash-in?

Is this status quo for Destructoid reviews? Jesus Herbert Christ...no wonder I've never read one before.
 
S

Sean

Banned
I really would like to see what a "proper" Crackdown sequel could be. Full development cycle with a large budget, all new city, etc. This could be one of MS's biggest franchises but I feel like they are weakening it (perhaps killing the series altogether) by rushing this game out. Only the very hardcore Crackdown fans are likely to buy this and the rest will either rent or wait for a price drop.

I hope it sells enough to get a Crackdown 3. I'm doing my part.
 
N

Net_Wrecker

Member
REMEMBER CITADEL said:
To me it sounds like they've done the right thing. They made a game packed with more of the good stuff the fans have been clamoring for, and in 2012 we'll get a proper, full-blown sequel in Crackdown 3.

Really, reading the reviews it all seems very simple to me: if you liked the first game and want more of it (with more weapons, vehicles, orbs etc), you'll enjoy Crackdown 2. If you expected huge changes or didn't like the first game at all, then Crackdown 2 is probably not for you.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Coming from someone that LOVED Crackdown, but hasn't played it since February 19, 2008 (thanks Xbox.com) I couldn't be more hyped to get my hands on this tomorrow. I'm sure Crackdown 3 (if it ever gets released) will be the evolution everyone wants, but knowing the whole situation between Realtime Worlds and Mircosoft, I'm just happy this game is even being released, especially with 4 player co-op.
 
R

Requeim

Member
Flavius said:
Is this status quo for Destructoid reviews? Jesus Herbert Christ...no wonder I've never read one before.
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Destructoid goes by the 1-10 scale instead of the 7-10 scale. Their reviews are among the best on the internet.
 
F

Flavius

Member
Requeim said:
Destructoid goes by the 1-10 scale instead of the 7-10 scale. Their reviews are among the best on the internet.
Click to expand...

Making use of the entirety of your purported scale is awesome, but does not equate being at all adept in reviewing games.
 
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