Opus Angelorum said:
Is that simply because there is more to do? As complexity rises so does the need for direction?
Saying that there's more to do, at least when it comes to progressing the story, is a bit of a misnomer, as you do pretty much the same thing over and over.
One of the things I enjoyed most about the first Crackdown was the freedom you were granted in playing through the game. Your goal was simple. Take down 21 mobsters however you wanted, in whatever order you wanted. You could come through the front gate guns blazing, facing a gang of henchmen, or you could sneak in stealthily and assassinate your target. You could take out individual generals, weakening the crime syndicate or you could go right for the crime boss. The choice was in your hands. While Crackdown 2 maintains some of that freedom in its mission structure, for example you can fight for and claim Absorption Units in any order you wish, but it's once you are tasked with protecting beacons against waves of enemies that the game feels restrictive and like a step back from the original Crackdown. This is made worse as you'll have to protect nine beacons before you reach the end of the game. Protecting the beacons is easily my least favorite part of the game, as it deviates from the freeform nature that I loved about the first game.
You can also reclaim strongholds throughout the city, the benefit being that claimed strongholds become drop points for weapons and vehicles. Once again, the restrictiveness of a mission structure gets in the way. To claim the stronghold you have to go to a specific point within each and call for a helicopter. At this point, a bunch of enemies will spawn and you'll have to eliminate them all in order for your backup to arrive. While you do have a lot of flexibility in how you deal with these enemies, you are limited to a specific area. Go outside of that area and you fail the mission. It's a shame, as these battle are enjoyable, for the most part, but it can be frustrating when your plan of attack is thwarted, not by the enemy, but by an invisible barrier that you're not allowed to cross.
Edit: I don't want this to come off like I'm trashing the game, as I really had a good time playing it. I think that people who loved the first game and wanted more will have a great time with this title. I think that people playing the series for the first time would enjoy it too, as it's a fun game. It's just that I'd recommend to anyone looking to play a Crackdown game for the first time that they start with the original as it can found new for under $20.
