High-tech incentives for destructive behavior
When it comes to weapons, the agents’ fists aren’t the only thing that’ll be doing the crushing, stomping (literally) and rifle butting. There is a heavy arsenal of automatic and high-tech weapons for players to use. And like every other aspect of the game, Crackdown’s weapons can also be upgraded to suit the player’s taste in projectile artillery. As for the shooting mechanics...they are more like a refined version of GTA. Players are given more of a focus on the aiming and the ability to pick targets off much easier; even while jumping and running around. The only thing I question is how well players will be able to dodge – and effectively control a shoot-out when it comes to tactical encounters.
Scaling skyscrapers makes for some insane chases
On the plus side, players will at least be able to make quick getaways thanks to the ability to scale buildings and walls. As you may have heard before, Crackdown was literally built from the ground up for the very purpose of being a vertical playground. Wall hopping and leaping from great distances is achieved by leveling up the agent’s ability to exercise impossible agility. In fact, gamers won’t need to web sling through the city when they can catapult their way through town, using massive leaps and jumps.
Roadwarriors for a new age
But in some cases the action will take place on solid ground. When a chase ensues there are times when players will need to grab some wheels and take pursuit. Exactly like GTA, players can commandeer any vehicle on the road for “police purposes”. The bigger difference between Crackdown and GTA, however, is that in Crackdown players can upgrade their driving skills, and in-turn upgrade their vehicle. The higher a player’s driving skills, the better the transformation.
For instance, if an agent is at level 3 and they take a compact sedan, the car will automatically transform according to the player’s level. At level 5 a vehicle turns into a deadly, unforgiving road beast that can knock just about any vehicle clean out of the way, just like the Batmobile in Batman: Returns. But that’s not all, upgraded vehicles can perform insane stunts and allow players to reach places any normal vehicle wouldn’t. The increased speed and heavy-duty armor also appears to provide some extra thrills when handling a high-level vehicle. I must also mention that, so far, the framerate is simply smooth as butter. Car chases are extremely fast and entirely over-the-top.
In addition to the 16 missions, three island cities, and everything else, the game comes with a fully featured drop-in coop multiplayer mode. 360 owners can take the fight online with a buddy, and either compete cooperatively, or duke it out for the fun of it. Hopefully, Realtime Worlds can squeeze in a 16-player mode for the sake of the ultimate guarantee in replayability. Right now the two-player coop seems pretty cool, and it makes an already over-the-top game even crazier. As of now, Crackdown is scheduled to release exclusively for the Xbox 360 in the first quarter of 2007.
Be sure to stay tuned in with VG Core for more information and news regarding the latest and upcoming next-gen games.
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