Crackdown
Microsoft | Xbox 360 | $59.99
People will buy Crackdown for one reason: Ownership grants access to an early beta-test of the painfully long-awaited Halo 3. If that sounds like bribery, well, you’re right. Crackdown isn’t a bad game, but it certainly can use that little boost. Imagine dropping Spider-Man into your standard gang-overrun Grand Theft Auto-style city and giving him a machine gun and a mean streak, and you’ll have an idea how Crackdown plays.
Our protagonist is a genetically enhanced supercop of the near future, capable of scaling skyscrapers, tossing cars, and sniping gang members while leaping between rooftops. Fight through waves of heavily armed gang members to find and execute their leaders hidden throughout the city. Crackdown features a GTA-like cityscape, free to be explored on foot or by car. However, despite luscious graphics and three distinct islands, the gameplay quickly becomes repetitive. Hunting down the gang leaders follows a simple pattern – enter building, kill guards, kill leader, run away. Repeat that 21 times to finish the game’s main story.
What plot there is only takes about eight to 10 hours to complete, after which there are some races and other ways to get sidetracked, but there’s nothing really compelling left. You can team up with a friend in two-player mode or over the Internet, either to “rekill” the original game leaders or to just blow up crap. The game is well put together but simply grows stale after the first few hours. Any Xbox 360 owners itching for a GTA fix are better off with Saint’s Row, a much more faithful knockoff. Regardless, both games likely will be forgotten after Grand Theft Auto IV thunders into stores this fall. – Eric Sebesta
This article appears in April 27 • 2007.