Crackdown 2

Genre: Sandbox/Third Person Shooter
Platform(s): Xbox 360
Allegiance: Ruffian Games
Vintage: 2010
Rating: M
Intelligence Agency Report by: Shadow
Ten years have passed since the Pacific City gang wars. The Agency is in tatters, the Agent Program is decimated, and Freaks terrorize citizens, spreading their virus. A new batch of Agent clones has been created, and you take over the role of the first one from the new batch. Your job: regain control of the city for The Agency. Gear up, agent, it’s time to take back the city!

Weapons Expert Report by: Shadow 
Story/Premise
Gameplay
Impact
Visual
Audio
4.00
7.00
4.00
8.00
6.00
Overall 6.00
(not an average)
Version Reviewed: XBox 360 

The much-anticipated Crackdown 2 hit the shelves, and should have been an instant hit. But was it? No. 

Like all sequels to a good game, one of two things happens. The first is that it’s mediocre and leaves you desiring the original game. The second is that it completely blows you so far through your gaming spot, that what’s left of your tattered body is found in the next country. This game, as with most sequels, unfortunately has left you with the first option as far as the story line, gameplay, graphics, and handling. 

The most often heard complaints for this game have been that it’s just like the first game, completely lacking a story, and that it took too long for something so mediocre. While you can say that the game is mediocre in some regards, don’t be too quick to judge on the length of time it took before the game came out. Microsoft actually had a hand in slowing this one down, and Ruffian Games took it upon themselves to browbeat Microsoft into getting this game out. 

The other complaints are well-founded, though. This game is still set in Pacific City, the only difference is that the city is dilapidated and overrun with a terrorist organization known as Cell during the day, and terrified by The Freaks at night. If the Freaks sound familiar, it’s because they are. The old Shai Gen Corporation’s secret project, which was supposed to have been destroyed by the Agent in Crackdown 1, has now become a horror that terrorizes the citizens of Pacific City at night. 

Nothing has changed between the games other than the story arc. Other than the UV weapons (Freaks cannot stand UV, go figure, vampires meet zombies!), you pretty much get the same toys as you did in the first game. Abilities are still gained in the same manner, with the only exception being that if you max out your abilities, you gain new talents to go with them, such as a Ground Pound, the Wingsuit, and more nifty things. 

If it seems that this review is going to be lacking, it’s because the game itself is lacking, and if you’ve played the first game, then you already know just how this one goes. I could go in-depth telling you about the weapons and combat system (even then, these are so simple that there is nothing to describe), but only people who played the first game will play this one. If you’re debating playing it, rent it first. If you like it, then consider going multiplayer where it gets fun AND funny at the same time (namely when you and your partner are blowing each other up and sending one another flying about 200 feet).