'Crackdown' this
Crackdown" will look familiar to mainstream gamers. It was designed by David Jones, one of the co-creators of "Grand Theft Auto." Just like in the classic shoot-'em-ups of "GTA" titles, "Crackdown" compels you to navigate city streets and kill people.
Ah, but here's the rub. In "Crackdown," you are the good guy, rather than the vile, murderous scum of "GTA."
Specifically, you play as a futuristic cop. You wield the super powers to jump incredible distances (from building to building), to lift two-ton limos, and to regenerate after getting gunned down.
This marks a trend in pop culture: Antiheroes are on the skids. "Grand Theft Auto" is dusty; the stars of top sellers are earnest heroes, in "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas," "Battlestations: Midway," "Gears of War" and "Call of Duty 3."
Of course, age-old distinctions between good and bad are slightly blurred. In "Crackdown," you do indeed slay ruthless gangsters who blow away pedestrians willy-nilly in the streets. (It's beyond me why pedestrians roam the sidewalks, let alone live in this bloody locale.)
But good cop or not, you can't help but to accidentally drive over these dumb citizens you're trying to save. Honk your horn all you want. They will freeze in front of your hood and die.
Meanwhile, an off-screen narrator, your cop boss, eggs you on to end the lives of bad people preying on the weak.
"Remember," your boss says. "Skills for kills, agent. Skills for kills!"
All those gangsters and thugs for life -- and there are thousands of them, armed with rocket launchers and machine guns -- shoot at you while laughing and taunting, "Prepare to die," and "Why are you even breathin'?"
So many bullets whiz by, they even rain down from white, puffy clouds.
There are two drawbacks. Big gangster bosses must be defeated, which is fine and standard, but some are ensconced in unbearably confusing mazes. And online, you can play only a cooperative mode with other gamers; there's no player vs. player mode.
Still, "Crackdown" is a great, big, masterful beast. It could take dozens of hours for a gamer to finish exploring streets, evil men and women, and quirky extras.
"Crackdown" offers four cities. You don't just sprint and drive down realistic streets. You climb tall buildings of many styles and leap off 16-story structures without hurting your feet.
In one city, I scaled a random building and found a swimming pool on top with a rubber ducky floating in it. I shot the rubber ducky with a machine gun. It flew across the pool and splashed into the corner.
That is the immense level of detail creative people put into such games, simply so we can spend our spare time blowing up every little thing in the world, even when we are heroes.
("Crackdown" retails for $60 for Xbox 360 -- Plays addictive and fun; looks great; very challenging; rated "M" for blood, gore, intense violence, sexual themes, strong language and use of drugs. Four stars out of four.)
Ah, but here's the rub. In "Crackdown," you are the good guy, rather than the vile, murderous scum of "GTA."
Specifically, you play as a futuristic cop. You wield the super powers to jump incredible distances (from building to building), to lift two-ton limos, and to regenerate after getting gunned down.
This marks a trend in pop culture: Antiheroes are on the skids. "Grand Theft Auto" is dusty; the stars of top sellers are earnest heroes, in "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas," "Battlestations: Midway," "Gears of War" and "Call of Duty 3."
Of course, age-old distinctions between good and bad are slightly blurred. In "Crackdown," you do indeed slay ruthless gangsters who blow away pedestrians willy-nilly in the streets. (It's beyond me why pedestrians roam the sidewalks, let alone live in this bloody locale.)
But good cop or not, you can't help but to accidentally drive over these dumb citizens you're trying to save. Honk your horn all you want. They will freeze in front of your hood and die.
Meanwhile, an off-screen narrator, your cop boss, eggs you on to end the lives of bad people preying on the weak.
"Remember," your boss says. "Skills for kills, agent. Skills for kills!"
All those gangsters and thugs for life -- and there are thousands of them, armed with rocket launchers and machine guns -- shoot at you while laughing and taunting, "Prepare to die," and "Why are you even breathin'?"
So many bullets whiz by, they even rain down from white, puffy clouds.
There are two drawbacks. Big gangster bosses must be defeated, which is fine and standard, but some are ensconced in unbearably confusing mazes. And online, you can play only a cooperative mode with other gamers; there's no player vs. player mode.
Still, "Crackdown" is a great, big, masterful beast. It could take dozens of hours for a gamer to finish exploring streets, evil men and women, and quirky extras.
"Crackdown" offers four cities. You don't just sprint and drive down realistic streets. You climb tall buildings of many styles and leap off 16-story structures without hurting your feet.
In one city, I scaled a random building and found a swimming pool on top with a rubber ducky floating in it. I shot the rubber ducky with a machine gun. It flew across the pool and splashed into the corner.
That is the immense level of detail creative people put into such games, simply so we can spend our spare time blowing up every little thing in the world, even when we are heroes.
("Crackdown" retails for $60 for Xbox 360 -- Plays addictive and fun; looks great; very challenging; rated "M" for blood, gore, intense violence, sexual themes, strong language and use of drugs. Four stars out of four.)
Comments