Crackdown 2 somehow seems to be able to be slightly forgotten compared to other exclusive titles, especially for a game which will be released in just a few more weeks, so Microsoft France decided to invite us to check it out a couple of weeks ago, with some of the developers from Ruffian available for questions.
Pacific City: It's been 10 years since the event of the first episode. As you can guess quite a few things have changed since then, like the place and role of the Agency, kind of forgotten now. Nowadays the city is under the influence of a terrorist organization named Cell, and chaos is back in the streets. The situation is made even more critical by the very aggressive mutants who roam the streets by night. Once again it's easy to see that the story is just a pretense for the upcoming murderous fights, and we shouldn't hope to ever get good directing or a narration of Alan Wake's quality.
Crackdown 2 is based on the same structure as its older brother: a city to explore looking for the precious orbs (green for agility, purple for driving, blue for fun) which will allow you to strengthen your character's abilities. Character evolution is still at the heart of the game, each statistics cut into multiple levels. You'll have to either collect the orbs, or simply use your weapons or drive vehicles to level up the hero and get him to become more and more powerful. Each level opens new possibilities, allowing the player to use new tactics for the various situations.
As for the new stuff, let's list them: the ability to pilot helicopters (requiring a 5 star driving level though), to skydive and to literally fly around for a little time, "renegade" orbs that have to be caught (either by driving or by foot) and that seem to replace the rooftops and car races of the first game, 4 player co-op (along with more classic multiplayer modes too), and of course new vehicles and weapons. Speaking about weapons, we got to see the magnetic grenades in action, reminding us a lot of Just Cause 2's grappling hook. It's possible to stick one of these grenades to a car, and another to a building, creating a electro-magnetic bolt that will hook the vehicle to the wall. It's also possible to stick a part of a streetlight to a car and to use it as a mace ball! Clearly Ruffian wanted to go all the way in creating the ultimate sandbox experience where the player's creativity will be rewarded.
However, in spite of these new ideas, it is hard not to get some sort of déjà-vu feeling when playing Crackdown 2. The main reason is that Ruffian Games decided to use the very same city. As big as it is, those who spent hours wandering in the streets of Pacific City in the first game will clearly find their way around very quickly. Sure, some new buildings have been built, some areas have also changed because they are now in ruins, but even so, it won't be long before Crackdown fans know the place like the back of their hand. The pleasure of discovery takes a bit of a hit here but thankfully, collecting orbs is just as fun and addictive as before.
The graphics and physics engines also look very similar to Crackdown's. The game keeps its cel-shaded personality, which is nice as it would have been very odd to lose such a visual identity, but we were under the impression that the city felt a bit empty during the daytime, especially compared with the likes of GTA 4, Protype or InFamous. At night though, when the freaks pop out, the streets get a lot busier, reminding the chaos of Prototype's Big Apple. The framerate is smooth overall, which should please those who lost their sight when playing GTA 4, but there were still a few hiccups and some pop-up issues with the build we had the chance to play. Animations look exactly the same as before and the main character's melee attacks are unfortunately still as stiff as ever. There is indeed a clear lack of impact in that area as it never really feels we are hitting hard. Even though melee combat is clearly not the main interest in the game, it would have been nice to see some improvement after three years. The jump animation and the climbing have not changed either, no really, technically, Crackdown 2 looks more like a copy/paste job than anything.
We also noticed a few problems with the auto-lock system, which made a few shootings a bit messy and the character would target monsters that were far behind in the crowd instead of aiming at the closest enemies. Hopefully, it will be fixed in time before the final version ships. Finally, we might be mistaken but, it seemed to us that explosions did not look as good as in the first game, which would be kind of a let down if it were not due to the build we tried.
All comments (30)
And explosions seems a downgrade :/ that was a huge part of teh fun in the first,oh well I hope for the best,Im still kinda excited for the coop.
Loved that resume, as I read it backwards:
It is hard to not get excited about Crackdown 2, despite obvious flaws.
To each, each own. GOTY.
Also, I hate fighting mutants...bores the shit out of me.
I also dont like that they removed the cool visual progression of the morphing vehicles as you leveled up - that kept things abit fresh. A helicopter is definatly welcome though..and i can invision 4player co-op being great.
I think, at this point in time, alot of the concerns in the build played are more than likely here to stay for the retail release. Which would be a shame
Anyway, it reads just like how I feel about the game (minus Infamous and Prototype comparisons). I'm still reserving judgement since the issue could as well turn out to be a non-issue when I'm playing it with friends.
If they can recapture that feeling, I'm all in. And really, I think this is what people who liked the first one are looking for in the second.
Who came up with this genius idea over there ?
Sounds more like a remake now tome then a new game !
Sad !
I'm really baffled as to why such decisions would be made...
Just saying is all. I mean a lot of the reviews for Alan Wake, would make you think the game was an average game at best. And I almost did not get it upon seeing the Metacritic aggregate score. On the advice from a friend who had it, got it anyway, and it's turned out to be some of the most fun, not to mention the most engrossing story I have enjoyed all year, if not all gen.
I guess my point is, everyone has an opinion. And reviews are just that, someone else's opinion. While they may serve as a decent guide toward what you may or may not like, they still can be way off from how you may have taken away from the same experience, as no two people think and feel exactly the same.
Hopefully, you will give Crackdown 2, and every game for that matter, the chance of an actual play-thru, before passing final judgement on it.
It really depends on what they do with the city, which determines if they can get away with using the same one over.
In the case of SR2, the game takes place five years later, but they Volition Studios) added about 20 years worth of renovations to the entire city. There is a lot which is similar, and a lot which is familiar, but almost none of it is the same. So much so, that old sections of the city that I knew by memory from the first game, I actually got completely lost in upon playing SR2 for the first time. It also helps in the case of SR2, that Volition enlarged the size of Stilwater by 30%, adding in tons of new areas. The end result being, the whole place felt like a completely different city you have to memorize. With enough landmarks left over from the original game, to give it a sense of nostalgia - which was weird, experiencing nostalgia in a video game, but also a very nice effect, that few reviewers bothered to talk about.
So playing in the same city for the sequel, does not automatically equal a 'no-no', nor is it an indicator that the developers have been lazy. There are a lot of things Ruffian could have done to Pacific City to make it fresh all over again. We do know matter of factly from interviews, that they have increased the size of Pacific City, by as much as 40%. And that already is a good start. Depending on how they restructured the rest of the city to augment the addition of all the new areas, the end result could be something just as fresh as the first time you played in Pacific City back in 2007.
Remember, Drift stated, that they only allowed them (the press) to play a small section of Pacific City. Who knows what renovations Ruffian may have made to the rest of the city to make the experience of playing in it, feel new again.
Anyway, to answer your question: Ideally, yes. But if most reviews agree that the city feels very much the same as the first installment, than I don't see why I shouldn't accept that?
Also, unless there is a demo featuring the entire city, the only way to tell is from reviews, videos and user feedback. I'm sure as hell not going to buy the $60 game to find out for myself they've basicly rehashed the entire city.