Microsoft's crack at the Grand Theft Auto crown, from Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones and his Real Time Worlds studio, is set to hit streets February 20. Admittedly, Crackdown shares more in common with Mercenaries than it does with any of the GTA titles, as it's less structured than Rockstar's series and not mission-based -- you're charged with taking down three criminal organizations however you see fit. Of course, the ability to become a 'super freak' (leap buildings, transform vehicles, throw semis, etc.) puts Crackdown in a niche of its own -- if not the superpowers, then the cel-shaded visuals. It's totally like being inside a graphic novel! Right?...For those of us still concerned that Crackdown lacks some of the cohesive elements necessary for a mainstream hit, Microsoft is offering a demo, set to hit Xbox Live Marketplace on January 18. The demo will include -- for Xbox Live Gold members -- a preview of Crackdown's full-scale online co-op, which gives the game a huge boost over its competition. Free-form gang-stomping with a buddy? Yes please.
[Via press release]
Press release:
Justice Is Served: "Crackdown" on Crime This February
The highly anticipated Xbox 360 title 'Crackdown' explodes onto Xbox Live Marketplace with an exciting single-player and online cooperative demo Jan.18, followed by its arrival on store shelves Feb. 20.
Pacific City is overridden; crime controls the streets. Three powerful gangs have taken the once-great metropolis hostage, and the police have proven powerless in their efforts to regain control. Only the Agency - with genetically enhanced agents of justice - can provide citizens with some sense of hope.
Brace yourself. Justice is coming to Pacific City.
On Jan. 18, gamers will get the chance to battle their way through the roads and rooftops of Crackdown™ as the Xbox 360™ title's explosive demo lands on Xbox Live® Marketplace. And for the ultimate payback, they will combine forces in online co-op play for twice the thrills and double the retribution. [Online multiplayer play requires Xbox Live Gold account.]
Gamers will arm themselves with high-tech weapons, transformable vehicles and incredible, gravity-defying superskills in preparation to take back Pacific City when Crackdown storms North American store shelves Feb. 20.
From Realtime Worlds, Crackdown pushes the action-driving hybrid genre into the next generation with the first-ever truly 3-D playground. Gamers will level up their Agent's strength, agility, firearms, explosives and driving skills while scaling the fully vertical world of Crackdown. This M-rated game incorporates revolutionary co-op gameplay throughout the entire free-form campaign. Creating a volatile cocktail of judicial oppression, players will clean up the streets of a truly interactive world when Crackdown hits store shelves at an estimated retail price of $59.99.
