Crackdown creator's ego intact after Halo 3 boost
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Feb 5th 2007 at 4:55PM }
Buy the Halo 3 beta and receive a free copy of Crackdown! That was the joke that hurtled across the chattering landscape of the internet, as soon as it was revealed that Microsoft's supercop-in-a-sandbox game would ride the coattails of a ruthlessly marching Halo 3. But that's okay, according to Crackdown creator, David Jones. "It's really scary to think you could make a really great game that nobody has ever heard about," he notes in an insightful interview with Stephen Totilo of MTV News.
The main problem, Jones states, is that Crackdown simply doesn't look good in screenshots. Perhaps a "snapshot" makes for a better word, as he feels that the game's qualities are conveyed far better when it's in motion -- the seamless world, the explosive physics and the player character's constant evolution. Since it takes a while for Crackdown's protagonist to build up his attributes and start leaping over buildings, the game can't be readily grasped in the first five minutes or indeed, in a snapshot. As Totilo aptly puts it, it's a "gradual sell."
The Real Time Worlds developer goes on to explain how his desire to reward players resulted in a lifting of Microsoft's achievement limit from 50 to 80 per game, and that "90 percent of the fight is just getting people to try something." Though the Halo 3 beta business may have inadvertently made some gamers doubt the game's quality, the demo currently available on Xbox Live should do much to help allay any GTA fan fears.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
NomBomB @ Feb 5th 2007 5:02PM
say what you want about this game... but i frikkin love it. proud crackhead ova heea.
Jake @ Feb 5th 2007 5:04PM
I really liked the Crackdown demo. The art style is great. It has a graphic novel/comic feel to it. It looks really cool in motion. It is fun how you can climb and jump and go wherever you want. Throwing cars and dead bodies at enemies is pretty fun, too.
The things I didn't like about the game: There seems to always be someone shooting at you. That may be demo specific, but it is kind of annoying when you are just trying to explore. The shooting mechanics are a bit boring.
All in all, this looks to be a pretty good game. It is probably about as good as Saint's Row, though quite a bit different.
burn @ Feb 5th 2007 5:05PM
ohh.. I finally plopped down some scratch for a 360 yesterday. I didn't see that on the demos. hmmm will have to download that tonight.
VOODOO85 @ Feb 5th 2007 5:06PM
i didnt even know microsoft had changed from 50 achievements to 80
on topic - im loving the demo and have had this game on pre-order for a while now
PacoDG @ Feb 5th 2007 5:07PM
I didn't end up signing on to Halo3.com until 4pm est. So I guess I will end up having to buy Crackdown and selling it on eBay as soon as I can. The graphics are all right. But the game is so boring :(
burn @ Feb 5th 2007 5:07PM
to add, I did see this being played on the 1up-show the other day, it did look like a lot of fun. This game would be a good candidate for that weird on/offline hybrid type of game. Imagine a massive persistant world where there are hundreds of different crackdown cops roaming the streets fighting eachother for each objective.. I would buy that..
jsn @ Feb 5th 2007 5:10PM
The demo is 8/10, so there's no reason the full game won't be that good or better. Anyone who liked GTA should enjoy it, as it's GTA with more everything and lots of unique features.
aaron @ Feb 5th 2007 5:11PM
You have to admit, MTV is making the right strides to attract whatever core group they are going after with all of these quality interviews. MTV is no longer Viacom's crown jewel, and with CBS dominating ratings (NCIS rocks!), I can expect the same "resurrecting" success. It's going to take a long ass time. Get rid of the liberal viewpoints, and you got a winner!
(I'm trying to ignore Viacom's Spike TV...)
D @ Feb 5th 2007 5:14PM
I was skeptical of the whole deal from the get-go. However, after playing Crackdown I have to applaud Microsoft. They could have easily included the Halo 3 beta with another title that maybe wasn't so great, just to push some extra units. The Crackdown demo was great, the co-op is tons of fun and I can't wait to get my hands on the full version. Still not interested in Halo though.
Matt @ Feb 5th 2007 5:14PM
@ Burn
Actually, I read in an interview on Firingsquad that Crackdown actually started life as an MMO. During play testing they realized that it was so much just playing it as an action/sandbox game that they decided that the gameplay would be hampered as a slower paced MMO and to take it in a different direction.
I'm certainly glad they did. The demo is a blast and I am eagerly awaiting Feb 22nd.
fox619_master @ Feb 5th 2007 5:16PM
NCIS rocks?! Ove here in England it's all about CSI:New York, its interesting and the yellow pages sponsor before it is funny 'dude u seriously need to get some new pants', 'THERE TROUSERS!' Anyone one else wach CSI?
Q @ Feb 5th 2007 5:22PM
Yeah, Crackdown doesn't look very good in screenshots, or when it's frozen up, which the demo constantly does on my 360. I've tried redownloading and clearing my cache, but it does nothing. At least the last time I played, I made it to the point where it starts the 30 minute countdown before it froze up. I hope the retail version doesn't do the same thing. This is the only game I've had problems on (since I got a replacement for a dead 360 a couple of months ago).
ryan de michigan @ Feb 5th 2007 5:28PM
Sorry, but the demo was pretty boring. The whole game felt like it should have been released on the Dreamcast. For as big as the environment is I was disappointed with how much was actually in it. Carbon copied buildings filled the landscape. The physics seemed lacking too, especially for a game that has you jumping over buildings and tossing cars around. Leveling up was fun and rewarding but this sandbox just doesn't have enough toys in it.
Hugh @ Feb 5th 2007 5:57PM
ryan de michigan,
Try leveling up in agility, then the game will get a lot more interesting. The least I can say is that it's a fresh new take on the 3D platformer.
Max Boyer @ Feb 5th 2007 5:57PM
I love the game, but the camera bugs me
I wish there was a way to zoom out a bit
the camera needs to be more Mario64, less Max Payne
yellowoystercult @ Feb 5th 2007 6:10PM
I had more fun with the Crackdown demo than I ever had with the whole of the GTA series. I'm picking this baby up on day one.
polly @ Feb 5th 2007 6:11PM
I'm a big fan of jumping on to a moving car on the highway, shooting out oncoming cars' front tires, and trying to blow them up with the grenade launcher while they're in the air. Makes me laugh every time.
Scott @ Feb 5th 2007 6:25PM
To each his own opinion, but I think crackdown is awesome. Its the first sandbox game that feels like a complete city to me. Every building has a way to the top, with ledges, overhangs, and windowsills to grab onto. Even when you get to the top, there is stuff up there too. I hated flying around or exploring in GTA only to find that far off area that i finally got to was forgotten by the developers. In crackdown the player is rewarded for exploration. Leveling up is an awesome idea and I've become addicted to finding agility orbs. The co-op is truely amazing as well. You and a friend are able to play together to complete missions, or you can both just be in the same city doing whatever you want with no limits. I've never had an hour of my life vanish so quickly. I can't imagine how much time my roommate an I will waste without a time limit. ryan de michigan, I'm going to call you out and say you didn't give this game an honest try. Go pick it up again with a friend in co-op, then come back here and tell me the demo is boring.
mushiking @ Feb 5th 2007 6:46PM
i suspect you're gonna see copies of this pilin up at Gamestop. a lot of people are probably gonna trade it after getting the code.
boo @ Feb 5th 2007 7:16PM
Except it's not a code, you download the beta through the crackdown menu, and you can only play it with the crackdown disc in your 360.
Did anyone honestly think that MS would be so stupid that there'd be a code in your box that you could sell on ebay?
Tim B. @ Feb 5th 2007 7:21PM
You know that you have to have the game disk to download the Halo 3 beta, right?? You can't just buy it and get the code then trade it back in. The disk is the code.
Bluntzman @ Feb 5th 2007 9:05PM
It doesn't help the games credibility when the screenshots don't look anything like what is shown in-game.
Seriously, the screenshots they show on their official site look as though they've been rendered on a PC with 8xFSAA. The game looks nothing like that at 720p or 1080i.
nick @ Feb 5th 2007 9:00PM
Say what you will, but I was planning to checking out Crackdown even before I heard about the Halo 3 demo. And screen shots? Yeah, the artwork never bothered me. Every game has it's own visual style. Now I will admit, when I finally got my hands on the demo, I was slightly underwhelmed at first. The action seemed sluggish, but I didn't realize you power up as you progress. And multiplayer is way cool.
I'll likely purchase this one when available. Not because of Halo, but because I'm desperately wanting a new game with some depth to it. I've finished Gears. Same with Viva. Need something new...
SynikaL @ Feb 5th 2007 10:38PM
I was skeptical of all the positive things I've been hearing about Crackdown around these parts, but a gameplay viewing of the demo changed all of that. Game looks great. I hate GTA and all its derivatives, but there's something about this one.
I love the art style (screenshots make the game look completely uninteresting), it's got co-op, it's got action, it's got variety, it's got a solid looking physics system, it's got a black protagonist, it's got a potential buyer.
Looks like I need to get a 360 this month.
-Kimosabae
Anonymous @ Feb 5th 2007 11:27PM
This game (atleast judging by the Demo) fails in comparison to a game like Grand Theft Auto. In exchange for buildings you can actually go inside, this game has buildings you can jump onto (NEVER leap over. Even at max, climbing a building is a daunting task. Especially the agency HQ. What else can I say that hasn't been said? Someone is always shooting (which is very, very annoying) your own comrades are so stupid that they get in the way of your fire, and then they decide you did it on purpose (it doesn't really matter) and shoot you. The Camera is pretty wonky (gets stuck alot, and it's never really where you need it) aiming is auto-aim or else (If you don't, accuracy is almost zero from any sort of range) and it just doesn't feel right (like every GTA game since 3, with the horrible aim controls). If you are in a crowd and you want to lock onto an enemy, you first have to cycle through the masses of civilians that are always around and determined to get in your way. Shoot one, and not only do you get docked points off of your weapons score, you get the agency shooting you (along with the gang members).
I could go on about the games flaws, but to sum it up, this game feels like a comic book in that what you see is all there is (it's not very deep without you inserting your imagination into the mix, which doesn't work with a videogame at all) the announcer is annoying which further takes you out of it. Honestly this game would not sell without the Halo 3 Beta. Or atleast, it wouldn't be the super smash hit that it is surely going to be. Good strategy MSoft XD same as Sony with Metal Gear Solid 2/Zone of Enders. Here's hoping that I got in the beta today through the "Rule of Three" program, and that I don't have to spend 60 bucks for what essentially amounts to a B-list game with an A-List Game demo attached.
A0 @ Feb 6th 2007 3:22AM
The people that keep complaining about someone always shooting you. How about you kill the gang bosses. After you kill all the one sin the demo the streets get pretty empty.
So play the demo how it's meant to be played if you want the bad guys to stop shooting n00bz...
koincidence @ Feb 6th 2007 4:07AM
Crackdown is the best, and most original looking game I have seen, it is so detailed rich and full or artistic style... that it becomes real.. the dynamics of the city are absolutely alive and convincing and the overall production values are way above Gears... in certain aspects.
Crackdown is THE FIRST game for my 360 that I might end up playing for longer than 10 hours... and may well be enough to put a nail in the coffin of GTA which is now in the hands of less creative people
goldenkid @ Feb 9th 2007 11:47AM
I thought it sucked. Looks really great though, and the agility aspect is cool. But I still thought it sucked. I'd rather play Spiderman 2 and fling myself to the top of the Empire State Building for skyscraper tokens instead of an agility point.
wheeler @ Feb 10th 2007 2:46AM
i'm pretty sure there was lots of pressure from Microsoft to package the two entities together. But with Bungie being their golden child, I'm also convinced that The B had some input into what property their precious beta would be coupled with, thus allaying any fears that the inimitable Halo 3 would be paired with garbage. so there's obviously some strength in the duo, and from early reviews so far, i'm sold.