Crackdown

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 421 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 301 out of 421
  2. Mixed: 76 out of 421
  3. Negative: 44 out of 421
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  1. PM
    Jun 11, 2009
    10
    On top of my list of XBOX 360 games, and I am talking 3 years after release. I keep coming back, the shear playability, fun and explorative dimentions of this game are fabulous. NEED TO HAVE title for the 360. Try it and you'll be a crackhead as well.
  2. criticguy22
    Apr 15, 2013
    9
    Amazing. The freedom is virtually limitless, and the possibilities are endless! So much freedom in a sandbox game. I'd prefer his game over Grand Theft Auto any day.
  3. Plasmaneedle
    Jan 16, 2014
    8
    Crackdown is an incredibly addictive and fun open world game. While it has some flaws they are made up for by the sheer addictiveness of this game. I would recommend for everyone who wants a good open world game.
  4. Wolfie1987
    Mar 27, 2014
    8
    It's basically GTA & The Hulk : Ultimate Destruction combined. Addictive open world playground. Crackdown improves on Ultimate Destruction in pretty much every direction and is much more tasteful than Prototype.
  5. juliankennedy23
    Jul 16, 2014
    7
    Crackdown came to prominence due to Microsoft's decision to package the Halo 3 multiplayer trial with the game. To everyone's surprise the actual Crackdown game turned out to be a very fun (if somewhat flawed) open world action game.

    In Crackdown one plays a genetically enhanced super solider called The Agent for an organization called The Agency run by a disembodied voice known as The    Crackdown came to prominence due to Microsoft's decision to package the Halo 3 multiplayer trial with the game. To everyone's surprise the actual Crackdown game turned out to be a very fun (if somewhat flawed) open world action game.

    In Crackdown one plays a genetically enhanced super solider called The Agent for an organization called The Agency run by a disembodied voice known as The Director. Through both your actions and the collection of orbs you increase your powers to the point that you are a true bad ass jumping around the city (surprisingly not called The City, naming things not being Realtime Worlds' strong suit).

    The game's city consisting of three islands each controlled by a different gang with your headquarters on a forth smaller island in the middle. The gangs are Los Muertos (Your standard South American Drug Cartel), The Volk (Your standard Russian Mafia), and The Shai-Gen Corporation ( which represents Sony).

    The graphics are a colorful cell-shaded affair that fits surprisingly well with the chaos and the ever more outrageous powers you will achieve. The sound (with one notable exception detailed below) is also quite good with the hum of the agility orbs almost being hypnotic (and yes you will see agility orbs in your daily life and hear the hum in your sleep.) There are a couple of bits of genius in Crackdown. The first and most obvious is the combining of item collection and powers. The powers are more than mere stat boosts as there are both visible (You crackle with electricity when you level up a core power ) and quite fun (You can roundhouse kick a mack truck and leap from skyscraper to skyscraper).

    The other brilliant move is the structure. In the game you are tasked with taking out the three gangs as you see fit. Each gang consists of a boss and various sub-bosses that specialize in various tasks for their boss (Such as training bodyguards or providing weapons). By taking out the sub-bosses you weaken a certain part of the bosses defenses therefore making him an easier target. It's a brilliant structure that gives a real sense of accomplishment in a open world environment.

    It is a good thing that Crackdown is such well structured and fun game, because the game certainly has a bunch of flaws that easily would be game-breakers in almost any other adventure.

    For starters there is combat. There is a reason my Agent maxed out his punch people in the face ability first. Now hand to hand combat has its own set of issues. (Mainly facing the wrong way and missing enemies outright while jamming the B button.) Compared however to the auto-aim on guns, hand to hand combat is of a Street Fighter II Turbo caliber.

    Auto-aim has two favorite targets: civilian vehicles and dead guys. Crackdown loves shooting dead guys, perhaps as a forerunner to the zombies in Crackdown 2 one might muse. Getting your targeting off the dead guy and onto the guy with a rocket launcher is surprisingly challenging.

    Part of the games challenge is making seemingly impossible jumps to grab onto a distant ledge. Unfortunately sometimes a ledge looks like a ledge, quacks like a ledge and yet your agent proceeds to plummet eighty stories to his demise. While the parkour in Crackdown is fun, and one of the games selling points, it isn't what I would call fine tuned.

    Speaking of both out of tune and poorly tuned we have the vehicles. Driving is one of your abilities in Crackdown and in theory when one reaches the highest level ones car becomes a super powered monster. I say in theory because there is actually no need to power this up to defeat the game. In fact once your all important agility power has a few stars under its belt, cars are simply superfluous since you can now jump from rooftop to rooftop.

    And thank God for that. For such a relatively small map Crackdown's streets are a confusing labyrinth. To add to the mess the in-game map has no custom waypoints. Strangely, The Agency claims they want you to capture enemy vehicles and bring them back to headquarters. However the entrance to headquarters is unmarked on your map, almost impossible to find and is disguised on top of that like the Bat-Cave entrance from the caped crusader's sixties TV show.

    In addition the way you increase your driving skill is by winning races (easier said than done and hardly a fun pastime in this particular game) or running over gang members. Gang members however seem to metamorphosis into Cirque du Soleil performers the minute one points a car in their general direction.

    The final nail in the driving coffin is the in game radio. One of the joys of open world games is simply cruising around the city listening    … Expand
  6. Zappyzuke
    Mar 24, 2007
    5
    The game is way to easy and very short. Looking back it actually produce no challenge to beat. The game loses it's luster with repetitive game play and lack of weapons. But I'm glad I can get achievements; sweet I can blow up 50 cars in 10 seconds....NOT!
  7. ApocalypseBrown
    Mar 9, 2007
    4
    Do me a favor!? Go and look at Metacritics review of Doom 3, then tell me the critics got that right? Doom 3 is far worse than Crackdown, but bwoy here is perfect rental material! Grand theft's in their prime smash this game and it is a pity, as I really wanted to like it! Shallow and too simplistic.
  8. WillS.
    Apr 28, 2007
    1
    I think this game really really sucks
    the whole game is repetitive and when you are fighting against 50 guys and you are the only one there and you kill them all. That is just plain stupid. in real life those guys would kill u in a sinch. all you do is kill mob bosses, mexicans, japanese guys and russians. no real plot to the game either and no story at all it totally SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!
  9. davidcraig
    Aug 13, 2010
    9
    I really like this game. I like the freedom. The freedom to car jack anyone to murder citizens and criminals alike, i do like it. Although, it's not all good. Sometimes it's difficult to get to the places you need to be and i found it difficult using the map as well. But all in all, i reccomend this greatly because these are only small problems and easy to live with so i highly reccomendI really like this game. I like the freedom. The freedom to car jack anyone to murder citizens and criminals alike, i do like it. Although, it's not all good. Sometimes it's difficult to get to the places you need to be and i found it difficult using the map as well. But all in all, i reccomend this greatly because these are only small problems and easy to live with so i highly reccomend this......… Expand
  10. ConnKon
    Nov 6, 2013
    5
    Just played through the whole game. Graphics and design are mediocre. There isn't really a story. But what annoyed me the most is you do the same sh*t over and over. The shooting, jumping and RPG elements were pretty good, but that's the only thing what kept me going. Uninspiring and it felt like I wasted 10+ hours. The ending has a funny twist though. 5.2/10
  11. twos
    Dec 24, 2013
    7
    A good fun game, plenty to do with pacing and completion time which do not leave you grinding through till the end.

    Fun driving, fun shooting, challenges, mild rpg mechanics and plenty of space to explore.

    This was to put it simply just a pleasant and entertaining romp.
  12. TSapper
    Nov 14, 2014
    10
    So much fun. This was the 360 surprise hit for me. Yes, I bought it because of the Halo 3 beta access ... and to date have spent almost as much time stomping baddies in Pacific City as I've spend in H3.
    The joy of returning to 'easier' parts of the city later in the game and being able to reach those 'impossible' agility orbs and ramping my car through the 'impossible' rings is so    So much fun. This was the 360 surprise hit for me. Yes, I bought it because of the Halo 3 beta access ... and to date have spent almost as much time stomping baddies in Pacific City as I've spend in H3.
    The joy of returning to 'easier' parts of the city later in the game and being able to reach those 'impossible' agility orbs and ramping my car through the 'impossible' rings is so gratifying.
    I've played through this game 3 or 4 times from scratch just to enjoy the ability level-ups again.    … Expand
  13. Broyax
    Feb 28, 2018
    0
    Un monde ouvert à la GTA développé par des gars qui marchent au crack, un jeu complètement craqué qui vous mènera rapidement au bord du craquage, car tout ici y est mal foutu et mal branlé, épouvantablement mal fait.

    L'approche ici est sans scénario, sans cinématiques (même les Saints Row en ont !) ultra-bourrine et simpliste, très typée arcade mais dans le mauvais sens du terme, pour    Un monde ouvert à la GTA développé par des gars qui marchent au crack, un jeu complètement craqué qui vous mènera rapidement au bord du craquage, car tout ici y est mal foutu et mal branlé, épouvantablement mal fait.

    L'approche ici est sans scénario, sans cinématiques (même les Saints Row en ont !) ultra-bourrine et simpliste, très typée arcade mais dans le mauvais sens du terme, pour autant cela dit qu'on puisse trouver un quelconque intérêt à ce genre de jouabilité. Or, justement, la jouabilité a pris ses RTT et son congé maladie simultanément et on comprend pourquoi : elle est sévèrement malade la jouabilité...

    Les commandes réagissent avec une certaine latence et se signalent par leur imprécision, que ce soit à pied ou en voiture ; idem pour les sauts, en vérité ingérables, ce qui rend toute tentative de "parkour" absolument nulle et non avenue et de toute façon, le personnage au début ne sait pas sauter suffisamment haut : très ennuyeux, car tous les "points de ravitaillement" se trouvent sur les toits, y compris certains "boss".

    Les ennemis sont des éponges à bastos et à mandales, ils sont nombreux et reviennent sans cesse, par contre, nous, avec notre bouclier à la Halo, on ne fait pas long feu... En fait, il est difficile de décrire le bordel ambiant permanent à l'écran dans cette ville foutoir où la racaille des gangs est partout et très vindicative tandis que les nombreux piétons courent dans tous les sens et ne s'écartent pas assez vite : la voix off vous rappelle alors à l'ordre, non on n'est pas Carmageddon non plus...

    La voix qui fait office de didacticiel et de conseiller, et vous parle même de possibilités "d'infiltration"... quelle blague ! tout simplement impossible dans un boxon pareil au level design si foireux ! Graphiquement, ce n'est pas vraiment beau avec ce mélange de cel shading pour les objets (véhicules, pnj etc) et de textures plus conventionnelles pour le reste.

    A noter que le jeu est devenu rétrocompatible sur la Xbox One et que surtout, il passe en 4K sur la Xbox One X : voilà qui offre au moins une belle clarté et lisibilité dans ce GTA-like fini à la pisse !    … Expand
  14. joelxboxer
    Nov 27, 2021
    0
    Lo volvi a jugar con mi Xbox Series S gracias a la retrocompatibilidad, maravilla
  15. MarkD.
    Feb 12, 2007
    10
    Fantastic! True sandbox game with a proper camera, controls and without an annoying 'script' to get in the way. Just great fun anyway you wanna play it. Twice the fun in Co-op
  16. MichaelM.
    Feb 23, 2007
    9
    The build of the game... graphics, open world, etc I give an 8. Its Good but not the best looking game with the most options out there. That aside... the gameplay is a 10! This is just a really fun game to play! I haven't been so addicted to a game since my days with Oblivion. Get this game.
  17. PaulM.
    Feb 27, 2007
    7
    Great fun, loads of battles and great platforming elements. Increasing your characters ability is really rewarding when you realize you can leap over entire buildings and pick up cars etc. Very amusing. On the downside (and te reason i gave this a 7) is once you have defeated all the bosses the game just feels empty. I wiped out everyone in 3 days! The co-op does add re-playability to it Great fun, loads of battles and great platforming elements. Increasing your characters ability is really rewarding when you realize you can leap over entire buildings and pick up cars etc. Very amusing. On the downside (and te reason i gave this a 7) is once you have defeated all the bosses the game just feels empty. I wiped out everyone in 3 days! The co-op does add re-playability to it but not enough to make this a classic.… Expand
  18. [Anonymous]
    Feb 8, 2007
    9
    Very well put together and fun game. The aiming takes some time to get used to which puts some people off, but once you learn how to use it you can pull off some amazing feats.
  19. AndyH.
    Mar 1, 2007
    7
    FPS Master's review is pretty much spot on. Initially the game is awsome; the graphics and sound are excellent but you really need a HD TV and a 5.1 system. I would say I was a gamer with average ability but still managed to complete the main missions in about 15 hours. I've still got the side missions to do (jumping, driving and orb collecting) but I don't feel I really FPS Master's review is pretty much spot on. Initially the game is awsome; the graphics and sound are excellent but you really need a HD TV and a 5.1 system. I would say I was a gamer with average ability but still managed to complete the main missions in about 15 hours. I've still got the side missions to do (jumping, driving and orb collecting) but I don't feel I really need to do them. If you are not interested in the Halo3 beta, this is definately a rental.… Expand
  20. MattS.
    Mar 3, 2007
    8
    My friends and I used to spice up boring weeknights by playing GTAIII with cheat codes. We'd fly around with jetpacks and uzis and blow up everything. Crackdown is a game that takes that sort of absurd mayhem to heart. It is short. It's targeting system is so-so. The way skills are leveled doesn't always make a lot of sense, as it requires you to play entirely different My friends and I used to spice up boring weeknights by playing GTAIII with cheat codes. We'd fly around with jetpacks and uzis and blow up everything. Crackdown is a game that takes that sort of absurd mayhem to heart. It is short. It's targeting system is so-so. The way skills are leveled doesn't always make a lot of sense, as it requires you to play entirely different styles to level up your combat (strength, firearms, explosives) skills vs. your driving or agility - level grinding, basically, but quicker and thus, usually over before it becomes boring. But these faults are easy to forget the first time you bust in on some Volk gangster and throw a bus at his head, or the first time your manage to climb all the way to the top of the impossibly tall Agency tower. There are so many fun things to do - run over things with the Agency Truckcab, load up on rockets and blow EVERYTHING apart, and all of it takes place on an absurdist level. The SUV, for example, seems to simply float during jumps - it makes no sense, but it's certainly good times. In many ways, this game could be so much more. What if leveling skills gave you access to unique items? What if the boss encounters were more unique? What if the weapons were more various? But these what-ifs don't cloud the fact that Crackdown is a game you can load up after work, destressing as you jump from roof-top to roof-top with a rocketlauncher, blowing anything that offends your sensibilities to bits. For that, Crackdown is worthy of praise.… Expand
  21. JonR.
    Feb 20, 2007
    9
    An Immersive experience that is easy to get lost in. Part game, part playground and all enjoyable.
  22. ChrisS.
    Feb 20, 2007
    9
    While I don't think any game out for the 360 is yet worthy of the coveted "10", I must say that this game is a solid 9. It takes what other sandbox games have offered and runs, jumps and drives with it. The thing I never liked about GTA was the loose controls and general feeling that you were moving in slow motion. CD eliminates that feeling. Anytime you can kick someone off a While I don't think any game out for the 360 is yet worthy of the coveted "10", I must say that this game is a solid 9. It takes what other sandbox games have offered and runs, jumps and drives with it. The thing I never liked about GTA was the loose controls and general feeling that you were moving in slow motion. CD eliminates that feeling. Anytime you can kick someone off a skyscraper, jump after him all the while pumping bullets into him as he plummets you've got to be having a good time. On top of all of this? You get the HALO3 beta. Very nice package indeed. Good job guys.… Expand
  23. ColinB.
    Feb 23, 2007
    10
    The mark I have given this game is based on the several hours I have played it so far on its UK release date, today. I have undertaken solo and co-op (more fun!) modes and can say that Gears of War won't be back in my 360 for at least a few days. The graphics aren't 'gears' good, but they are pretty special, but it is the free roaming gameplay which makes this title The mark I have given this game is based on the several hours I have played it so far on its UK release date, today. I have undertaken solo and co-op (more fun!) modes and can say that Gears of War won't be back in my 360 for at least a few days. The graphics aren't 'gears' good, but they are pretty special, but it is the free roaming gameplay which makes this title rock the Kasbah! Do what you want when you want, team up with another player (or even better, a friend, and the fun is doubled. Worth at least a rental, and definately worth buying if you liked saints row or GTA. Currently has Halo3 beta invite bundled too, so go for it. You wont regret it, thats what ebay is for!… Expand
  24. RobP.
    Feb 25, 2007
    9
    Crackdown is an extremely fun and addictive game. I haven't played anything else basically since I got it. It sucks that stupid civilians who get in they line of fire and killed actually hurt your physical attribute stats, but ehh. It's still fun as hell and everyone should go out and buy it!
  25. FPSMaster
    Feb 25, 2007
    7
    Really addictive game at first. Has some cool cel-shaded graphics too. Some say it looks like an Xbox game, but I think they're missing the point. It has tons of objects and people on-screen, with a long draw distance and not much pop-up with hardly any framerate problems. This could not have been done on Xbox without 10 fps at most. Nice textures too. The problem is, you will play Really addictive game at first. Has some cool cel-shaded graphics too. Some say it looks like an Xbox game, but I think they're missing the point. It has tons of objects and people on-screen, with a long draw distance and not much pop-up with hardly any framerate problems. This could not have been done on Xbox without 10 fps at most. Nice textures too. The problem is, you will play it a lot at first because it's so addictive, but you will also finish it quickly and have most of the achievements after about 2 days. The missions themselves are pretty boring and cheap, but collecting all the orbs and getting the achievements are really fun. They're second to King Kong for easiest achievements on 360. Co-op is fun, but a problem with it is someone else will get more experience than you if you ride with them or vice versa. You don't get any of the driving skills while just riding along with someone. It also seems most people want to split up to do their own thing making co-op kinda pointless and nonexistent anyway. It's just easier to play by yourself and get through the game. Also upgrading your character is fun, but you will have them maxed out in a couple of days. This could have definitely used some more diversity in the missions and it just needs more for you to do because once the new wears off and you upgrade and collect most of the orbs, it gets boring because there's nothing left to do. A novice player will have the wrapped up in less than a week. Could have been a rental, but you won't get to play the Halo 3 beta when it's ready without a purchase of a new copy. Too bad, because I want to sell it now towards something else before it drops in price rapidly and I know it will by the end of March without much replay value to keep people coming back for more.… Expand
  26. CameronN.
    Feb 26, 2007
    10
    This game is freakin awesome! It has all the freedom that I expected out of it. If I choose between Crackdown and Dead rising, Crackdown would be my #1 choice.
  27. Andrew
    Feb 27, 2007
    8
    Remember NES, when video games weren't very deep, they were just loads of fun? If you do, you will love this game. If you play GTA the way that I do, (all the cheats on, don't do any missions, go around causing mayhem) you will love this game. Sure, it's far from perfect. There's a couple of minor gameplay issues, but mostly it plays incredibly well. Most of the issues Remember NES, when video games weren't very deep, they were just loads of fun? If you do, you will love this game. If you play GTA the way that I do, (all the cheats on, don't do any missions, go around causing mayhem) you will love this game. Sure, it's far from perfect. There's a couple of minor gameplay issues, but mostly it plays incredibly well. Most of the issues are in the things you are given to do. It could be longer. Another gang or two...some types of cool and unique side missions. Some more multiplayer options, like offline, would be sweet. But it's all the best parts of GTA w/o the unnecessary crap (goodbye cliched story and cheesy dialog) and with superhero type powers built into your character (hello building climbing, car throwing and rooftop races.) Yes, it's every bit as fun as that sounds. Probably the most pure fun you will get out of any current 360 game. I don't see how anyone with a pulse could not enjoy playing this. The only reason it gets an 8 is because I'm not sure if they'll charge for future downloadable gangs, which are supposed to be in the works. If they put out 2 or 3 more gangs and some new weapons and maybe some new modes for free, this game will be a 9 or 10. If they try to charge us for extra content on a short game we already paid $60 for.....people will not be....happy. To say the least. Don't nickel and dime us and it's all good. Hold back game content only to f*** us later on....no bueno Microsoft. Don't do it. Or else.… Expand
  28. AdamD.
    Feb 9, 2007
    9
    Awesome!
  29. ChrisP.
    Mar 20, 2007
    9
    People have criticized Crackdown for being too short. They say it only takes 6 hours or so to "complete" the game. Those people are muppets. What they mean is it takes about that amount of time to kill all the gang bosses if you focus on doing that at the exclusion of all the other parts of the game. However, there's so much more to the game than just this. Gary Penn from Denki used People have criticized Crackdown for being too short. They say it only takes 6 hours or so to "complete" the game. Those people are muppets. What they mean is it takes about that amount of time to kill all the gang bosses if you focus on doing that at the exclusion of all the other parts of the game. However, there's so much more to the game than just this. Gary Penn from Denki used to write in Edge about how games should be "toysets", with each toy being fun in its own right. Nowhere is the realization of this vision more evident than in Crackdown. He and long-time collaborator Dave Jones have worked with the Real time Worlds team to produce a truly entertaining box of toys. It's true that one of the toys, the gang-boss-fighting toy, doesn't take long to see the end of. But there is also a free running platform game toy, a driving game toy, a stunt car toy and many others. All of the toys are a lot of fun to play with. The game is probably the current pinnacle of the sandbox genre. Largely direction less, the main motivation for play are the achievements. They encourage you to explore the world fully and to play with all the toys. It wouldn't work if each toy wasn't fun but it is. It works beautifully. I don't know how many hours I've played it now but it must be a lot and I'm still having fun finding new things. Even the bugs are fun. If I had to criticize, I'd say the driving doesn't really become fun until you've put some time into upgrading your driving skill. Also, the multiplayer seems a bit of an afterthought, relying mostly on you making your own games if you're going to play it for more than an hour or so. Overall though, this is a wonderful example of how to provide a playground for players. As a truly 3D, toy-filled open world, it is peerless.… Expand
  30. DavidHeslop
    May 2, 2007
    9
    Absolutely awesome in almost every conceivable way.
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Awards & Rankings

21
#21 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2007
7
#7 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2007
14
#14 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 70 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 75
  3. Negative: 0 out of 75
  1. Talk Xbox
    82
    I’ll admit I was hooked for the first five hours, but as the game waned on, so did the entertainment of the game.
    Read full review
  2. VGPub
    82
    Halo fans will be happy to hear this game also comes with an invitation to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta.
    Read full review
  3. Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
    87
    A wonderful sandbox title that branches off from the "GTA" tree rather than feeding off it; when you set off a huge chain reaction of barrels, you’ll see the game "Saints Row" wished it was. When you climb to the top of the Agency HQ and peer down at the world, you’ll see the game "Just Cause" could never be. And every so often, you’ll see another moment of brilliance; a reminder of the game you want GTA IV to be.
    Read full review
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