Crackdown (Xbox 360) 

The metropolis of Pacific City is in the grip of a crime wave, its three islands are each in the control of powerful gangsters running riot on the streets and it needs a hero, he’s gotta be strong and he’s gotta be fast... no, forget Superman, but someone who can also leap a building in a single bound. Enter you, playing half man, half genetically engineered hulking monstrosity, but all cop and there for one purpose; to clean-up this shithole and have a damn good time doing it. Plunged into a free-roaming world it’s up to the player how they choose to dispatch each of the gang’s kingpins and their henchmen but even ignoring the story-driven aspect they can still enjoy leveling up their supercop’s abilities to that of an immortal God just by clambering over buildings or chucking barrels around.

Crackdown’s key to success is allowing the player to get somewhere fast, often with a lot of action and violence thrown in. San Andreas pushed the idea of sandbox gaming a little to close to the mundanity of reality; driving for miles to get to the next mission or working out at the gym to see your character’s body bulge by a single pixel after a half hour work out. Original GTA creator David Jones has brought the style of game back to its irreverent roots by putting the player back as the one who runs things; you’re not just a little fish paddling round a very big pond but the great white of it.

The genetic freak the player controls has five key attributes that can be advanced; strength, agility, explosives, firearms and driving and each is increased just by doing them. Beat up thugs with your bare hands and your muscles swell, pick up agility orbs at the top of skyscrapers and you can bound around the city like Neo himself. Very quickly you begin to feel like nothing is impossible and that everything is up for grabs with the game rewarding you at every turn for just having fun.

The sense of instant gratification often comes at the expense of any attempt at an involving storyline and while GTA did have a smattering of celebrities to create a richer sense of development, Crackdown merely has a gravely, rather earnest, narrator letting the player know where the nearest target is. The gangs themselves are stereotypical (South American bandits, Eastern Block hardcases and Japanese corporates) but what they lack in character credentials they make up for in numbers and the interface tags whatever villain you come across, usually around every corner, so you can take a moment to dispose of them should you decide to step in and help out the local boys in blue.

Being on the side of the law is rather fun and petty crimes such as harassing the general public or car-jacking suddenly become yesterday’s hobby especially when the game provides you with a choice of motor back at HQ; The Tower, slap-bang in the centre of the map. Whether you choose sleek roadster, rugged SUV or the might of a truck cab, the cars themselves even evolve with the player’s skills so they are easier to control at breakneck speeds or when they’re hurtling over a hotel. The tunnels connecting The Tower to the other islands allow you to momentarily revel in the feeling Batman must get as he bolts from his hiding place to do some good.

With the player quickly becoming the master of Pacific City the game’s only drawback is that the scant objective of wiping out each of the three gangs is over within around a day of solid gaming. However, like any game of it’s type, Crackdown isn’t about getting to the end, it’s about the experience itself and this is kept alive by further leaderboard games that push the physics to the edge; like putting vehicles through a number of spins through the air or juggling enemies with the use of explosives. Isn’t that why gunpowder was invented after all? Also heightening the game is an easily accessible co-op mode via Xbox Live where players can come and go from each others games as they please. They don’t have to kill each other or capture some flag, but hang out, showing off skills across the gigantic playground where hours aren’t spent just trying to meet-up.

The game’s controls are very accessible, though the targeting system can seem random, picking up specs on the horizon rather than the guy right next to you plugging you in the head, but you know when you load the game you’re in for instant arcade action. Players can respawn from any Agency Supply Post they’ve captured and don’t have to worry about constantly checking back in to save any progress. With a colourful graphical palette that is striking both up close and taking in the view from a rooftop, Crackdown is a gleefully extreme world that players are allowed to wallow in without the nagging guilt that they’re just some dirty little hoodlum mugging old ladies. In Pacific City they call the shots, the world is their oyster.