There were some fun things about Crackdown. For starters, I think I've played so many games where you're a mercenary or everyone is against you, or like Grand Theft Auto where you're an outright criminal, that to be a police agent and have other cops come to your aid as you're cruising around the city was kind of refreshing. The sandbox nature of the world and the fact that missions were all available in any order (you'd be a fool to go straight after the big bosses right off the bat, but you could if you wanted to) was cool. And the progressive nature of your superpowers made the landscapes feel fresh when you came back to the same area with new abilities.
But the boss missions were very repetitive—there was only one of twenty-one with any sort of puzzle. And the narrator voice was super annoying, often giving "helpful hints" that were way off base. After I've collected 300 of 500 "agility orbs" I don't really need to be reminded that collecting agility orbs increases that ability. Thanks, jerk. And speaking of that jerky voice. OK, SPOILERS (for a three year-old video game) …
Crackdown has the lamest "twist ending" of all the twist endings I've seen. After you've cleared the criminals gangs out of Pacific City, the narrator voice gives a half-hearted "evil" chuckle and then proclaims that he was behind the gangs all along to get the populace softened up to accept authoritarian control. The camera whirls around your character and you fire at the screen. Bang! Does that mean the game will now have a surprise fourth act where you try to free the city from its new overlord? Nope, you're just dropped back in the city, firmly in the grip of the police, so that you can finish collecting all of those shiny orbs and do those fun races. Whee! We love totalitarian governments!
FuzzyCo grade: B-
