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Name: Crackdown
Genre: Sandbox
Platform: Xbox360

The term "Grand Theft Auto clone" is one used to describe many games to come out since Grand Theft Auto 3 blew apart the 3rd person shooter genre for the Playstation 2. Some companies have tried to describe it as a Shooting/Fighting/Driving hybrid, but to date no developer has been able to pick a title better than "Sandbox."

The most recent game to jump into the sandbox is Microsoft’s Crackdown, developed by Goldeneye front man Ken Lobb. Crackdown takes the game into the future where players take the role of a "Super-Agent" employed by a corporation simply known as "The Agency." Pacific City is overrun by crime gangs and the Agency sees fit to end their reign by sending you to take out its leaders - one by one.

To anyone who has played Mercenaries the gameplay will seem familiar in a way. The player is simply told who to kill and they have to go do it. Each gang kingpin is held up in a fortress of their own creation surrounded by heavily armed guards.

The mechanic in which the kingpins influence their gang is where the game shines brightest. Each leader has a role: weapons dealing, car supplier, member recruiter, etc.. Once that specific person is assassinated the effects are immediate. The gang members patrolling the city will drive inferior cars, carry shoddier weapons, and be in lesser numbers. Each bullet that pierces a kingpins heart ripples throughout the gang and its effects are very noticeable.

Your agent can be upgraded as well. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Rockstar experimented with small upgrades and skills earned; not unlike systems in RPGs. Crackdown takes it to an entirely different level. Collection of green orbs scattered throughout the city will enhance your agent to jump higher and run faster. By the end of the game you are leaping from building to building. Your strength, weapons, driving, and explosives skills can all be upgraded as well.

It has the same charm (if I can use that term in a game that lets you throw people like shot-puts off of buildings) that GTA has so it will continue to be fun for a good while. Microsoft seems to be set on continually upgrading the game with downloads – both free and charged – that will update the game with new weapons and vehicles.

It also has multiplayer over Xbox Live including the feature GTA fans have been begging for: co-operative multiplayer. Two players can join together and do whatever they choose throughout the entire Pacific City.

The game is fun and most people who have played it agree, but don’t go in expecting a deep plot because it just doesn’t have one. I would recommend buying it for the Halo 3 Beta, but now that it is over the game is not worth the full 60 dollars. It’s worth a try so there is no reason not to:

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