CRACKDOWN 3: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Kept you waiting huh…

Over a decade after the original Crackdown released on the Xbox 360 developed by Realtime Worlds led by David Jones is also known as the creator of Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings and nearly a decade since the disappointment that was Crackdown 2 comes Crackdown 3 by Sumo Digital with Jones in an advisor position with lead character Terry Crews… uh, I mean COMMANDER JAXON who just happens to look and sound like Terry Crews. You are the lone survivor of the Agency that returns from the first game including the voice of the Agency along with some new faces.

The Story

After a terrorist group shuts down the power and leaves the world in utter darkness you are sent to New Providence to defeat the bad guys and restore peace and order in the world. The group responsible for knocking out the global power grid is the Terra Nova organization. It is up to you and you alone to avenge your fallen comrades and make them wish they were on an express elevator to hell. While en route to New Providence you and every Agent on the discount store Helicarrier get taken out of the game quick by Terra Nova but whoever you choose to play as somehow survives the ambush and are left in an Alex Murphy like state in relation to your body. A local resistance fighter has you in a tank that is totally not filled with Bacta and slowly learns the Agency’s tech on how to regenerate agents and you are then set loose on the world to wreak havoc on Terra Nova.

The Gameplay

I really enjoyed the gameplay and the formula hasn’t changed much since 2007. LT to lock on, RT to fire, and B to perform a melee attack. The orbs and the progression system haven’t changed much either with Crackdown 3 where the more orbs you collect the faster you progress when it comes to agility, driving, firearms, and more. You start off barely able to use a pistol and in the end, you are running as fast as the blur, firing guns like John Wick, and leaping from building to building in a single bound. The point I’m at currently is early Hulk in terms of agility. The main way you progress through the story is by capturing or destroying things tied to the boss of said thing. For one it is a string of monorail stations or another will be a string of chemical devices. This sounds good in theory but there is one big downside and that is the fact that they are nearly identical in terms of how to approach them. You either shoot a key point or defeat the head of the station. Since you are in enemy territory you must capture checkpoints where you can regenerate to after you die from a tough boss battle.

The Verdict So Far

Despite being 3-5 hours into the game I am enjoying it and hopefully, nothing happens to wreck my love of the series.