Crack-A-Lack

There is a game that came out recently that had so much potential and possibility that almost belly flopped. I am speaking of course of Crackdown. This is a futuristic third person shooter that is a lot of fun to play. The problem is that it is a was, rinse, repeat game. You run around, find a boss, kill a boss and then find another boss.

What saves this other wise poor game play choice is the skills. There are 5 skills: Driving, Strength, Agility, Firearms and Explosives. The skills are progressed through a system the games calls “skills for kills”. This means that every bad guy that you kill with a gun increases your Firearms skill. However, every civilian you kill with a skill decreases that skill. The only skills not increased strictly by killing are Driving and Agility.

Driving is increased by completing races and stunts. These are spread out over the three main islands. The races are pretty straight forward, though I would suggest completing them at night since there are less people out to accidentally run over. The most enjoyable way to increase your driving skill is to run over gang members. It is pretty straight forward and yet secretly enjoyable. As you increase your driving skill the Agency vehicles (Super Car, SUV and Truck Cab) transform and there power increases.

Agility is you ability to run and jump. Once you max out your Agility it is easier to get around on foot then in any of the agency vehicles. You increase your Agility by finding Agility orbs or shooting people from extreme heights. I had the most fun running around finding orbs over any other activity in the game. Oh, and there are also foot races that will increase your agility. Sweet.

Strength, Firearms and Explosives are all increased by using those skills to kill bad guys. This means kicking, shooting or using grenades or missiles on people will raise those skills. As your strength increases you can pick up bigger objects and throw them further as well as being able to kick the living shit out of any bad guy. As Firearms increases you are able to target vital areas faster, which allows you to kill people faster. Explosives is second to Agility in most fun to play with. Basically as your skill rises your explosions get bigger, this leads to bigger and bigger chain explosions.

Overall I think this game is a lot of fun and is a great way to waste a few hours. If you are looking for a long playing game that requires a lot of thought or strategy look elsewhere.