Boy does the name fit...

The name is Crackdown, with an emphasis on the CRACK. 

Holy mother of God, is this game addicting.  So while moaning and groaning along on the Elliptical of Death™, I got to thinking “why”?  What is it that makes Crackdown so hard to put down?

Well, first thing is the polar opposite of the question – it’s about how easy it is to pick up.  I suppose that comes part-and-parcel with a ‘sandbox’ style game, but for those of us who have sporadic play times, it’s a great thing.  Nothing is better for an adult gamer than a title that you can pop in for 15 minutes, and turn it off feeling like that time was fun.  Crackdown has that in spades. 

Next one was obvious – it’s all about the orbs.  I will freely admit it … I am an orb addict.  There isn’t much in that game that perks my eyes up like jumping around and then, out of nowhere, hearing that oscillating tone go off indicating a nearby orb just waiting to be found.  The first day I had the game, collecting orbs was all I did.  Take down a general?  Nope.  Whack down a bunch of gang members roaming the street?  Nahh.  Jump from building to building to building looking for those glowing green globs of goodness?  HELL YA!

Then there is just the wanton destruction of public property.  Don’t lie…if you’ve played the game, you got an inner giggle going when you tossed an explosive canister into the middle of a busy intersection then hit it with a grenade or rocket, and sat perched on your skyscraper at the ensuing mayhem.  You know you’ve done it…we all have.  I suppose it makes us all a little sick in the head, but it’s just funny to watch.  Seeing some poor civilian’s corpse go spiraling up into the air, smoke trail behind it like a leash to your earth shattering KABOOM, well, we all love it.

Then finally there is the co-op.  This game was made for co-op, pure and simple.  While you don’t absolutely need a partner to work your way through the game, it’s just too much fun to assault a given base of operations from two sides, and hope to God you don’t cross paths in the middle (because if you do, usually someone is eating a rocket or a grenade ;).  Sure, the foot races are fun solo – but add in another person who is actively trying to get in your way and beat you to that final green pylon…that’s where the fun really is.  And…well you can’t surf on top of a car driving in reckless abandon while playing alone.

Soo…what is wrong with the game?  Only thing I can think of is the developers didn’t have the foresight to do whatever it took to get a Matrix licensing for this game.  MY GOD does it scream for it.  Tint everything with a little bit of brown and green, replace the kingpins with agents or make them rescue missions of a yet-to-be-freed person, and it’s instant gold in my book.  Hell, code in a pseudo Bullet Time action when you max out Agility (which you’d get by finding pieces of “code” around the city) and Strength – and oh the havoc and beauty.   Will it ever happen?  Absolutely not.  Why not…well, I’m certain that every Matrix game is doomed to suck, and there is no way in hell I want to condemn this awesome title to such a fate.

So, if you happen to see me online and playing, either drop me an invite or jump into my game.  I’m always looking for a partner, and there’s always some scum to clean up in Pacific City.

B.