Crackdown: Previews and deliveries

[Guns_LotsOfGuns]

From one of the GTA creators (Dave Jones) comes Crackdown.

Gamespot blurb:

The gameplay is paramount in Crackdown, and it seems that the game's storyline exists primarily to drive that gameplay. You'll play the roll of a lone supercop, given incredible powers by the mysterious organization known as the Agency and tasked with ridding the city of crime. This is a last-ditch attempt to remove 21 kingpins who are sapping the metropolis of its remaining decency. The police have failed, and you'll be playing the role of the one badass powerful enough to do what an entire force of blue shirts couldn't.

Your imperative is to clean up the streets, and it seemed from our demo that you'll be able to pursue that objective in just about whatever way you want--regardless of legality. The game takes place in one massive world with no loading, and you'll travel around the map, looking for missions to undertake that will eventually lead you to one of the 21 kingpins. In keeping with Real Time Worlds' goal of unfettered gameplay, you won't have to challenge the kingpins in any particular order--you can take them out as you see fit. Interestingly, each of these boss characters will control a different aspect of the city's criminal operation. One may specialize in weapons distribution, for instance, while another might supply fast cars to the thugs. If you take out the former, you'll see the armament of your subsequent foes become noticeably less powerful; kill the latter overlord, and your enemies won't be riding in quite the same style.

The Agency has given you superpowers through experimental drugs and other conditioning, and you'll be able to take those uncanny abilities and considerably beef them up depending on how you play. Your skills are broken into five categories--athletics, strength, shooting, explosives, and driving--and each stat will increase individually as you, well, kill people with that method. So if you choose to eliminate most baddies with melee combat or by throwing projectiles, your strength will rise, and you'll see your character visibly get bigger, while also gaining the power to pick up and throw cars and other large objects. An increase in athletics will make you able to jump higher, run faster, climb up higher ledges, and so forth. Interestingly, the designers didn't make the driving stat relevant simply by easing up on the handling of any cars you jack. Rather, they implemented "Agency vehicles" that will be upgraded as your driving stat goes up. The sports car we saw actually got bigger and also gained mean-looking armor plating as it levelled up, in addition to its increased speed and handling. SUV and even big rig-type vehicles will also be available from the benevolent Agency.

Looks like its coming along nicely and itll fill the gap till GTA4 comes out, IGN is doing a special all this week about Crackdown.

IGN

 

[leeb]

This was previewed on Gamer.tv at the weekend. The graphics appeared to be average but the game looked very interesting. Could be one worth keeping an eye on.

 

[T Henry]

Trust me, this games gonna be very good

 

[runam0k]

This was previewed on Gamer.tv at the weekend. The graphics appeared to be average but the game looked very interesting. Could be one worth keeping an eye on.

I know what you mean about the graphics but that's more to do with the art style. Have you seen the game in motion? It looks insane. An awful lot happening on the screen at once and an incredible draw distance across the game.

http://streamingmovies.ign.com/xbox360/article/751/751538/crackdown121806_wmvlowwide.wmv

Dev interview (http://www.msxbox-world.com/xbox/fe...ve-QA-with-the-developers-of-Crackdown.html):

Was there any difficulty implementing the multiplayer in an open world game?

Definitely! Everything in the solo game is pushed to the limit. We have an environment drawn to the horizon and heavily populated with characters, vehicles and various other objects that can all be influenced by a powerful physics engine. Duplicating the entire solo experience for the co-op game by making sure nothing is left out has been our greatest challenge. In addition, the programming team begged us to keep the players together at all times. However, we wanted the core goal of player freedom to extend to the co-op game, so players can go anywhere and do anything anytime. The programming team also insisted that we shouldn't include vehicles that travel at well over 200mph in a fully streaming environment, let alone a co-op one, but we did it anyway! The list goes on, and we're delighted that we pushed the programming team so hard that they delivered the seemingly impossible.

Will there be new content and things to do in the coop mode, or will it be the same as the single-player game?

It's exactly the same content, but it's often been said that it's twice the game!

Many people have labeled Crackdown a "GTA wannabe". How do you feel about this kind of statement, especially when you were involved with the original GTA?

Well, in so far as it's what Dave Jones always wanted GTA to be, I guess that's true! It's a shame that so many action games set in open urban environments have been attempting to offer nothing more than a GTA style experience. It means that a game like Crackdown comes along and people immediately assume that it functions in the same way. The Crackdown team really enjoys the GTA games and, as you stated, many of them have been involved in their development. So, we know we're offering a very different experience.

Do you intend to make the main character have more impact on his environment? So far the footage we have seen makes him appear very light on his feet, more like a Spider-Man or Daredevil type character than a Hulk or Thing.

The principal goal of the character movement was to deliver pace and fluidity. We wanted the player to seamlessly grab ledges, thrust upwards to a rooftop and then leap out into an open space while searching for his next foothold. An Agent is a type of super hero. One of the five skills he develops is agility. The Hulk might be able to jump huge distances, but I don't think we'd ever describe him as agile! Of course, an agent can also develop his strength and as he bulks-up you will certainly notice him becoming more “Hulk-like.”

The graphic novel visuals are very distinctive. Why did you go for this visual style, and what does it add to the gameplay?

Well visuals never add anything to gameplay and don't let anyone tell you otherwise! ;-) We prototyped this game with flat coloured, flat shaded, blocky environment and skeletal characters. That prototype delivered on what's core to the playability of the finished product. When that happens, you know you're making a game for the right reasons! Quite rightly though, we all want a big slice of spectacle served on the side of our gameplay. We're confident you'll agree that Crackdown more than delivers on that too!

As you'll no doubt have realized by now, everything in Crackdown is turned up to 11. We haven't blown our budgets on a handful of extremely detailed characters or vehicles. Instead we've created a previously unseen world where thousands of people and hundreds of vehicles are visible at any one time in an environment that, from the always-accessible rooftops, can be seen in full. We wanted Crackdown to stand apart visually rather than follow the flock, so with the OTT action and superhuman abilities we quickly settled on a graphic novel stylization as a perfect fit.

The graphics technologies required to nail this look have largely been cutting-edge and difficult to achieve. This has worked against us over the last year or so as we released video footage and screens while the visual style was still in development. Take a look at the latest media though and you'll see what our intentions always were; we're certainly extremely pleased with the results.

There are three gangs terrorizing the city. Asians, Russians and Mexicans. Do the gangs interact with each other?

Microsoft's geopolitical department would have a field day with this question! But yes, though there is a fairly balanced inter-gang status quo across the city before the Agency kicks into action, the gangs do from time to time engage each other in open warfare. When this happens the player can move in for some easier kills or just sit back and let nature run its course.

The gangs predominantly speak in their native tongue – Los Muertos in Spanish and The Volk in Russian. I should say that, though the Shai-Gen Corporation is of Asian origin, the board of directors (gang hierarchy) is completely multi racial. Therefore, their corporate language is English.

Can you describe how the player develops new skills and abilities as the game progresses?

All skills can be developed by killing. In fact, internally we refer to it as ‘skills for kills'! Hand to hand combat is one way to develop the strength skill, but any kill resulting from an act of brute strength will develop that attribute (i.e. bowling a dumpster through a bunch of enemies and then using one of the resulting bodies to beat the life out of the others). In this case the incentive isn't just to become tougher for the harder missions, it's to smash up previously indestructible barriers, rip up streetlights, use them as weapons, and hurl trucks across freeways into the path of an oncoming gang vehicle. Everyone wants to be a super agent!

As for developing the other skills: make kills from altitude and the agility skill is developed to the point where the player can leap Matrix-style from rooftop to rooftop; run down the bad guys (while surgically dodging the innocents) to develop driving skill and use of firearms and explosives should speak for itself. In testing we've found people fooling around with vehicles for hours on end: performing massive jumps, nailing stunts or simply completing races again and again. The mantra has always been to reward with skill progression any actions that players perform repeatedly AND continue to find fun. In fact many activities in the game will result in skill bonuses. The agility skill can also be developed by collecting markers scattered across hundreds of rooftops throughout the city.

Why did you go for coop multiplay instead of competitive, and is competitive multiplay planned as a surprise?

That's a funny question because almost all cooperative game sessions regularly deteriorate into all-out death matches before a truce has to be called. It's a lot of fun, particularly in the unique world of Crackdown, so we obligingly keep score until the score is settled. As for more complex multiplay, that would also be awesome but it's a different kind of game compared to the one we've made here. Plus, I've never been one for ruining surprises either…

What kind of areas are included in the huge city and will there be other locations outside of the urban sprawl?

The city is divided into three main districts, with a fourth island at its centre forming the base of Agency operations. The districts are all uniquely themed to their host gang. The mission locations within them are all original and distinct, from the lighthouse and surrounding caves, to an offshore oil rig, to floor after floor of a towering skyscraper. As you can tell from those examples, we have many rural locations away from the city lights. We wanted the size and scale of Pacific City to overwhelm the player to begin with, but only to begin with. Through exploration and character development you should eventually get to know the full environment really well and take ownership – it becomes your city!

People might initially see Crackdown as a GTA clone, but in which directions did you want to take the game to set it apart?

The most obvious answer to this question is ‘up'. In Crackdown we've created a highly detailed vertical environment providing a true play volume for the intense action. In Crackdown the player is a crime-fighting super-soldier in the same morality mould as Judge Dredd. The city is his playground, everything in it are his toys. He has one clear objective: remove all trace of crime, but how he goes about doing this is entirely up to him – there is no restriction of a linear plotline; he becomes immensely powerful and regularly performs spectacular actions. So I guess you could say the directions in which we wanted to set the game apart from GTA was ‘all of ‘em'!

The coop-mode sounds very interesting. Can you explain how it will work and how we can play it with our friends?

One of the great things about the co-op feature is that players can dip in and out of each other's games at any time. Games can be opened up to accept join requests from anyone or just friends if preferred. If you're having a hard time with a particular gang boss, you could invite your friend in to help out. If you've arranged to meet up in the game then there's no reason to wait at a lobby just play the game until your friend's join request pops up.

 

[rowedav]

Just reading on majornelson.com that a demo for this is coming on the 18th January. Should be good to get any idea of what this is like because I don't really know to much about it to be honest.

The online co-op sounds really good though, but sounds too good to be true that both players can roam independently anywhere on the map.

 

[Guns_LotsOfGuns]

Just reading on majornelson.com that a demo for this is coming on the 18th January. Should be good to get any idea of what this is like because I don't really know to much about it to be honest.

Awesome News!

 

[lukeyevans]

Just reading on majornelson.com that a demo for this is coming on the 18th January. Should be good to get any idea of what this is like because I don't really know to much about it to be honest.

The online co-op sounds really good though, but sounds too good to be true that both players can roam independently anywhere on the map.

just seen a co-op video on gametrailers, it is now on my list of games for 2007

 

[Guns_LotsOfGuns]

http://crackdownoncrime.com/News/Release_info.htm

The highly anticipated Xbox 360 title Crackdown explodes onto Xbox Live Marketplace with an exciting single-player and online cooperative demo Jan.18, followed by its arrival on store shelves Feb. 20.

Didnt realise the demo was going to be coop

 

[SNuRCHeR]

Looks wicked. Hope its region free as only £20 play asia

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-dw-49-en-15-crackdown-70-1iiv.html

 

[m1ket]

Published by MS so im guessing it will be region locked

Great hands on review of a pre release version of the game.. http://www.xboxyde.com/news_3921_en.html

some quotes..

Ok I've spend some quality time with the preview build, and I'm very happy with what I've just played.

it's still very amusing to just hop to the top (of a building
) and watch the awesome draw distance. Yes, it's as good as these screenshots.

Sounds like a great game and you can play the whole thing in 2 player coop over xbox live

 

[MonkeyKnuckle]

Published by MS so im guessing it will be region locked

Well, Gears Of War and Viva Piñata were region free. So it's a possibility although the inclusion of the Halo 3 Demo might change that.


The game does look like fun and the co-op looks excellent. I would have liked a deathmatch type mode as well though, at least we get to try it out with the demo.

 

[mattg]

didn't know about this game until now, looks very tempting.

Would fill the void until gta4 quite nicely methinks. Is there a euro release date yet?

 

[Se777eN]

I remember them showing the game at E3 and it looked shocking so much has been done in the time and i cant wait i loved co-op on gow this will be great..

 

[SquintingBadger]

First read about this game in Edge a few months back and it sounded great. The only game I was looking forward to (except Halo 3). Just watched the video and you can tell in the first second this is going to be a top game. Fluid frame rate, handling looks to be good and solid looking physics.
It's very reassuring to see it running well. Bad frame rate kills fast action games in my opinion - e.g. Saint's Row.

Particularly like the way co-op works, with people being able to join and leave as an when possible. Makes me wish I knew someone else with a 360.

Can't wait to play the demo.

 

[hot-fuzz]

It kind of annoys me that this game is going to well even if it unlikely turns out to be rubbish, simply due to the Halo3 invite incuded.

Does look good though.

 

[CeeJay775]

This was previewed on Gamer.tv at the weekend. The graphics appeared to be average but the game looked very interesting. Could be one worth keeping an eye on.

The graphics look very smart to me, i've got GOW and RS or GRAW for realistic graphics. This is something different, I love the look of the comic book graphics. CO-OP over live, multi-player throwing cars at each other, chasing each other across 100's of feet of skyscrapers, racing round crashing in to each other. I cant find anything not to like, this is looking

 

[rowedav]

Holy S**t! Just checked out some of the trailers of this on www.gametrailers.com, and really can't wait for the demo now. It kinda look like a matrix-style game leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

The physics and the explosions look excellent too.

 

[kaisersozeuk]

Hi,

Saw this on gameplay whilst looking at the game Crackdown

"This product allows access to a Halo 3 BETA, via the game disc itself. Please be aware that a subscription to Xbox Live, and an Xbox 360 Hard Drive are required to access the BETA."

This obviously got me hooked anyway of getting onto the BETA and I'm there, but thing is are they banking on Crackdown being a rubbish game and figured out hey lets still make a lot of money bundling this with it or even if the game is rubbish, the lure of Halo 3 is enough for me to buy it, but isn't there something wrong going on here???

What if crackdown gets bad reviews, am I gonna have to buy a bad game to play a good game and will I have to keep it to continue to play halo?

Arrrghhh the questions

Cheers

Soze

 

[Jack-Deth]

All the previews suggest that it is going to be a cracker, however, we all know how misleading previews can be! I don't think your gonna need to worry though as the video clips suggest that it should be pretty good....I dont think you need be worried!

 

[MonkeyKnuckle]

Yeah from what I have read, it is a lot of fun.

Looks fairly decent.

 

[kaisersozeuk]

Fair enough, GTA clones aren't normally my thing, but I'm always willing to give anything a go!

Cheers

Soze

 

[CeeJay775]

This game is going to be a smash, thats as long as I get my 360 back before. MARCH

 

[Jack-Deth]

Fair enough, GTA clones aren't normally my thing, but I'm always willing to give anything a go!

Cheers

Soze

Whilst some of the gameplay elements are similar to GTA there are a few twists which make it more than a "clone". IMHO.

 

[CeeJay775]

Whilst some of the gameplay elements are similar to GTA there are a few twists which make it more than a "clone". IMHO.

Your right mate, theres no Multi-player in GTA as yet, There no full game co-op in GTA, and you cant throw cars at each other in GTA. I'm sure GTA4 will have these things, but untill then this is looking very good, very good indeed.

 

[Jack-Deth]

Your right mate, theres no Multi-player in GTA as yet, There no full game co-op in GTA, and you cant throw cars at each other in GTA. I'm sure GTA4 will have these things, but untill then this is looking very good, very good indeed.

Fingers crossed, i think this could be one of the games of the year! Looks like another cracking console exclusive for the 360. The gameplay really attarcts me, the way you increase your weapons power, agility, strength etc. Also I love the graphic style of the game. Can't wait for march!!