The phrase “development hell” has been associated with many games in the past, but few games stuck in a vicious cycle of multiple delays were believed to be what would turn the tides for a system. In 2007, Xbox 360 gamers were gifted an innovative experience that would cultivate a following begging for not only a sequel, but also the game given credit for innovating in a genre every developer wanted to become associated with as the popularity of “Grand Theft Auto” made open world games the “it” thing in gaming. “Crackdown” allowed gamers to take control of super-powered cops looking to defend their city against crime by blowing up stuff with military grade weaponry and sail through the wind at any given moment. “Crackdown’s” sequel provided more of the same that its predecessor did, though lacked some of the innovation and “wow” factor of the original. Teased before finally being announced in 2015, “Crackdown 3” found itself connected to developmental controversy until it finally entered the world on Xbox One & PC alongside a multiplayer mode for years later. While the “Crackdown” franchise really didn’t set my world on fire all those years ago, I had no qualms of having some stupid fun the game promised via the Xbox “Game Pass”.
Did I Complete “Crackdown 3”?
Similar to so many action open world games before and most likely after it, “Crackdown 3” is rooted in the prototypical genre troupes with a bevy of enemy areas that must be conquered before taking on a boss all the while collecting items, races & stunt challenges, and optimization issues as the game tries to keep up with all the action. The player is given the chance to pick one of six introductory characters with others being unlocked anytime the player finds a DNA strand in the world – one of those avatars having the look & voice of actor Terry Crews. Though the description notes the differences between all the playable Agents, they are essentially the same as each character levels up the same way with similar base stats. With a bunch of mundane stuff to do, my goal was simple: complete the story and maybe some of the quotas necessary for achievements like shutting down all of the Terra Nova-operated monorails. Between my fifteen hours playing through the story with the last few boss battles being both ridiculously difficult & laughably easy, I took on the “Wrecking Zone” multiplayer mode where destructive environments proved to be the mode’s only innovation. After an hour with waiting for players to start a game being longer than each round itself, my time with “Wrecking Zone” paled in comparison to the campaign.
Did “Crackdown 3” Live Up to the Hype?
No matter if the player is taking control of Terry Crews’ character Commander Jaxon or some other one-person army ready to destroy an entire corporation built on mining hazardous chemicals and making poor people work for crumbs because they can’t find anything else better on the island of New Providence, “Crackdown 3” makes it feel like it’s 2007 all over again. The player is provided essentially a blank canvas of a character to play as with one of the more unique leveling systems available in the genre where shooting weapons with the game’s lock-on system, throwing a variety of grenades with some featuring elemental effects, or simply running over the aggressive enemies with a car providing orbs that fill up five meters potentially five times if the player is diligent enough. With each leveling of the five core abilities (“Melee”, “Firearms”, “Explosives”, “Driving”, “Agility”) comes more options & bonuses such as double jumping, having better resistance to damage & being able to carry more ammo. Interestingly enough only “Agility” is free from upgrades through usage as “Agility Orbs” scattered around the city build up that meter necessary for the player’s avatar to shoot across the sky like a low-powered rocket; with the rarer “Hidden Orbs” providing all five orb types for ability meter growth. Attaining weapons & vehicles also works incredibly well as any weapon dropped by an enemy can be picked up and added to the player’s inventory – both vehicles & weapons can be switched in & out via “Supply Point” areas opened whenever the Agent enters an indicated “Supply Point” region. There are also weapon stashes placed around the city that may provide a gun not held by any enemy. Vehicles are a little more difficult to gain with certain automobiles (specifically the enemy’s armored trucks) not being enterable until the character reaches level two on the “Driving” meter. Running around, blowing up enemies with a bevy of weapons, and struggling with the game’s driving mechanics would be fun enough, but “Crackdown 3” has an objective for its main Agent. The player must take control of the aforementioned monorail systems, shut down chemical mines, and scale propaganda towers to build up another set of meters that will make one of seven bosses including the main target vulnerable for death. The pyramid structure of destroying lower-level bosses to reach the big baddie herself is both practical and experimental as the player can take on any boss at any time they see fit as long as that boss is vulnerable. Each mission has a percentage rate of survival and some of the harder activities needed to make those bosses easy Pickens aren’t structured for low-leveled Agents such as taking down defensive rocket launchers.
Unfortunately completing the missions necessary to take on those bosses is repetitive at best and mind numbing at worst. For every fun tower to climb there’s a panel that must be hacked while the Agent is getting shot at without any type of defensive method to stop the madness of randomly appearing enemies trying to gun down the Agent. Most of the quests needed to make each boss vulnerable has a “rinse & repeat” feel that would’ve been perfect for a game that came out over a decade ago; something made even more disheartening by the boss battles themselves. Just like its cookie-cutter minor enemies the Agent will kill by the hundreds if not thousands, a majority of the game’s bosses boil down to the player running around an arena while shooting at a mech-armored person sporting rocket launchers & surrounded by more nameless goons. While there are a couple of interesting boss battles including the final one, most fail to be anything more than just gigantic versions of stuff the player will most likely encounter beforehand. After each boss battle & the subsequent cutscene the player will be forced to take on hordes of enemies as the game’s “Wanted” system automatically reaches max with the only option being kill or be killed – the latter actually resetting the “Wanted” levels; meaning there’s no reason to even waste ammo fighting back. Outside of simply running & gunning is more running via races & stunt challenges usually involving hopping from rooftop to rooftop or simply driving through checkpoints. Co-op is back with the player being able to bring a friend into the crazy world ready to be saved through epic violence.
Technically, the “Campaign” version of “Crackdown 3” is rough with the audio cutting out during big firefights or explosions, framerate drops, and enemies gliding around the screen when attempting to walk. Thankfully crashes were non-existent and checkpoints were reasonable with plentiful “Supply Points” scattered around the map proving fast travel areas. The game looks pretty bad for a 2019 eighth generation experience with daytime lighting and some of the neon effects being the only acceptable graphical offerings.
“Wrecking Zone” – “Crackdown 3’s” stand-alone multiplayer mode that must be downloaded separately – is an example of pure disappointment. Only two modes make up “Wrecking Zone”: “Agent Hunter” (a Team Deathmatch mode where players must collect the badges dropped by killed enemies while trying to do the same for their fallen comrades) and “Territories” (the stereotypical “capture the territory” mode in team format that actually features changing territories to prevent stagnant gameplay) There are no ranking or progression systems. Environmental damage is only available in “Wrecking Zone” and just adds to the disappointment as games like “Red Faction Guerrilla” did a better job at presenting procedurally generated destruction.
“Crackdown 3” isn’t a bad game or even a misfire, but just something made with a template from a generation ago without any form of evolution. In the end, “Crackdown 3” avoids the potential of being horrendous; instead becoming forgettable by being mediocre.
Should You Play “Crackdown 3”?
In a world where games like “Just Cause 3 & 4”, a remastered version of “Red Faction Guerilla”, and hundreds of multiplayer focused offerings exist, the appeal of “Crackdown 3” simply boils down to whether or not you’re a fan of the franchise who has “Game Pass”. Not even the most dedicated “Crackdown” supporters can say this game is worth full price. In truth, “Crackdown 3” looks, plays & feels like the perfect example of a “Game Pass” only experience that will give someone eight to ten hours of joy (more if they become obsessed with collectibles) while listening to Terry Crews commentate his own cavalcade of destruction.
