Crackdown
E3 2006 Hands On Preview
I sat down with Bill Green, designer at Realtime Worlds; the Scotland based game company headed by David Jones of Grand Theft Auto fame. Bill took me on a tour of Crackdown, a game that has been under development for 3 years. The reason for the long development cycle is that the game has changed its concept a bit along the way. Initially it was more of an ‘investigative’ type game, and has now evolved into a heavy action game. During that time, the team has grown from 30 to over 90. The main reason for the grow spurt is the need for more artists, as every texture needs to be high res and there are a ton of them in this ‘sandbox’ game world that stretches over 3 island cities.
You play a crime-fighting agent with super human abilities that are broken down into 5 categories: strength, shooting, driving, agility and explosives. You can level up each of them as you progress thought the game, until you become a one-man wrecking machine who is able to pick up and throw or even kick cars and other heavy objects as if they were soccer balls. You can also make incredible leaps and leave cracked cement when you land.
Crackdown is a free-roaming game that is completely open from the very beginning. You will see no barriers preventing you from getting from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’. Nor will ever you see any loading screens once the game starts. You can choose to take on any of the 21 missions or just explore and target practice on the different gangsters who rule their respective territories. There are many vehicles at your disposal as you can take whatever car or truck you see on the road or pilot your big semi truck or agencies double dubbed rides.
The graphics look cell-shaded but don’t say that in earshot of any of the developers. They prefer the term ‘Graphic Novel’ style. For me the unique graphics work fine for this game, but a little goes a long way and I would not want all my games to take this approach.
Ok, not that we got the basics out of the way, is this game fun? Well based on the demo I played, hell yes. The Havok juiced physics engine is the star of the show and a site to see. Tossing grenades with your left hand or using your rocket launcher in your right not only causes cars to be blown sky high in a fiery ball but also rips them apart into many more smaller pieces. Body’s exhibit rag doll physics as they are ejected and fly across the screen. During the demo, I jumped high into the air and fired off some rockets down into the traffic causing all sorts of chain reactions. They are not the best but I took a few pic’s, so be sure and check them out. With you having advanced to the second level in your shooting ability you are able to not only lock onto enemies but pick a part of there body you wish to ventilate. You can also lock onto cars and choose to shoot out their tires if you wish. With the tires blown off, sparks fly from the rims as they scrape the pavement.
The learning curve is short and within less then a minute I was running, jumping, climbing, driving, and shooting specific body parts with ease. Explosions were frequent as the AI bad and good guy’s were battling it out all around the city. Often times I would look down the street and see giant fireballs erupt with civilians running for cover. Uh, I didn’t do it. That’s right, the game does not wait for you to get the party started.
At this point, there is no multiplayer planed outside of 2 player co-op. You are able to play with a friend over Live and never see him if you wish. The two of you are free to roam the city’s doing anything you wish to do just like in singleplayer. They are working on some mini co-op games, but are not ready to list them.
The game is headed for a November launch and has moved up a notch on my radar. I give it a 8.5 for an ‘anticipation’ score. I can’t wait to get my hands on this baby again.
| 5/11/2006 Eric 'Jetson' Pfoutz |
