Crackdown 2

[Flawless]

Re: Crackdown 2

Game Informer October Issue Revealed

We had to travel all the way to Scotland to bring you the world-exclusive details on our latest cover story. Crackdown 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to one of the Xbox 360’s first breakout games. We’ve got details on multiplayer (four-player co-op and 16-player competitive matches), the dark new story and much more. In addition to that, we’ve got the first details on Ninja Theory’s new game, Enslaved. The Heavenly Sword developer is going multiplatform in this post-apocalyptic journey, and Game Informer Magazine is the only place you’ll hear about it. All that and much, much more is available in the October issue.

[Flawless]

Re: Crackdown 2

Game Informer EiC

Guess the cat is out of the bag. It's Crackdown 2 and it looks amazing.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: Crackdown 2

Game Informer EiC

I need this game now. LOL!

[Flawless]

Re: Crackdown 2

Info:

• Dynamic Civilian Events (Example: A man trying to sell something in the day, getting marauded in the night. And the Agency will put up signs saying "play dead when you see an Infected".)
  
• Support Points are gone, Agents can now call in for ammo and supplies anytime and anywhere.
  
• The game looks much more detailed and grittier, but still keeps the "cartoony" look we all love so very much.
  
• Vehicles like Trucks or Buses have room for a mounted turret, which makes them great for getting around in Co-Op.
  
• More variations in weapons, meaning people have more to choose from than just the homing rocket launcher.
  
• Most of the civilian cars in the game are the same, but reskinned and armed with armor and weapons to survive in the new hazards of city life.
  
• The Cell (a gang) is composed of ordinary citizens just wanting to reclaim the city from your team (the good guys). You take them out, and reclaim their turn for the Agency.
  
• More instances where Co-Op play is prudent.
  
• You'll obtain skill orbs by using abilities relevant to your character.
  
• Four player Co-Op
  
• 16 player Competitive Multiplayer. Tons of fun. Players collect special weapons, bonuses, and gadgets. Progression system like CoD4.
  
• Melee attacks are much more varied a fluid.
  
• Key to the City DLC is a go!
  
• The freaks evolve over time, making them MUCH more fearsome as the game progresses.
  
• All repetitiveness is completely removed. And less ****ty boss battles.
  
• Doing missions in the day or night has a huge effect. At night, the freaks come out to play.
  
• City decays over time from the infection.
  
• New Agency helicopter and other vehicles. All old Agency vehicles returning.
  
• A lot more weapon variety. New powerful shotgun, Rail Gun, and sticky grenades.
  
• More precise targeting system. Skill is rewarded.
  
• Much more defining detail in all aspects of the game.

Backstory:

Okay, so we all know after Crackdown 1 we defeated all 3 of the gangs, and we were congratulated. "Peace at Last" it said. It couldn't have been more wrong. As the Agency took over, things went to hell. A virus had broken out in parts of the city, and the Agency was doing a poor job at covering it up. People found out, got sick of the Agency's bull****, and revolted. The civilian gang called themselves the Cell, and soon after the revolted, they destroyed the agent program, almost completely crippling the Agency. But now, they've fixed it, and it's time you take the city back in a 3 way war.

[3rdAnswer]

Re: Crackdown 2

OMG.

That is all.

[Flawless]

Re: Crackdown 2

IGN

For the sequel, you'll return to Pacific City, but it won't be the same place you got to know during the first go around. Familiar sites will be present, but many will be in disarray and shambles, while new buildings have sprung up amidst the chaos.

How did all of this happen? Creative Director Billy Thomson is quoted by GameInformer as saying "One of the Shai-Gen missions actually had a research lab that hid all of these freaks inside of it." That's right. Your actions caused the outbreak. The Agency was driven back to control only its hulking tower while a group called the Cell filled the power void. This underground group is described as one that exists on the fringes, piecing together rubble into safe houses while fighting back at the maniacs.

The Agency wasn't destroyed, however, and it's at this low point that you'll step in. Or rather, it is at this point that you and three friends will step in for a little four-player co-op. The game is described as being designed around this concept.

Crackdown 2 once more follows the central goal of cleansing the city, but the repetition is said to be less prevalent. Ruffian told GameInformer, "Your influence in the world has effects across the rest of the city." And your influence will be made apparent through a more varied set of missions. You'll even head underground to tackle the infected as they hide from the light. And once night hits, you can expect the entire city to be a nightmare.

The same five skills that could be leveled up in Crackdown make a return, though each offers new abilities this time. The agility skill is said to offer a dash move, while driving can unlock a special helicopter. Depending upon who you're fighting, you might wish you had specific talents. GameInformer reports that the Cell will come at you like your typical gang from Mad Max: rough around the edges and loaded with weapons. The zombie-esque freaks, meanwhile, will naturally use their numbers to the best of their ability. Thomson is quoted as saying that, "The top level freaks are almost on par with the player-controlled agent."

To deal with these new challenges, new weapons will naturally make an appearance. GameInformer describes a few of these, such as a UV Shotgun that blasts the infected with light, a better sniper rifle, and the "mag" grenade that will stick whatever it hits to another "mag." These magnetic weapons also are said to work on cars, enabling players to do wacky things with them.

GameInformer also got a try at the competitive multiplayer mode being made for Crackdown 2. 16 players will join up online to battle, using a new and more skill-based aiming mechanic. Powerups, gadgets and weapons are strewn about waiting for any intrepid player to grab them and use them against other chumps.

[frostbyte06]

Re: Crackdown 2

Yet another game to add to the list.....

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Crackdown 2

Wow!!! It's sounding better and better. Love how the actions from the first game caused the outbreak for the 2nd game. Great concept, and I'm guessing this game will be a blast like the first one was. Still one of the best games I've ever played.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: Crackdown 2

Wow!!! It's sounding better and better. Love how the actions from the first game caused the outbreak for the 2nd game. Great concept, and I'm guessing this game will be a blast like the first one was. Still one of the best games I've ever played.

This is my most anticipated 360 title right now and who knows when in 2010 it is coming. The first one was excellent and this one looks like it takes it up a notch.

[Flawless]

Re: Crackdown 2

Yep, looks like Crackdown.

Screens

[greenegt]

Re: Crackdown 2

Can't wait. The original was great.

[Flawless]

Re: Crackdown 2

1UP Preview

The version of Crackdown 2 shown at TGS -- and only briefly, in a private meeting room -- is only about 60 percent complete. According to Ruffian, it's a "snapshot" of the game's current state of existence. It's a little buggy, the net code lags a bit, and the visuals are currently lacking most of the detail passes that will make the final product look suitably polished. And yet, it's still very definitely Crackdown, which means that even in this rough state it's a lot of fun.

Like many games these days, Crackdown 2 is being designed as a multiplayer coop game that can be played solo, if you must. The campaign mode supports up to four players at a time over Xbox Live (twice as many as in the first game), while deathmatch supports up to 16 players. Ruffian also mentioned a PvE (player versus environment) mode set for key points in the campaign which will enable up to eight characters to join together at once. Unfortunately, that mode won't be properly revealed until a later date, so no further details are available.

The freaks are designed to rectify what may have been Crackdown's single biggest shortcoming: By the end of the game, no one in Pacific City could even compare to your superpowered Agent. You were effectively a god, wading through the insect-like masses and crushing them with a single touch. Freaks, on the other hand, won't go down so easily. They appear in massive numbers, they're fast and aggressive, and they can jump just as well as a powered-up Agent. There's no way to leap to safety and catch a breather when a mutant can follow your every step.

Ruffian also promises that mission objectives will be more varied as well. Where missions in Crackdown were basically little more than 20-odd assassination missions, Crackdown 2 will require a wider range of actions.

The team correctly describes Pacific City as a character in its own right, and the sequel's city looks to be a combination of familiar settings (now laid to waste) and new areas. One such place, Hope Springs, was described as a new platforming playground packed with orbs to collect. Ruffian hinted that new kinds of orbs ("the crack in Crackdown") will be included in the game, but they didn't offer any further details.

The team also played up Crackdown's freeform "playground" nature by messing around with some of the game's new weapons. The most amusing was the MAG, a magnetic grenade that can be attached to both dynamic objects and the environment itself to create a sort of elastic connection between the two. The examples we saw included the use of two MAGs to string a car between two walls, which the Agent then pulled like a slingshot to launch into bad guys. Less impressive (but equally amusing) was the use of a MAG to attach a gas canister to the ground. It was nothing remarkable until the Agent shot off the nozzle, causing the canister to vent flame and spin around rapidly with the grenade as a fulcrum, creating a whirling, fiery deathtrap.

The Ruffian representatives touched on the Keys to the City DLC that turned Crackdown into even more of a giant playground and made it clear that they want to offer that same sense of play and freedom in the sequel. Some of the game's more interesting content will likely be held back for a later downloadable release -- though the developers are quick to stress it will be inexpensive or even free. "Crackdown is has no pretensions about what it is," they told me. "It's not trying to be another Call of Duty, and it doesn't take itself too seriously."

That much came through in the hands-on portion of the game, which was a brief runthrough of the multiplayer coop. While it's still clearly a work in progress, Crackdown 2 feels just as liberating and manic as its predecessor, and the deathmatch play is punctuated by snarky comments by the announcer. Currently PvP play is clearly a work in progress, as it's little more than a bunch of people running around the city shooting one another and collecting power-ups. Still, that in itself is pretty fun, especially with some of the new game features, like the jump pads which can send an Agent hurtling to the top of a skyscraper in a single bound. It's fast-paced, manic nonsense, which is pretty much the essence of Crackdown.

Crackdown 2 currently has no release date beyond a vague "2010." Personally, I've never been more excited for the arrival of a zombie horde.

[Flawless]

Re: Crackdown 2

Some footage of the early build:

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[3rdAnswer]

Re: Crackdown 2



Looks even better than the first.

[Flawless]

Re: Crackdown 2

Eurogamer Hands-on

As one match turns into two, then five, then a dozen, it becomes obvious that Ruffian has zeroed in on something rather special with multiplayer: while it would be pointless to try and take on the CODs and Halos at their own game, there's simply nothing else like 16-player Crackdown available at the moment. The matches move at a crazy pace akin, perhaps, to Quake III, but they also feature that frightening degree of mobility the Agency has given you - an arm-flailing leap that seems to last forever and terminate just where you want it to, and a targeting system that allows you to pop people's heads off from the other side of an island.

Glowing jump pads, although initially seeming rather artificial, actually slot really well into Crackdown's simple genome - regular air boosts for this most sky-minded of titles - and Ruffian chains them into elaborate tangles at times, ping-ponging you around an entire map in the space of 30 seconds, or simply chucking you mischievously high into the air, where you can pick out a range of different scurrying targets, or, more likely, become the ultimate target yourself.

16 players means there's always a chance to find somewhere to catch your breath for a few seconds or build up a nice lingering rivalry with a handful of other people, but such is the speed of movement and the relentless pace of respawns that it can feel like you're playing against hundreds, and there's a smart scoring system that sees you rewarded with different points depending on the quality of each kill. The concrete-splintering ground-strikes seem to be most worthwhile. Throw in power-ups like extra shields, invisibility, and regular chances to change your weapons, and multiplayer becomes hard to put aside.

Pacific City was a wonderfully memorable playground, and for a lot of players it would be something of a shame to say goodbye entirely. Ruffian appears to have achieved a remarkable balancing act: retaining the very basic layout of the city and its three islands, keeping all the neighbourhoods and districts in roughly the same place, but then swooping in close to extensively redesign each of the individual areas. The docks, as deathmatch hinted at, are now gigantic and far more vertical, while the refinery is more elaborate, filled with new dead-ends, gantries and shortcuts to discover.

Given the backstory, dereliction is a bit of a theme throughout: that smart little observatory nestled in the armpit of the mountains where you once found that big golden globe you then ran about lamping people with, is now burning wreckage filled with dozens of hazards, while the three tall cooling towers stuck rather incongruously in the middle of town are partially shattered in Crackdown 2. Citizens move about the emptier streets in patched-together vehicles reinforced with corrugated iron, or barricade themselves in skyscrapers where the Freaks can't get them.

Trashing the place appears to have been done partly to create a different kind of playground, but also to allow for an eruption of content from below. Crackdown 2 will feature numerous large underground cavernous areas where the Freaks live in picturesque squalor.

There's a handful of other things to be seen - night and day will pass very differently in the new Pacific City, with both the Freaks and the Cell thronging the streets in force after dark, while elsewhere Ruffian's hard at work on a more varied mission structure, mixing up the familiar baddies who need a truck parked on them with tasks that tell a little bit of story (the one I'm shown involves an assault on the Volk refinery to reconnect the Agency to the power grid).

There's also - whisper it - going to be a new strain of orb potentially joining the party, although at the moment there's only the Pavlovian green glow of the agility variety scattered, temptingly, on every rooftop and ledge (Ruffian reveals, rather shockingly, that the originals were put there simply because most testers ignored the game's verticality without them). But there's no word yet on new vehicles or new powers or tweaks to the levelling system, and the Agency Tower - one of the most beloved gaming landmarks of this hardware generation - is still being redesigned, even though the team does hint that it's not necessarily the tallest building in town anymore.