Crackdown

G4 TV

This is the kind of game that takes over your brain after long play sessions, leading you to scrutinize real-life buildings for handholds and leaping potential. It’s an absolute blast to play, and arguably one of the finest superhero games made thus far.

GameShark

Crackdown does everything right and doesn't let the narrative (which assails you at every turn) get in the way of the fun - and there's plenty of fun to be had.

ZTGameDomain

While the game is just a giant mesh of tons of genres it manages to do them all to near perfection. When a game has you thinking about it constantly and talking about it only makes you want to play it more you know you have something special on your hands.

Pelit (Finland)

A shoot 'em up action-adventure in a living, breathing city. It looks pretty and is a lot of fun. The loose mission structure is great. [Apr 2007]

Games Master UK

The most explosive action game on Xbox 360 yet. "GTA"s suddenly got a lot to live up to. [Mar 2007, p.64]

Gaming Age

It combines the vast environments of GTA, the quick, the satisfying combat of great action games, a vertical dimension of game play and the character progression of RPGs in a very entertaining and unique package. The content is strictly for adults, but otherwise, it's a slam dunk.

Worth Playing

Games like Crackdown are the cornerstone the 360's passionate user community is built upon, and why the 360 is developing an increasingly deserved reputation for being the next-gen console of choice.

GamingExcellence

The variety of achievements will also keep you entertained for a long while. A solid, fun and wholly addictive game that should be purchased on its merits alone.

Official Xbox Magazine UK

It plays brilliantly and is astonishingly easy to get into...For outrageousness and pure entertainment value, Crackdown is the most fun sandbox game to date...It's all-out action. Crackdown is an absolute riot. [Feb 2007, p.8]

GamePro

Crackdown is ridiculously fun, and that "Halo 3" beta code may go unused for longer than you think. [Mar 2007, p.88]

Eurogamer

Being so excellent that you obliterate the single-player in a weekend is not enough to stop it being my favourite Xbox 360 game of recent times.

Team Xbox

But for every slight slip-up or apparent wrong in Crackdown, there’s a laundry list of perfection and general right that makes this title nearly impossible to put down - like some sort of digital crack.

1UP

If Crackdown were nothing more than a GTA-ish game with the fat trimmed away and some insane physical abilities, hell, that'd be something to be thrilled about. That it represents the best, if not the first, online multiplayer sandbox game on a console is just gravy.

3DAvenue

The action is sensational and amazingly varied, and the world is totally immersive because of the game's somewhat unique approach to the visuals and environment, not despite of it.

NTSC-uk

While it is true that the twenty-one bosses won’t take long to dispose of, everything in the game is of such high quality that it does not matter. It’s easy to spend hours without even bothering about the main objectives, just blowing stuff up and admiring the physics at work.

IC-Games

New maps, new modes and new characters are all a feasible option with the Live service. Let’s hope they do it.

VideoGamer

The size and sheer verticality of the environment is key to the experience, and you're simply given the tools to explore and have fun.

Sydney Morning Herald

And whether you are tooling around with a giant bowling ball or bringing a mob boss to justice in record time, Xbox Live support lets two friends run riot side by side.

GamerNode

Despite the repetitive nature of the core game, being able to scale rooftops and blow everything to smithereens is more than enough to compensate for these problems.

XboxAddict

Crackdown pushes the action-driving hybrid genre into the next generation with the first ever truly 3-D playground with some innovative Xbox Live capabilities. What’s not to like.

Console Gameworld

Whether you're scaling skyscrapers to nab those elusive orbs or kicking thugs halfway across town, it never gets old despite its lack of story content and mission variety. If you love sandbox games, you'll get back everything you put into it and then some.

Computer and Video Games

An immensely enjoyable experience and easily the most complete free-roaming action game we've played. We'd even go beyond that and call it the ultimate sandbox experience - it genuinely is a beast all of its own, building on the GTA formula rather than feeding off it.

Play.tm

As much as a sore ass is the sign of a poor movie, sore eyes from a lack of blinking is a sure sign of an excellent videogame. Perhaps the biggest endorsement worth assigning to Crackdown is that hours of enjoyable gameplay will fly by as the player endeavours to rid Pacific City of its criminal contingent - and not much blinking will take place in the process.

Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

A wonderful sandbox title that branches off from the "GTA" tree rather than feeding off it; when you set off a huge chain reaction of barrels, you’ll see the game "Saints Row" wished it was. When you climb to the top of the Agency HQ and peer down at the world, you’ll see the game "Just Cause" could never be. And every so often, you’ll see another moment of brilliance; a reminder of the game you want GTA IV to be.

ActionTrip

Even if you completely ignore the missions, you can still have a lot of fun just playing with the environment. See who can make the biggest stack of cars. Race to the top the agency building. Try to jump the farthest in your diesel truck.

Jolt Online Gaming UK

Crackdown rips up the rulebook and invests a much needed bout of innovation into methods of play.

Deeko

The lack of a story is offset by the addition of tons of ass kicking - and sometimes a good ass kicking is more satisfying.

Play Magazine

There's something indescribably wonderful about making an epic leap from the top of a huge building, soaring breathlessly across the sky with the hero's arms flailing wildly before crashing down on a rooftop that seems hundreds of feet away. [Mar 2007, p.51]

Gamers Europe

If you've ever felt that Mario needed more guns, explosives, and the ability to drive up to a villain in a sports car, then get out and throw the sports car at the villain's head, or that GTA would be vastly improved if the lead character was an indestructible mute on a pogo stick, then this is the game for you. It's just lacking a certain meatiness that (and here's that name again) the GTA games have in spades, even if they don't have quite the same level of originality that's been shown here.

Armchair Empire

Much of the fun in Crackdown is your ability to muck around in a world alive with (destructive) possibilities – sometimes it’s just satisfying to run around and blow stuff up.

PGNx Media

Crackdown succeeds in building a city that you want to explore, and giving you the ability to simply mess around and have a good time.

Game Informer

The experience basically boils down to the Incredible Hulk thrashing about in a kiddy pool. You have so much power and potential, but it's set in a shallow frame. [Mar 2007, p.103]

Extreme Gamer

Even though Crackdown falls a short of becoming a classic, I have faith that another dosage of "Crack"down could be the start of something epic and memorable on the same scales as the aspiring "Grand Theft Auto" series.

Kombo

A solid and downright addictive open-ended action title.

GameZone

The game shines in letting you take your agent from meager rookie to rooftop jumping superhero in a painless and easy manner. You’re not pressured into building up your character just because you can’t access certain parts of the game.

Game Almighty

The gameplay is where this title shines, and it shines bright. The game doesn’t last as long as a GTA title, and the variety of other sandbox games just isn’t here, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun. If you’re looking for some mindless explosions or an amazing co-op game, this will hit the spot.

WHAM! Gaming

A truly fantastic experience that is so much more than just a mindless shoot-em-up "GTA" clone. The developers almost force you to think outside the box and not spend an hour running over hookers and throwing molotov cocktails into a crowd on the beach (as fun as those things are).

DailyGame

It's the best "superhero" game ever made, but the lack of side missions and its annoying co-op bugs hold it back from greatness.

Xbox World Australia

It's a shame that the game is fairly light on other activities, rooftop foot or street based races are the only two, because after all the action stops and the explosions settle, you really do wish that there was a bit more to do in the game.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

That the game's multiplayer co-op is integrated perfectly with the single-player campaign, allowing friends to jump right in and join at any point without any fuss, is just gravy. It's something I'd love to see other developers do more of. [Mar 2007, p.90]

Firing Squad

Crackdown has taken the essence of the open world sandbox game and brought it down to its base elements. Combine that with comic book super hero style abilities and a unique visual take, and you have a game that, while it lasts, you might find yourself playing until the wee hours of the morning.

Da Gameboyz

The graphics are stylish and sharp, the sound delivers and the campaign is pretty engaging.

GamingTrend

Even after completing Crackdown I find myself continuing to play it. I can’t say that many games stay in rotation after completion for me these days, so don’t take that statement lightly.

Gamer 2.0

The visuals have a sort of cell-shaded look to them, but they’re also fully textured. The look of the game resembles that of a modern graphic novel—fitting with the game’s sci-fi setting.

Talk Xbox

I’ll admit I was hooked for the first five hours, but as the game waned on, so did the entertainment of the game.

VGPub

Halo fans will be happy to hear this game also comes with an invitation to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta.

DarkStation

The often-copied GTA gameplay style has been given a new leash of life with character leveling and a truly superb online play.

Gamestyle

Crackdown is a brilliant starting point to a game; it's a pity that the enjoyment doesn't last too long.

X360 Magazine UK

A solid success story for Realtime Worlds. Crackdown initially offers all kinds of wonders, but skim off the top and it becomes a teaser of what could've been or is possible. [Issue 17, p.85]

Gaming Nexus

Even with its faults Crackdown is still a solid game that is well worth playing through. While it's not nearly as strong as some of Microsoft's other first party offerings, Crackdown does prove to be a solid first entry into what will no doubt be a franchise.

Boomtown

You can climb to the tip of the cities tallest skyscraper and look out over the whole city, take a sniper rifle up there and look through it’s scope and you can even see some of the smaller details, the draw distance is immense.

Gamer's Hell

Although the ending seemed rather abrupt, there’s still plenty to do once you’ve rid the world of crime.

Games Radar (in-house)

The superhero powers and coop mode alone make Crackdown worth recommending. Next time, throw in some more structure - or at least some more gadgets and toys to wreak havoc with when there is no structure - and you'll have a classic must-buy franchise.

IGN

The smart blend of collecting orbs in a wildly vertical setting while constantly feeling the reward of powering up creates an unbeatable sensation of addictive fun. You'll have a blast, even if for a short while.

GameDaily

Unpolished targeting mechanics lead to unfortunate deaths, but leaping across buildings Matrix style while shooting heads gets the adrenaline flowing; a guilty pleasure indeed.

PALGN

Crackdown does have a few shortcomings such as an average targeting system and repetitive missions but the game really does have that "one more hour" feeling too it.

360 Gamer Magazine UK

There's certainly a lot of fun to be had here, although as the game lacks a distinct lack of difficulty you're often left to feel a little under challenged, which can sometimes make you feel a bit bored.

Edge Magazine

Compared to so many free-roaming games to date, it so rarely stumbles. It’s the very skeleton of the genre, those bones strengthened to the point where they alone can stand as a game, rather than serving as hangers for threadbare ideas to be dangled from. [Mar 2007, p.76]

games(TM)

It works hard to scratch out a patch of ground to call its own, while reconnecting with the breathless sense of fun that made "GTAIII" so special. This is pure, playground satisfaction. [Mar 2007, p.94]

MS Xbox World

An ambitious game which somewhat lacks ambition at the same time. For a third person action game it delivers the right ingredients and then offers an unquestionable level of freedom to do as one pleases.

GameSpy

I have to play a lot of games at this job, so when I tell you that I'd rather play Crackdown than just about anything else on my 360, I hope that carries as much weight as I intend.

Yahoo! Games

Imaginative players will find all kinds of ways to extend the game, and there's a virtual certainty of downloadable extras too.

Xboxic

Essentially it's a huge Arcade game that will give you an awful lot of tremendous fun as you blow up half the city and kill everything that moves in the most creative ways possible, and moves to levels beyond fun when playing with a friend, but lasts too short to really stand high above the crowd and be remembered for years to come.

GameSpot

Crackdown creates an exciting open world and gives you a lot of interesting abilities, but there isn't enough main-game content to truly take advantage of the game's strengths.

Planet Xbox 360

I had a blast with the game, but in the interest of full disclosure, I enjoy simple addictive fun sometimes. The game isn't deeply challenging or fully fleshed out as far as gritty open-world games go, but I can't say it wasn't a fun ride. More puzzle platformer than anything.

GameTrailers

Crackdown is one of those games that sounds like it’s full of good ideas until they’re actually put to use. The role-playing elements are addictive for a while, and it can be fun to play in this sandbox, setting up massive explosions and stunts, but the actual game is seriously lacking in a number of areas, and compared to the other GTA clones on the market, it falls firmly into the middle.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Throwing cars at people gets old, and so does killing henchmen with a single roundhouse kick. But take the time to boost your agility. The super-high standing jumps and the leaps from skyscraper to skyscraper are the best parts of the game.

Digital Entertainment News

Crackdown manages to exceed expectations with its entertaining action gameplay; however, noticeable shortcomings prevent it from having long lasting appeal.

Game Revolution

While Crackdown isn’t long on story or particularly original, it is as fun and addictive as the first syllable in its name implies. It may not be the biggest sandbox on the playground, but I sure had fun playing in it.

Detroit Free Press

Frankly, underestimating this great game was a huge mistake. In fact, it's almost a crime. And, with these souped-up agents roaming the streets, crime sure doesn't pay.

Cheat Code Central

A fun and mindless action game. The story is neglible, and there is little to the game besides blowing up bad guys, and leaping across rooftops. However, while the game lasts, these things are undeniably fun to do.

AceGamez

Crackdown gives an absolutely exhilarating first impression, but in only an hour or two you'll have seen basically everything the game has to offer and from there on out the complete lack of structure and variety leaves the entire game feeling somewhat pointless.

Official Xbox Magazine

The game's gravest offense is its lack of things to do...None of it is deep or varied enough to make the game much more than a "Halo 3" consolation prize. [Mar 2007, p.72]

Thunderbolt

Even at budget price there’s not much that any self respecting Xbox 360 owner will be missing other than a few pretty explosions and half a day spent marveling at spring from building to building, the novelty of which rubs off pretty damn quickly.

GameCritics

This feels like an alpha build of a game: the point in a game's development cycle where engine is in place, and the world has been built, and a few bad guys running around for testing purposes. Unfortunately, the actual meat of the game, the story and the missions, haven't been added yet.