Crackdown 3
CHAOTIC FUN, BUT ALSO A CASE OF WASTED POTENTIAL. $99.95 | PC, Xbox One | www.xbox.com
DESPITE THE FACT that New Providence is double the size of Crackdown’s Pacific City, it feels significantly smaller. The environment is cramped but devoid of life, especially for an action game in 2019. Whereas in Crackdown you had gangcontrolled islands and locations with a discernible sense of character, in Crackdown 3 there are different icons and goons scattered everywhere and barely any room to breathe, which doubles down on the chaos in its finest moments, but makes it so I can’t creep down the block without my car getting blown to smithereens.
Your enemies, the leaders of the various divisions of TerraNova are all immediately interesting, from the robotic jaw of Alois Quist to the decorated enforcer Kuli Ngata. These characters and their nefarious ambitions are introduced by a suite of gorgeous anime-style cutscenes, but once that’s over, I never saw them again outside of the occasional audio taunt and their corresponding boss battle. More often than not, they appear clad in a mech suit, angry at my mute self for breaking up the party. I fill them full of holes and that’s about it. Character development is non-existent, despite the interesting premise behind each of these inspired villains, which feels like a waste.
It feels like Crackdown 2.5, and luckily for those of you still interested, what worked then feels even better now. The wonderfully dry narrator is back on form, pumping biting one-liners and obscene encouragement into my ears as I turn one of the villain’s henchman into mulch.
The new technology Microsoft has implemented – and the core focus behind the Wrecking Zone – is awesome. Buildings crumble in intense detail, you can explode floors to make enemies fall through, you truly do come in like a wrecking ball. But it would be so much better in a game like say, Battlefield.
Yet, if you’ve got Xbox Game Pass, it’s easy to recommend. It’s daft, polished fun, even if it doesn’t push the boat out like it should.