ANOTHER CRACKER

Microsoft’s next big console exclusive, Crackdown 3, was announced way back at E3 2014 but is only just hitting consoles this month, some five years later.

So many delays and so much uncertainty can usually mean one of two things.

Either we’re going to see a game polished to the point of perfection, or we are going to see a game that – no matter how much effort was put into it – was never going to work.

Crackdown 3, while not perfect, feels like it could be yet another ace up Microsoft’s sleeve, surprising and delighting critics and consumers alike.

Despite multiple setbacks, the game is improving on what made the series so iconic.

The previous games always had a loose narrative that glued all the havoc together, but Crackdown 3 takes that and turns it up to 11.

There’s a proper story woven into the destruction, revolving around a series of sinister bosses that punctuate a cohesive campaign that looks like it could have been lifted from the pages of a 2000AD comic. That said, it’s still a non-stop, over-the-top explosion fest. Whether you want to specialise in driving like a maniac, being a crack shot with a gun, sprinting from building to building or simply just causing as much explosive havoc as possible, Crackdown 3 has your back.

There’s nothing else quite like Crackdown 3 out there – a game that encourages agility, gunplay, exploration and creativity.