Crackdown 3 Review Thread

[professor_t]

I honestly don't think the core gameplay of the original holds up. It was stellar back in the day and I played the shit out of it when it released but I'd argue it's not strong enough to basically re-release the same game twelve years later with a handful of minor, perfunctory improvements and think most people are going to fawn over it they way they did in 2007.

Obviously, if you can't get enough of the original this game scratches that itch but from a critical/review standpoint this game has been treated more than fairly.

Also, sadly, I agree with you that this is probably the end of the franchise.

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I'm just in a peculiar position because I really like the core gameplay, but it's rather possible that I simply enjoy something that isn't very good. It's not a matter of cognitive dissonance - I own every console and have a backlog that I'll never clear, so I don't NEED this game to be good - I'm just having a lot of fun with the game. In alternate universe if people on these boards were raving about how much fun they were having I would have no trouble believing it.

As it stands, the game is getting critically ransacked and I simply have to accept that I have an oddball position on this one.

 

[Apathy]

Great post. This is exactly how I feel. I can't say what score this game should have received, but I don't get the criticism that there's nothing new here (unless, maybe, you only played about the first 30 minutes of the game). I feel like they added quite a few new elements (little things like the super punch are so goddamn satisfying) while still retaining the core elements that make it a Crackdown game.

I certainly have my biases, and one of them is to really, really like Crackdown's core gameplay. Apparently, not a lot of people feel the same way, which is a shame because I likely won't ever be getting another Crackdown game.

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I'd argue a lot of people do like the crackdown core gameplay, that is why it has so many ardent defenders, and that is fine. Many people like the core of Steven Seagal movies, but no one will be trying to fight that they aren't mediocre (ok maybe under siege was great). The issue is that this is the review thread, where it is looked at through a critical lense, and looking at it that way, it is a game stuck in the past and something that has not evolved like it's competitors have.

So yes, you can like it, many others can like it, but for passionate people to think there is a conspiracy against this game or against the Xbox and downplaying issues and not being critical is childish at best (I'm not accusing you of those things btw)

 

[Tetra-Grammaton-Cleric]

I'm just in a peculiar position because I really like the core gameplay, but it's rather possible that I simply enjoy something that isn't very good. It's not a matter of cognitive dissonance - I own every console and have a backlog that I'll never clear, so I don't NEED this game to be good - I'm just having a lot of fun with the game. In alternate universe if people on these boards were raving about how much fun they were having I would have no trouble believing it.

As it stands, the game is getting critically ransacked and I simply have to accept that I have an oddball position on this one.

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Well, if it makes you feel any better I thought the core gameplay of CD1 was brilliant back in the day and I still think the central theme and conceit of the game works well enough.

I just think they need to update the mechanics and bring this game into the present day.

If this game looked, moved and felt like most other quality TPS, I'd be playing it nonstop, even with the mundane mission structure.

But it's not like you love Superman 64. :) CD3 is hardly some unplayable piece of shit. I just personally wanted and expected more.

 

[DarthWalden]

I've played a ton of games over this generation that have reviewed poorly that I enjoyed well enough well being able to understand why they did score poorly. Games like Recore, Sea of Theives, The order, and Ryse all come to mind.

This one perplexes me a bit though, I'm having a blast with this game and I'm having a hard time understanding the strong criticism. It's a well made game, well optimized game with good graphics and fun gameplay.

I mean maybe it drags later or (I've invested about 6 hours and killed a couple bosses) and I've just yet to hit that wall (like a say recore) but this is game has been an absolute blast up to this point.

There are two reasons I can think of:
1) I think the best comparison for this game would be Spiderman if spiderman didn't have any story missions, that may sound terrible to a lot of people, I've heard plenty of people complain about the side content in that game but personally I fucking loved just swinging around the city and searching for backpacks and doing the Osborne missions, the black cat missions, getting pigeons etc... Other examples of games who did this right that I platinumed/100% were sunset overdrive and infamous.

I think maybe where that to me is a great fun game where I can just turn my mind off an explore, reviewers expect more

2) I'm playing on the hardest difficulty and everything is a challenge that requires a creative approach and planning for each mission. As I find more weapons and get more skills those approaches are evolving. It's had a really nice pace to this point and every weapon you find in the world or upgrade you get is just another fun tool to use to get through some of these tough mission. This to me has been a very satisfying loop.

I'm guessing most reviewers just played it on the easier difficulties which made the game a lot more mindless and if every weapon kind of got the job done I imagine finding new weapons would be very unsatisfying.

 

[Psyrgery]

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I meant I wanted to post an opinion on the matter but oh dear, it is quite the thread. When things are this heated I would rather not say anythinh at all, that's all.

I am having lots of fun with it and it is a proper sequel to the first Crackdown, but I can see why it is being so thrashed.

I am just upset that we may never see anything from this franchise again :(

 

[Drencrom]

What are the terms?

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If Edge gives CD3 a score of 7/10 or higher you win the bet and if they score the game below 7/10, you lose.

If you lose you'll have to sport this Phil Spencer avatar for a whole month on Era. The avatar I'll use for a month if you win is up to you.

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I've posted the bet, are you gonna accept it or just ignore it? :)

 

[Anthony Hopkins]

I've posted the bet, are you gonna accept it or just ignore it? :)

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I think I'll pass.
Like I said could go either way with Edge, they are kinda unpredictable.

 

[Deleted member 23965]

I've posted the bet, are you gonna accept it or just ignore it? :)

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Is that a real pic of Phil Spencer? The job really seems to be taking its toll on him, loads of wrinkles and teeth are all messed up. On topic, I bet 85, guess I was too optimistic.

 

[SnatcherHunter]

Is that a real pic of Phil Spencer? The job really seems to be taking its toll on him, loads of wrinkles and teeth are all messed up. On topic, I bet 85, guess I was too optimistic.

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Really? Lmao!
Google him.

 

[Electro]

7 from Edge is possible because Sumo is a british developer ;)

 

[Deleted member 8777]

7 from Edge is possible because Sumo is a british developer ;)

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Is edge turbonationalist or something.

 

[chobel]

I think I'll pass.
Like I said could go either way with Edge, they are kinda unpredictable.

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[Anthony Hopkins]

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You take the bet then lol

 

[Jamie]

I can only imagine someone who was in blackout mode on release day, they saw this thread (50+ pages at the time?) and immediately thought "HOLY COW..WE DID IT BOYS" and then proceeded to perform the robot in front of their family.

I really wish there was story to the game, but at least I can say with gamepass that I had fun. If anything, the game delivers a bit on that.

 

[DrDeckard]

I'm going with Edge on this one. They always seem to be inline with my own thoughts on games.

 

[Anthony Hopkins]

I'm going with Edge on this one. They always seem to be inline with my own thoughts on games.

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So we have to wait for the April issue?

 

[Tetra-Grammaton-Cleric]

EDGE is unpredictable but they tend to skew towards polish and innovation (or both) and address games holistically using the full numerical scale.

Unless they see something in this game most don't, I'd say a five or lower is almost assured.

 

[Anthony Hopkins]

EDGE is unpredictable but they tend to skew towards polish and innovation (or both) and address games holistically using the full numerical scale.

Unless they see something in this game most don't, I'd say a five or lower is almost assured.

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I think they will give it a 6.

 

[Phil's Empty Chair]

Link

Edit:

No need for trouble :)

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Doesnt Jim love Yakuza? A franchise that hasnt evolved in like forever?

 

[theAllseeingEYE]

Is edge turbonationalist or something.

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Hell naw, EDGE is mostly just thorough and informed. Saying they are is likely ti bias reviews due ti being a hometown dev is likely just a way to rationalize reviews if theirs someone doesn't agree with.

Having said that, I could see Edge giving this anywhere from a 5-7.

It's a great Crackdown sequel, it just depends on whether EDGE still fwels tgw origonal Crackdown design is fun and holds up.

 

[Tetra-Grammaton-Cleric]

Doesnt Jim love Yakuza? A franchise that hasnt evolved in like forever?

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They certainly follow a formula but they also try and mix things up and those games do actually look and play like something out of this current generation.

By contrast I honestly don't think CD3 does a single thing above average.

 

[GOOCHY]

I just think expectations for this game got way out of hand. The original Crackdown was a cult hit with no budget. Most people bought it because of the demo it came with. Crackdown 3 has had nothing but trouble development wise and folks still thought they were getting a AAA type of game? Cmon.

 

[ElNino]

For me, the problem is the lack of current gen basics:

- poor animation
- poor enemy hit detection
- poor weapon feedback
- poor physics

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See, I don't see the issue with those within the context of how Crackdown works.

Animation is like an animated comic book, which is how it was always designed. I don't see how extra frames of animation would help when you need to be able to move and change directly so quickly. Longer animation loops would either slow you down or have incomplete animations, and neither would be good.

Hit detection/weapon feedback. I don't get this one, and you have brought it up many times. Where is the missing hit detection? If you are locked on and targeting a specific location, your shots go exactly there and if you are free aiming with a larger weapon (rocket launcher) it works exactly like you expect. Even with vehicles, you can target the tires and shoot them out or target the body and take out the gas tank and set off a massive chain reaction of explosions (if other cars are near by).

Physics go along with the animation again. Can you explain how you feel it is lacking? The world is obviously not grounded in "reality" so assuming non-exaggerated physics would be silly.

No one is claiming that this is a "perfect" game for the general population, but either is a game like RDR. But for fans of over the top action, and free form game play this is a terrific option. I'm having a blast with it so far, and even the Wrecking Zone mode has been a nice change of pace. I had more fun playing it over Apex this weekend at least.

They certainly follow a formula but they also try and mix things up and those games do actually look and play like something out of this current generation.

By contrast I honestly don't think CD3 does a single thing above average.

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I think the entire game play loop in Crackdown 3 is above average, which is why it is enjoyable to play. The minute-to-minute game play of movement, traversal, combat, driving, etc is all enjoyable and works well together. The "story" was never designed as the main pull, but more of a backdrop to use to further your skills. If you don't enjoy that, then there is really nothing else to worry about and you can safely move on to another game.

 

[Cyborg]

Damn
Youtuber MBG a huge Xbox advocate, is freaking pissed off. He lost it.

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Damn! But lets face it, he is not wrong. Defending this game does send a wrong message

 

[Tetra-Grammaton-Cleric]

See, I don't see the issue with those within the context of how Crackdown works.

Animation is like an animated comic book, which is how it was always designed. I don't see how extra frames of animation would help when you need to be able to move and change directly so quickly. Longer animation loops would either slow you down or have incomplete animations, and neither would be good.

Hit detection/weapon feedback. I don't get this one, and you have brought it up many times. Where is the missing hit detection? If you are locked on and targeting a specific location, your shots go exactly there and if you are free aiming with a larger weapon (rocket launcher) it works exactly like you expect. Even with vehicles, you can target the tires and shoot them out or target the body and take out the gas tank and set off a massive chain reaction of explosions (if other cars are near by).

Physics go along with the animation again. Can you explain how you feel it is lacking? The world is obviously not grounded in "reality" so assuming non-exaggerated physics would be silly.

No one is claiming that this is a "perfect" game for the general population, but either is a game like RDR. But for fans of over the top action, and free form game play this is a terrific option. I'm having a blast with it so far, and even the Wrecking Zone mode has been a nice change of pace. I had more fun playing it over Apex this weekend at least.

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We have plenty of games that use comics as a source for inspiration or as a premise and they animate just fine.

Hit detection refers to not only accuracy (which is fine in the game) but how an enemy responds. In this game, they don't respond at all to bullets until they collapse. It's archaic, like pretty much everything else in CD3.

The physics are clunky and decidedly last gen. They feel like three steps backwards from what's available in most open worlds. The physics in something like BOTW - which is running on a handheld - are more impressive and nuanced than an exclusive running on the most powerful console hardware available. This is doubly perplexing since better physics would crackle nicely in an open construct such as Crackdown.

It's great that some of you are enjoying this game but it's a dusty, outdated relic that plays like something from a decade ago, which is why it has received such poor reviews and why I personally consider it a sizable failure.

 

[ShapeGSX]

At this point, I'm leveled up enough that the enemies just explode into flame and go flying. That's my hit detector. It's pretty obvious I hit them.

 

[ShapeGSX]

The physics are clunky and decidedly last gen. They feel like three steps backwards from what's available in most open worlds. The physics in something like BOTW - which is running on a handheld - are more impressive and nuanced than an exclusive running on the most powerful console hardware available. This is doubly perplexing since better physics would crackle nicely in an open construct such as Crackdown.

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Can you give an example of where they are clunky? Have you leveled up your agent enough to throw a car, for example? What feels clunky about that?

Things react the way I would expect them to.

 

[Tetra-Grammaton-Cleric]

Can you give an example of where they are clunky? Have you leveled up your agent enough to throw a car, for example?

Things react the way I would expect them to.

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They just seem very stilted and, for a lack of a better description, canned.

Maybe part of that is because there's so little to interact with.

We've seen plenty of open worlds with much more expansive physics so it feels behind the times. I mean, they're certainly better than the lousy hit detection/feedback and animation.

 

[DevilMayGuy]

At this point, I'm leveled up enough that the enemies just explode into flame and go flying. That's my hit detector. It's pretty obvious I hit them.

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Wow. Like it all you want, but the hit detection is absurdly bad, and in many cases, non-existent

 

[ElNino]

We have plenty of games that use comics as a source for inspiration or as a premise and they animate just fine.

Hit detection refers to not only accuracy (which is fine in the game) but how an enemy responds. In this game, they don't respond at all to bullets until they collapse. It's archaic, like pretty much everything else in CD3.

The physics are clunky and decidedly last gen. They feel like three steps backwards from what's available in most open worlds. The physics in something like BOTW - which is running on a handheld - are more impressive and nuanced than an exclusive running on the most powerful console hardware available. This is doubly perplexing since better physics would crackle nicely in an open construct such as Crackdown.

It's great that some of you are enjoying this game but it's a dusty, outdated relic that plays like something from a decade ago, which is why it has received such poor reviews and why I personally consider it a sizable failure.

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It's fine that you (or any reviewer for that matter) don't enjoy the game, but it's painfully obvious that you don't like it based around it not feeling like other games.

Your shots are hitting them when you see the damage indicators, they don't need to show impact for each shot. They "could", but that's not how it's designed. When I blow an enemy up and they go flying hundreds of feet in the air I know they are likely dead. ;-)

I'm failing to see where the physics fail, as all you've said is they don't feel like other games. When I pick up and throw an object, be it a body, car, etc... it travels like you would expect. When I blow up a car (and any others around it), they throw nearby objects like you would expect. When you are traversing across roof tops your jumps and boosts work as expected and I can easily move around in the air. Nothing about it feel archaic to me, it feels like an exaggerated action game where you play the part of comic/action hero. "Real life" physics obviously play no part here.

 

[ShapeGSX]

They just seem very stilted and, for a lack of a better description, canned.

Maybe part of that is because there's so little to interact with.

We've seen plenty of open worlds with much more expansive physics so it feels behind the times. I mean, they're certainly better than the lousy hit detection/feedback and animation.

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You can't "can" physics. I mean, they did it in 2D games by mimicking physics with animations. But you can't "can" physics in a game like this. It's all being calculated. It's standard Unreal 4 stuff. Why would they can anything that's built into the engine?

There is a ton to interact with. Far more than in BoTW. There are objects to interact with everywhere in the game. Everywhere. You just never leveled up enough to find out.

Again, can you show an example? I haven't seen you mention one yet.

 

[SpinningBirdKick]

Metacritic

• Crackdown 1 - 83
• Crackdown 2 - 70
• Crackdown 3 - 60

Impressive final nail in this franchise's coffin.

 

[Tetra-Grammaton-Cleric]

It's fine that you (or any reviewer for that matter) don't enjoy the game, but it's painfully obvious that you don't like it based around it not feeling like other games.

Your shots are hitting them when you see the damage indicators, they don't need to show impact for each shot. They "could", but that's not how it's designed. When I blow an enemy up and they go flying hundreds of feet in the air I know they are likely dead. ;-)

I'm failing to see where the physics fail, as all you've said is they don't feel like other games. When I pick up and throw an object, be it a body, car, etc... it travels like you would expect. When I blow up a car (and any others around it), they throw nearby objects like you would expect. When you are traversing across roof tops your jumps and boosts work as expected and I can easily move around in the air. Nothing about it feel archaic to me, it feels like an exaggerated action game where you play the part of comic/action hero. "Real life" physics obviously play no part here.

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It's not about it feeling like other games. As a point of fact, I hate redundancy and look for each game to be relatively unique.

The issue is that this game plays like something out of 2007, not 2019.

In the twelve years since the original Crackdown was released the medium has moved forward. This game has not; it's stagnant and feels like a relic.

The shooting is simplistic, subpar and entirely inadequate when compared to just about any other shooter out there. (TPS or FPS)

The animation in this game is ridiculously stilted and sloppy.

The platforming is nothing special either. Too many games have already addressed verticality in vastly superior ways so jumping and double-jumping while collecting lots of orbs really isn't all that impressive.

The physics are largely unspectacular even though this is a sandbox/open world construct. There's little malleability, little interaction, and little choice. By contrast, a game as flawed as Just Cause 4 has ridiculous amounts of malleability present in its physics system and something like BOTW takes that concept and runs with it.

Critics aren't trashing this game because it's mindless fun or different, they're deriding it because what's here plays like something from another era and those mechanics haven't aged gracefully.

 

[Neat]

Anyone know when exactly the next issue of Edge is supposed to drop? Pretty much just waiting for that and Eurogamer at this point. Maybe Angry Joe if he decides to do a review.

 

[Marcus Brutalius]

Anyone know when exactly the next issue of Edge is supposed to drop? Pretty much just waiting for that and Eurogamer at this point. Maybe Angry Joe if he decides to do a review.

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I think AJ will skip this. I can rather see him doing a late Metro review tbh.

 

[Tetra-Grammaton-Cleric]

You can't "can" physics. I mean, they did it in 2D games by mimicking physics with animations. But you can't "can" physics in a game like this. It's all being calculated. It's standard Unreal 4 stuff. Why would they can anything that's built into the engine?

There is a ton to interact with. Far more than in BoTW. There are objects to interact with everywhere in the game. Everywhere. You just never leveled up enough to find out.

Again, can you show an example? I haven't seen you mention one yet.

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Are you serious with this?

Firstly, I said it looked canned, not that it was. There's no malleability in the physics. There's stuff you can throw and you throw it and that's about it, along with explosions. By contrast a game like Just Cause 4 or BOTW has far more options and elasticity in regards to what can be done with the physics.

Unlike CD3, those games (and others) allow you to do all sorts of things and to a much wider and broader extent.

 

[DMVfan123]

Anyone know when exactly the next issue of Edge is supposed to drop? Pretty much just waiting for that and Eurogamer at this point. Maybe Angry Joe if he decides to do a review.

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After that all of the reviews that are worth adding to the OP will be added, great job lad

 

[Ushay]

I played about 2 hours last night because I have game pass. I don't know how anyone can argue with the reviews. The game is textbook example of mediocre. Not saying you can't have fun but don't tell me this is what Crackdown fans deserve after the long wait.

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I couldn't agree more, this seems to be core of the issue, they didn't do a whole lot to progress the series.

 

[ShapeGSX]

The platforming is nothing special either. Too many games have already addressed verticality in vastly superior ways so jumping and double-jumping while collecting lots of orbs really isn't all that impressive.

The physics are largely unspectacular even though this is a sandbox/open world construct. There's little malleability, little interaction, and little choice. By contrast, a game as flawed as Just Cause 4 has ridiculous amounts of malleability present in its physics system and something like BOTW takes that concept and runs with it.

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What agility level did you get your agent up to in order to find out that the platforming is no good?

I just climbed 4 towers in the game, leaping between them to get to the top, and it was spectacular. The platforms were placed around the buildings intelligently so that you'd have to search and figure out the puzzle to get to the top. You would need to be agility level 4 to get there.

So what level did you get up to in order to seemingly speak with such knowledge about the game? Did you try climbing a skyscraper?

And again about the physics with no examples.

 

[DigitalOp]

I see a lot of railing and negativity.

But literally all I wanted was another Crackdown 1.

Is that what's being offered here? Seems like it is and everyone is just upset that the game didn't give them more

 

[ShapeGSX]

Are you serious with this?

Firstly, I said it looked canned, not that it was. There's no malleability in the physics. There's stuff you can throw and you throw it and that's about it, along with explosions. By contrast a game like Just Cause 4 or BOTW has far more options and elasticity in regards to what can be done with the physics.

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Oh, like tethering objects together?

 

[ShapeGSX]

I see a lot of railing and negativity.

But literally all I wanted was another Crackdown 1.

Is that what's being offered here? Seems like it is and everyone is just upset that the game didn't give them more

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Play the game. It's awesome. You'll love it. It's like Crackdown 1 with a ton of new systems and weapons and enemy types.

 

[TheRuralJuror]

I see a lot of railing and negativity.

But literally all I wanted was another Crackdown 1.

Is that what's being offered here? Seems like it is and everyone is just upset that the game didn't give them more

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Yes. I'm sure many people expect franchises to evolve after a decade. I liked halo 1 immensely, but I don't want to play more halo that plays exactly like halo 1 today when a new one releases. In either case, with gamepass, there's no real need to speculate. Try it out yourself.

 

[Ogawa-san]

I see a lot of railing and negativity.

But literally all I wanted was another Crackdown 1.

Is that what's being offered here? Seems like it is and everyone is just upset that the game didn't give them more

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I never played it, but if you had told me Crackdown 3 was a remake of it I'd believe it.

This sums up my impressions about it after 6h or so.

 

[Firecrest]

I've been playing CD3 intermittently since Friday and see why a lot of people have gripes with it.

The game controls like a PS2-era sandbox title and there's a whooolllee lot of repetition. Maybe it was enjoyable 10+ years ago, but much better alternatives have come along since then. Because I'm a completionist, I'll force myself to play it through to the end, but I'm totally upset with how they managed to blow this one.

 

[OneBadMutha]

Crackdown is a very good game for Game Pass. People are taking that statement out of context. That doesn't mean all Microsoft games should have the production values of Crackdown. Every year there will be a big Day 1 game in Game Pass. We should also continue to see games like Crackdown because you need variety. This shouldn't be discouraged.

Crackdown is like Recore. It's enjoyable. It scratches an itch for some segments of gamers the AAA budgeted games won't touch.

 

[Kolya]

I see a lot of railing and negativity.

But literally all I wanted was another Crackdown 1.

Is that what's being offered here? Seems like it is and everyone is just upset that the game didn't give them more

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Why would you desire and encourage this level of stagnation? What is so special about Crackdown that it gets a free pass for things many other games get shat on for? I don't get that!

 

[Deleted member 8777]

Why would you desire and encourage this level of stagnation? What is so special about Crackdown that it gets a free pass for things many other games get shat on for? I don't get that!

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>gets a free pass
>58 on metacritic and people literally angry at any positive reception of the game

 

[Kolya]

>gets a free pass
>58 on metacritic and people literally angry at any positive reception of the game

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Obviously I mean the people praising it for the stagnation. I don't know why I would have to clarify that but there we go.

 

[OrdinaryPrime]

I see a lot of railing and negativity.

But literally all I wanted was another Crackdown 1.

Is that what's being offered here? Seems like it is and everyone is just upset that the game didn't give them more

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You could get CD1 for free though, why would you want the same game 12 years later? I don't understand.

>gets a free pass
>58 on metacritic and people literally angry at any positive reception of the game

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In case you're not just being disingenuous, that poster was talking about people being happy about them not changing a lot in 12 years.