The new Crackdown updates just may be the best EVER?

Open discussion about any topic, as long as you abide by the rules of course!
o'dium
Posts: 11712
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2001 8:00 am

The new Crackdown updates just may be the best EVER?

Post by o'dium »

Ok, first of all, this posts big... So I'm posting a link before I do anything else to the main location...

http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1 ... ckdown/p1/

But christ, the free update PLUS the paid update = Holy shit this games gonna be 10x more fun than before.

Oh and did I mention its out this week?

Here goes...

Crackdown began its life as an open sandbox game from former Grand Theft Auto gurus, spent its mid-life as a marketing experiment for Halo 3, and is kicking back as one of the best Xbox 360 games to date. But this critically-acclaimed sci-fi masterpiece isn’t quite ready to retire to the DVD rack.

We are on the brink of a trifecta of goodies for Crackdown from Realtime worlds and Microsoft, including a title update and both free and pay downloadable content nuggets. We know what you’re thinking: “Hey TeamXbox.com…how can an already great game become even greater?” That’s a simple task if you’re Realtime Worlds.

For Crackdown, Realtime diligently follow the post-launch forum chatter and attempted to address all of the concerns with the base game, while at the same time adding new content to keep it all fresh. There are also some items that perhaps didn’t make the final cut for Crackdown’s original launch (time constraints will do that to a project of this magnitude) but have been prepared and thrown into the upcoming DLC code. However it actually came about, Crackdown’s Title Update, Free-for-All” and “getting’ Busy” packs are a win-win for those allied to the Agency.

So without further ado, here is what to expect when Crackdown’s downloads come on air…

Title Update Items:

Reset Gangs: In place of the current option to reset the city’s crime (unlocked by defeating all 21 bosses), the gangs can now be completely reset in the main campaign.

Easier Orb Hunting: Imagine how great it would be if when searching for the last remaining hidden agility orbs the audio range on each of them got wider as fewer remained; well imagine no longer. Audio ”ping” range is now gradually increased when searching for the last 50 percent of hidden orbs, and 20 percent of agility orbs.

Ground Strike: Available to a four star strength agent only, it is now possible to slam downwards while airborne by holding the attack button. The resulting strike is deadly to anything it hits, with an additional shockwave stunning nearby enemies.

Improved firing over low walls: Agents can now fire downwards at a greater angle while taking partial cover behind a low wall.

Targeting enhancements: Improved target lock prioritization of enemies behind vehicles as well as live enemies over corpses.

Those damn fire hydrants!: The fire hydrants were near indestructible but were also hard to spot. Now, though still best avoided, they can be smashed over for a far less unreasonable penalty.

Stunt Ring Visibility: Stunt Rings are now much easier to locate.

No “Lefty Flip” on vehicle control: Removal of the lefty flip on vehicle control so that left-handed players can aim with the left stick, but still steer with the right stick.

Persisting Charges & Mines: Limpet Charges (and the new Proximity Mines) will persist at all times within the game world and not just when within a certain range of the player.

Distant Explosions: No matter where the explosion(s), players will be able to see them provided they have a line of sight… it’s always a clear day in Pacific City!

Ramp Truck Issues: Some vehicles didn’t seem to get on well with the ramp truck, but we never intended this to be a SUV-only toy. Now none of them can get enough of it!

Camera Enhancements: Better camera for performing vehicle stunts or driving on near vertical surfaces (particularly with Top Level Agency SUV or new Peacekeeper Buggy). Also vertigo-inducing tweaks for those long leaps of faith.

Player to player precision shots: We’ve dropped the PvP lock-on but now another agent can be hit with a head or leg shot using normal targeting.

“Free-For-All Pack” Free Downloadable Content:

Keys to the City: The ultimate Cheat Mode! Enter this mirror of the main Campaign for a clean-slate game that can be fully exploited and customized for a single play session.

(Note: Achievements and leaderboards will be disabled in this mode)


Build a pile of 100 explosive drums at the top of the Agency Tower – then let it rip!
Spawn a ramp truck anywhere, and it’ll stay there
Create an agency vehicle or one of the new Peacekeeper vehicles any time, any place
Players can set character skills however they want them, or just activate the accelerated skill leveling feature (“Crackdown” demo anyone?)
Check out “Super Agent Agility” to jump ridiculous distances, swim faster than a torpedo and sprint faster than a speeding bullet (almost)
Try the “Super Agent Strength” to toss a truck with deadly accuracy further than ever dreamt. Boot enemies into the stratosphere!
Get the most out of the exciting selection of new weaponry by activating infinite ammo. Max out the selection at each supply point too!
Do all of this without skipping a beat of the action – the pop-up cheat menu is always available during play without pausing the game

Vehicle Impounding: The Agency Garage has been given an overhaul; this was partly to accommodate the brand new Peacekeeper Vehicles, but also to allow Agents to impound their favorites so that they’re always available…in their preferred color.


Impounding is simple: commandeer the vehicle and return it to the garage
Vehicles that aren’t yet impounded are displayed as feint images, so players can see at a glance what’s missing from their collection
The “Confiscator” achievement awaits those who simply had to catch ‘em all

Co-op Trophy sequences: A trophy emblazoned with my gamertag that is displayed for me and my opponent every time I win at the existing game types!? Yes please! Psychotic Mission Trials


A record is now kept of Time Trials completed at “Psychotic” difficulty
Scoring the maximum 21/21 isn’t just the ultimate challenge that every true Agent of Justice should have the stones to take on, but it’s also the only way to unlock the highly coveted “Psych Out” Achievement

“Getting’ Busy Bonus Pack” Premium Downloadable Content:

New Vehicles:

Agency Patrol Buggy:


Double wishbone suspension absorbs the bumps in spectacular fashion
Rides over anything – even when scaling near vertical surfaces
Insane air control
Roof mounted, independently aiming mini-gun activated with either “B” or “Left Bumper”


Agency Pursuit Vehicle:


Ridiculously powerful mono-cockpit race car
Acceleration that blows away everything else in the city
Incredible grip and top speed
Those road race leaderboard times are set to tumble!


Agency Armored Vehicle:


Like the Agency Truck, the AAV can smash through barricades with ease
Tank-like in design, occupants are completely protected from assault
Surprisingly fast and agile for its size
Rockets fired from independently aiming main turret with either “B” or “Left Bumper”

Street Racing: Pacific City is finally free from crime. Agency activity is once again concealed behind closed doors. The remaining peacekeepers, having very little to do, quickly grew restless. To satisfy their lingering lust for danger, high risk Street Racing tournaments have been established across the city.


Compete in six different on and off road races across the city
6 radically different vehicle options per circuit
Race against up to 11 other “do or die” opponents, including another player over XBL
Compare fastest race times as well as race wins for that session with your co-op “buddy”
Players can post their fastest time per circuit to the online leaderboards
Take advantage of the world of “Crackdown” to win by any means necessary: create road blocks, hit gas tanks, or simply slam opponents into submission


New Equipment

MSK Lobber


Mini rockets are thrown out from the rotating muzzle section before their boosters ignite and swarm towards their target.
The homing mini-rockets are incredibly agile making this the ultimate fire-and-forget weapon

EX1 “Proximity Charge”


Similar to the standard issue “Limpet Charge,” these can be attached to any surface.
A visible local field is generated when the charge is set. Enemy penetration of this field will result in detonation
In a bid to reduce the extensive civilian casualties lying in the wake of any crime fighting Agent, intelligent threat-sensing technology prevents the charge from detonating when a firearm is not detected
Unfortunately the technology isn’t quite intelligent enough to prevent detonation due to field penetration by another Agent


HRX “Harpoon”


A powerful gas powered mechanism capable of launching a deadly, razor-sharp spear over large distances with incredible accuracy
Can be used to ensure enemies “stick around” when players need them to, or to attach perps to their vehicle if they need to take them downtown…or around town


MZ360 “Mini-Gun”


The ultimate fast-firing projectile weapon
“Spin-up” to full fire rate takes some time, but the devastation is incredible
Comes with a bountiful supply of high-caliber ammunition


VS1 “Cloaking Device”


The perfect device for the Agent that likes his action served psychotic, or for anyone that just needs to get under the radar from time to time
Renders the player barely visible and off radar
The VS1 is fuelled by Agency suit armor; when depleted an Agent can find themselves distressingly vulnerable

New Game Types

Max-Agility Rooftop Races


Compete solo or with two players in races across the city rooftops
Nine new races in total, each with its own solo & co-op leaderboards
Four are with Los Muertos, three with The Volk, and The Shai-Gen play host to the remaining two
And no, gamers won’t need to complete these too for the existing “Over Our Heads” Achievement!


Stockpile


Each district (including Agency Island) hosts a Stockpile game – clearly identified with its unique beacon
Stockpile can be played solo or in co-op
The aim is to collect all the game specific orbs (also marked on the tracker) in the fastest time
Best times are uploaded to the online leaderboards
Two players can work co-operatively to find all the orbs in the fastest possible time, or simply compete for the highest score when the time runs out
In the case of competitive play, it doesn’t always pay to do the grunt work of collection; when an Agent is killed he drops a third of his spoils


Checkpoint Chase


A highly addictive two-player competitive game that makes the very most of the world of “Crackdown”
The game can only be initiated in one place – the Agency Garage
A random target destination is identified somewhere on the city, but is only marked on the tracker (not the map)
The first person to reach the destination gains a point and activates the next checkpoint
The winner is the first to 10 points
Other than that, Checkpoint Chase has no rules!

Rocket Tag


 The ultimate competitive combat event!  Each of the 21 gang boss lairs now also plays host to a game of Rocket Tag  When the game is activated the players are randomly assigned as “hunter” and “hunted”  The hunter has a straight-shootin’ “Hotshot” rocket launcher…and more ammo than he could ever need!  The hunted has…a pistol  To win, the hunted player must avoid being caught in the blast of the rocket launcher for 60 seconds. Simple!


NOTE: Gamers can essentially “try before you buy” by partnering cooperatively with another player that has purchased the “Getting’ Busy Bonus Pack”. This will give both players full access to pack’s goodies, for that session. Trust us when we say that once you sample the fun of this pack, you’ll want to “Get Busy” every time!


Achievements:

The new content brings with it seven new achievements (taking the overall total to a nice round 50). Let’s get one thing straight, nobody’s paying for the 100 points that were missing from the original game – and in fact we’re repaying that debt with some serious interest! In total the download pack unlocks a whopping 350 gamerscore!

Confiscator *


Impound all the chosen vehicles and store them in the Agency Garage
40 Gamerscore


Psych Out *


Complete all Time Trial missions at the Psychotic Difficulty level
100 Gamerscore


Stockpile Supreme **


Complete any Stockpile mini-game in less than 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
10 Gamerscore


Flippin' Crazy **


Complete three flips of any type in a single jump in any vehicle
20 Gamerscore


Body Armor **


Use the Harpoon gun to attach five corpses to a single vehicle
10 Gamerscore


Street Racer ***


Win all Street Races using any vehicle
20 Gamerscore


Street Racer Elite ***


Win all Street Races using all available vehicles
150 Gamerscore


* Available with Free DLC
** Available when one player has Premium DLC
*** Available only with Premium DLC

Cracky Goodness

Our quick preview didn’t reveal all of what is in this massive update and DLC pack, but what we did see was mind blowing to say the least. The “Keys to the City” is an amazing free upgrade that should make Crackdown an even better platform for creating wild YouTube-style video shorts. More super super agents, instant spawning of items and infinite ammo is a cheater’s dream. Keys mode can be entered and exited at the gamer’s leisure as well, thus keeping the original game intact if so desired.

The new weapons are winners as well. Each one was demonstrated for us, with each having more strengths than weaknesses. The lobber is fun because of the sheer rate of fire and the homing capabilities of each charge. Proximity charges can be artfully used as a safety halo since enemy activity sets them ablaze. The Mini-Gun takes a while to get to speed, but quickly becomes the highest rate of fire weapon in the Crackdown universe. There’s also a defensive-style weapon in the cloaking device which pays obvious dividends in all mission aspects.

But it was the Harpoon Gun that really caught our eye. Harkening back to Painkiller: Hell Wars, Crackdown’s Harpoon Gun can affix any enemy to any surface in the game. This includes buildings, and more importantly vehicles. In fact, stapling foes to vehicles is an Achievement since it’s so darn fun, especially when said vehicles start to drive away with their new “cargo”.

You could call us impressed with the Premium pack’s new vehicles too. The AAV is a sheer brute, and its rocket clusters pack quite a punch. The Agency Powered supercar is the exotic of the Crackdown universe, with blinding speed and grip to boot. But we really liked the dune buggy the best, as it was designed for stunts and has a knack for climbing vertically. The buggy is also amazingly rendered, with the exposed dampers and engine animated beautifully.

We would have loved to have gotten our hands on the new content, but we had to satisfy for an unbelievable demo by one of Crackdown’s testers. The non-pay DLC is a no-brainer of course and impressive in itself. You’d be silly not to nab the pay material though, as it is just as exquisite as the freebie DLC, and holds with it some exclusive Achievement points. Heck, you can even try the pay stuff out for free if a co-op partner has it. But you may as well just buck up, as this content appears commensurate with the quality that made Crackdown a hit in the first place.
SOAPboy
Posts: 8268
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2003 7:00 am

Post by SOAPboy »

Holy..

Shit..


Glad i still have crackdown.
User avatar
MKJ
Posts: 32582
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2000 8:00 am

Post by MKJ »

o'dium
Posts: 11712
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2001 8:00 am

Post by o'dium »

Worth the price alone:

Image
User avatar
MKJ
Posts: 32582
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2000 8:00 am

Post by MKJ »

fucking hell. you can join someone who has bought the new content without having to buy in yourself. that fucking owns

edit: no 4 player coop though :(
o'dium
Posts: 11712
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2001 8:00 am

Post by o'dium »

MKJ wrote:fucking hell. you can join someone who has bought the new content without having to buy in yourself. that fucking owns

edit: no 4 player coop though :(
Lack of 4 player coops is a bit of a bum, they added more than 4 players to the other modes so it must be possible...?

But hell, with a list this big, I cant complain. Unlocking all the gangs again will really help. I could probably do them all in an hour with my maxed out agent, and that would give me the "kill all gangs with a partner" achievement.

That, and I'm only missing a couple of the blue hidden orbs, which they will now be much much louder, means I should find them easier.

This is how updates should be done. And I love the way they tell us all about it just a week after we paid the same price for FOUR MP maps on gears. lol, have that.
Last edited by o'dium on Thu May 10, 2007 11:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
MKJ
Posts: 32582
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2000 8:00 am

Post by MKJ »

I think it's safe to say that RTW just owned XBL.
cant wait!
bitWISE
Posts: 10704
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 1999 8:00 am

Post by bitWISE »

I may have to get this.
+JuggerNaut+
Posts: 22175
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2001 7:00 am

Post by +JuggerNaut+ »

wasn't this the game that included the halo beta invite? mostly you guys came with a "meh" for this game when you got it. now it has all of this going for it. seems like they didn't get it right the first time. now they're getting huge praise from the community? eh?
User avatar
MKJ
Posts: 32582
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2000 8:00 am

Post by MKJ »

general q3w consensus about this game is "r0x0r :eek: ". dont know what youre talking about sir :)
+JuggerNaut+
Posts: 22175
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2001 7:00 am

Post by +JuggerNaut+ »

k. may have been another site.
o'dium
Posts: 11712
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2001 8:00 am

Post by o'dium »

+JuggerNaut+ wrote:wasn't this the game that included the halo beta invite? mostly you guys came with a "meh" for this game when you got it. now it has all of this going for it. seems like they didn't get it right the first time. now they're getting huge praise from the community? eh?
There were a few people here who didn't like it, most of us did however.

The main gripe with the game was that if you didn't have friends, you may be buggered, as the best part of the game is going online with a buddy to do coop shizznits.

Now, they have fixed up MORE for single players, and expanded even more for coop goers.

Not to mention only one of you needs to buy the content now, because the other can join in for free and still play, which is awesome.
User avatar
MKJ
Posts: 32582
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2000 8:00 am

Post by MKJ »

wait, according to the press release this will be downloadable Today? :o
o'dium
Posts: 11712
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2001 8:00 am

Post by o'dium »

MKJ wrote:wait, according to the press release this will be downloadable Today? :o
Fuck off. I'm going out tonight.

Better not be :|

Either way as long as its before Halo 3 I'm golden. However that said I doubt I'll play Halo 3 online that much, it just looks like Halo 2 from what I've seen so far...
xer0s
Posts: 12446
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2001 8:00 am

Post by xer0s »

How much is this update gonna cost me?
o'dium
Posts: 11712
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2001 8:00 am

Post by o'dium »

xer0s wrote:How much is this update gonna cost me?
Some of it is an update.

Some of it is a FREE expansion.

And some of it is paid expansion. (800points possibly).

Keep in mind that Epic charged 800 points for FOUR maps last week, and this is far more content...
User avatar
MKJ
Posts: 32582
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2000 8:00 am

Post by MKJ »

just loaded up the game. theres an update, but its not this one.

prolly "tonite", yank time. so thats tomorrow for us :(
User avatar
Transient
Posts: 11357
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2001 8:00 am

Post by Transient »

+JuggerNaut+ wrote:wasn't this the game that included the halo beta invite? mostly you guys came with a "meh" for this game when you got it. now it has all of this going for it. seems like they didn't get it right the first time. now they're getting huge praise from the community? eh?
I was one of those "meh" people. The game's fun for a while, but there wasn't any replayability. These downloads will certainly pique my interest, however.
User avatar
MKJ
Posts: 32582
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2000 8:00 am

Post by MKJ »

lol, its being updated *right* now. my achievements list went up 3 at a time. content not yet downloadable though, but it cant be far off now.
My Gamer Card wrote: 710 of 1250
38 of 50 Achievements
edit: xbox.com updated. still now downloadable though
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/marketpl ... mpSrc=Home
xer0s
Posts: 12446
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2001 8:00 am

Post by xer0s »

Where is this update already...
i think i am
Posts: 224
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 3:33 am

Post by i think i am »

It really needs this. I only bought this game for halo, the game it self was really gay
User avatar
Transient
Posts: 11357
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2001 8:00 am

Post by Transient »

xer0s wrote:Where is this update already...
Yea, I haven't seen anything yet myself. No automatic update, nothing on the marketplace...
xer0s
Posts: 12446
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2001 8:00 am

Post by xer0s »

I can't be arsed to check my 360. Is this up yet or no?
User avatar
Transient
Posts: 11357
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2001 8:00 am

Post by Transient »

No.

No automatic update when I start the game, nothing in the Download tab of the main game menu (aside from the 4 agents download and the grayed-out Halo 3 beta), and nothing in the Marketplace.
Last edited by Transient on Fri May 11, 2007 5:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
xer0s
Posts: 12446
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2001 8:00 am

Post by xer0s »

Fuckle.
Post Reply