The Podcats: Compulsion
Today, we talk compulsions in gaming- addictions, achievement/trophy whoring and piles of shame
Picture: My place before Kinect and Move
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Review: Crackdown 2
Reviewed on Xbox 360. Developed by Ruffian. Published by Microsoft.
The tale of the making of this game is a saga in it’s own right. The first Crackdown came out in in mid 2007 bundled with the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. Once the beta was over, some of those people actually tried the game and found they had a fun superhero game rather than just a lukewarm open-world cop game promised by the demo. Demand for the game, driven initially by the Halo 3 beta, kept ticking over and the game eventually sold over 1.5 million copies. Of course, this slow burn meant Crackdown developers Real-Time Worlds moved on to APB (and their eventual demise) and a new studio, Ruffian, was set up to make a sequel. Ruffian, located close to RTW isn Dundee in Scotland, hired several ex-RTW staffers to quickly make the DLC mission pack re-skin expansion pack full priced sequel.
At the end of the original game, there was a twist (of sorts) but here we are back in the same Pacific City ten years later. In the years since you cleaned out the three gangs terrorising theplace, a resistance group called The Cell have taken over large chunks of the city, broadcasting propaganda and shooting at you as you go about running your agility orb collection business. Also, a plague has created the zombie-like Freaks that swarm the city during night time hours. You play as a new agent backed up by the dulcet tones of Crackdown Guy (he also plays almost the same role in Red Faction: Guerrilla) whose job is to clear up Pacific City. Again.
Like the first game, you have 500 agility orbs to collect and can level up other stats by driving, using melee attacks, etc. There are also the rooftop races and car races to help with stat-building. Later on your agent can even glide and this ability can be levelled up by glider races where you fly through rings. Crackdown was one of those games that catered to OCD by having 500 agility orbs to collect. CD2, whilst being a decent open-world game, is also a decent collectathon if you so wish. There’s the agility orbs, online only co-op orbs, hidden orbs and, in taking ironically a pointer from inFamous, audio logs which flesh out the fiction of Pacific City. There are types of renegade orbs, which are orbs that move away from you forcing you chase after them if you want to collect them.
Instead of the three gangs whose bosses you are looking to take down, you have the Freaks and the Cell. The Cell are in charge during the day and Freaks play after dark and the game is structured so you take on both. The cure for the freaks is Project Sunburst, which involves you powering up the network of nodes in each area so that you can enter a Freak lair (typically underground) and face the horde whilst a power beacon (think EMP for Freaks) charges up. If both the beacon and your agent survive the onslaught, the resulting flash will instantly obliterate all traces of Freakdom in the area. You also have to face off against the Cell in their strongholds which amounts to killing x number of enemies without moving too far from the start point. This is the main point of differentiation between the original game and the sequel and it’s one area where the original way is best. You don’t get that element of working your way towards the boss at any stage and the game doesn’t really give you many clues as to your progress without digging around in the menus.
You can upgrade weapons by picking them up from fallen foes and calling in a chopper to save (the closest thing to the safehouses from the original game), and you can do likewise with vehicles. I barely bothered with cars, something I always liked about Crackdown, since the cars aren’t necessary to beat the game, that’s just how I roll. On foot. There’s the assortment of assault rifles, shotguns and machine guns with a few grenade/ rocket launcher weapons as well as standard grenades and mines. There’s also the UV shotgun, harmless to humans, but devastating to Freaks but even better is the harpoon/crossbow which shoots a lethal metal bolt at your foes. There are also mounted turrets around the place you can detach and become walking artillery shooting up the place like something out of a Sam Peckinpah film. Also of note- collateral damage is not something you’re going to find easy to avoid. Just take Crackdown Guy’s remonstrations in your stride. By the end of the game, you will have no choice but to use Rocket Launchers to clear out Cell strongholds and any civvies or peacekeepers who get too close will just have to die. It’s the price of cleaning up the city.
GTAIII and GTAIV are both set in something called Liberty City but they feature different takes on the same place. Pacific City is the same in both CD games, just that in CD2- it’s a little more rundown. Buildings that housed massive gang hideouts are now nearly derelict and it’s kind of cool to see how things have changed. But if you’re someone who’s run through the original more than once (or even just recently), you might find the similarities a bit of a cheat. It doesn’t feel like it’s the same game but it doesn’t feel like a full sequel, more an expansion pack using the same code and assets as the original. It’s not worse than the original, but it does lack that wow that many felt after getting into the original back in 2007.
There’s a strong co-op component to the game- evidenced by the co-op orbs around the place. I found Cameron’s story where, after having just started to play the game he went online and some stranger who was able to get to the final level joined the game and finished Cam’s game for him. I actually find that a good reason for changing your online options to friends only.
The graphics are still in Crackdown’s cel shaded style but the overall look is slightly dated. In it’s favor is the sweeping vistas the game offers when you can literally see forever. Things run at a stable clip and I only once noticed some slowdown in proceedings (others have had it worse). The sound is the same quality as the first game, which is to say, very good. I did, however, find Crackdown guy to be rather verbose this time around. Funnier, but sometimes he just won’t SFTU. He’s also got a bit of a potty mouth this time around, which is fun. The Audio Logs you collect are nice because they give the game some more voices to listen to. Sure, the crowds can get quite chatty, but for the most part you want to hear more than Crackdown Guy talk about online orbs.
Overall it’s fun package and should give you at least 12 hours of fun, which is a decent amount. I say if you like open world games, you’d like Crackdown 2. It’s not an essential game that you simply must play but it is a good one.
Controller1.com rating 2/3
(1/3 if you fear deja vu or 3/3 if you have more than one Commodore 64 in your cupboard)
NOW PLAYING: Left 4 Dead 2, Crackdown 2, GTA IV
So after a work-induced week away from gaming last week, I’m back into it. And by it, I mean Crackdown 2.
There’s something about the game that isn’t gelling with me. It’s either open-world fatigue after Just Cause 2, Saboteur, Assassin’s Creed 2, Borderlands, etc or it’s just a little lacklustre compared to the original. For me it’s not the similarity to the original, it’s the lack of similarity that gets me. I loved having to work my way through the waves of gang members before attacking the boss in the original and here, the ‘enhancements’ aren’t as much fun. The games’ fun, it’s just not as compelling. I’m a fair way through the game and fully intend on finishing it soon (certainly before Halo Reach), but I’m not getting the urge to play in the morning before work (my metric for HOLY FUCK THIS GAME IS AWESOME).
I live in Australia and of course, aren’t able to buy the same version of Left 4 Dead 2 as the rest of the world due to classifications issues. A friend gifted it to me after it was more or less being given away by Valve in a sale. I mean they almost paid me to download this game. Somehow receiving the game from someone with a US account means you can DL the normal version in Australia and play it without Zombies disappearing before your eyes.
It’s also a case of too little to add to the first game and I do agree with the critics of L4D’s releases so soon after the original- apart from a few enhancements- why wasn’t this DLC or an expansion like HL2 episodes? The new crew don’t have as much charisma as the original crew and yada yada yada.
Grumpy George continues grumpily with a some Grumpy Theft Auto IV. I’ve perhaps played 90 minutes of the PC version multiplayer- and seem to play once every few weeks. I like a bit of structure. this has none. There are several modes and for some reason they always end up with everyone having Bazookas or Helicopters, even if it’s a race.
So two weeks before Halo: Reach and I’d loooove to play some Halo 3 or ODST in the meantime. Approximately two weeks after H:R turns up, I’m off overseas for a few weeks so chances are I won’t feel like playing Halo when i get back. When you were a kid, did you ever have this thing that any fads or lunchtime activities would always be bookended by holidays? In Year 6 Term 2, everyone was into Marbles but gave up in Term 3. In Year 9, everyone was playing cards on the bus after Easter but that stopped the next holidays.
I therefore expect two weeks of concentrated Halo Reach from mid September. If you hate Halo, this site might be one to avoid till October.
Favourite Videogame Soundtracks pt 1
Today, I’d like to share with you some of my favourite Videogame Soundtracks for a generation of gamers who think the answer has either Band, Hero or Singstar in the title.
Some of these are title tracks that you hear every time you boot up the game and some from early levels that you play over and over. Familiarity may be a big part of why everyone loves them but they have to be good to start with.
First up is Jet Set Radio (AKA Jet Grind Radio)
Jet Set Radio burst forth in 1999 with it’s infectious mix of remixes and Japanese Electronica. Whilst the sequel has has good tunes in its own right, it’s the original that still sounds the business. The game itself is great but it’s the soundtrack that stands the test of time long after the disc has gathered a think layer of dust.
Medal of Honor
Michael Giaccino (who did ALIAS, Lost, Star Trek, etc) contributed one of the finest WWII themes ever and every time you watch Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan, you wish it had this music appended to it. It’s not just the fabulous theme tunes, but the soundtrack is so old skool you, you can see yourself standing dazed on the beaches of Normandy, looking for your arm.
Next up is the Metal Gear Solid soundtracks
The music for the various iterations has been handled by several of Konami’s internal artists with many of the later games using Harry Gregson-Williams, a respected action-movie composer. The original theme tune is still my favourite though it similarity to a traditional Russian piece of music has meant it is MIA from MGS4.
Donkey Kong Country
Rare appears on lists of best music rather more than they do on lists of best games. But their back catalogue is spectacular. I love the main DK theme but it’s actually the first level music I like the most (mainly from its use in DK64)
Duke Nukem
This is the Megadeth version of the theme tune. Sometimes I find the best way to find out how good an 8bit song is to see if people can update with modern synths/real instruments and not sound worse. This is one case where the original was attempting something very particular with limited hardware.
Guitaroo Man
Catchy as all fuck. Like syphillus in a Bangkok brothel.
Banjo Kazooie
Rare again. About the only thing I liked about Nuts and Bolts was the way the music was redone without the limitations of system memory and MIDI.
Katamari Damacy
This tune brings a smile on my dial whenever I hear it. The game may have gone from masterful to just meh but this music is fantastic. I will never buy a J Pop album but these songs are tempting.
Voodoo Vince
What? Well Voodoo Vince was a decent platformer from Microsoft for the original Xbox with a beautiful New-Orleans style jazz soundtrack. I don’t normally like New-Orleans style jazz soundtracks but this a good ‘un.
Still Alive (Portal)
Big shock this is here. I also like the theme music from TF2 despite despising the game.
No One Lives Forever
so TF2 shows I like faux 60′s spy themes. Sue me.
In the same vein- Space Channel 5
It’s actually remixed 1000 times in Space Channel 5, but Mexican Flyer is by Ken Woodman and His Piccadilly Brass circa 1966.
And how could you not have:
Samba De Amigo
This kind of breaks the rule but I like how music in games can make you like something you previously hated. I despised Samba De Janeiro when it was a huge summer hit in Europe around 97/98. yet I liked it when it was on the Dreamcast. I’d never listen to Offspring, but I can’t image Crazy Taxi without them. And I can’t play Tony Hawk 1 or 2 without those songs.
Yes, I also love Mario and Zelda tunes, but you’ve heard them all a million times anyway. We’ll hear from Cameron in time when he shares his picks. That will be in about two months time once we finish swapping floppies
The Podcats: A Ranting Show About Nothing
I lost my internet this week and I thought it would make for an interesting show. Thought wrong but here it is anyway. We talk Kinect/Move pricing as well and some future stuff.
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