''Crackdown 3'' is an
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
Sumo Digital
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
and published by
Microsoft Studios
Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...
for
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
. It continues the series nearly nine years after the release of 2010's
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
video game ''
Crackdown 2
''Crackdown 2'' is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Ruffian Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on Xbox 360 in July 2010 and is a direct sequel to the 2007 video game '' Crackdown''. A sequel, '' ...
''. Originally set to be released in 2016, the game was delayed a number of times. The game was released on 15 February 2019 and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the return of its core features from its predecessors and level of enjoyment, but was also criticized for a lack of innovation and dated design.
Gameplay
''Crackdown 3'' retains the core gameplay of ''
Crackdown
Crackdown may refer to
* ''Crackdown'' (web series)
* ''Crackdown'' (video game series)
** ''Crackdown'' (video game)
** ''Crackdown 2
''Crackdown 2'' is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Ruffian Games and published by ...
'' and ''
Crackdown 2
''Crackdown 2'' is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Ruffian Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on Xbox 360 in July 2010 and is a direct sequel to the 2007 video game '' Crackdown''. A sequel, '' ...
'', featuring a number of different organizations controlling the city of New Providence that players need to take down by killing their bosses and Kingpins, destroying their facilities, and destabilizing their infrastructures. Players can use a variety of weapons to achieve this end, from guns to grenades to rocket launchers, as well as their own physical power. Players can also drive any vehicle found in-game. Picking up a new weapon or driving a new vehicle for the first time will add it to the player's collection at any supply point. The game features the "Skills for Kills" system as found in previous games, in which killing enemies with different tools and finding pickups hidden throughout the city award the player with orbs, which increase the player's core skills – agility, firearms, strength, explosives, and driving. Each time a skill levels up, the player unlocks an additional maneuver or item related to that skill, such as ground-pounding by leveling up strength, or double-jumping by leveling up agility. Agility Orbs, Rooftop Races, Driving Rings, and Road Races are also located throughout the city, all of which will increase the related skill upon collection or completion; Hidden Orbs can be found as well, and will increase all of the player's skills at once.
Different activities are connected to different bosses and underbosses; completing these activities, such as destroying vehicle lockups, liberating monorail stations, and destroying machinery, allows the player to acquire more intel on each boss, and the boss location is revealed on the map once enough intel has been collected. The boss of each branch of TerraNova controls a certain element of defense for the final boss, and killing each of them weakens an aspect of the final boss's fortress. However, causing a certain level of chaos towards one branch of the organization will send more and more reinforcements from that branch as the player's heat level increases, and being at the highest level for too long can result in a city-wide lockdown, forcing the player to kill a certain number of reinforcements to lift it and access their supply points again.
''Crackdown 3'' features cooperative play in both campaign mode and Keys to the City mode, which allows free roam throughout New Providence.
''Crackdown 3: Wrecking Zone''
Another new element to the series is the inclusion of destructible environments in a competitive multiplayer mode, ''Wrecking Zone'', in which nearly the entire map is destructible. However, the mode was quickly abandoned. ''Wrecking Zone'' has since been described as "dead".
Plot
Ten years after the events of ''
Crackdown 2
''Crackdown 2'' is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Ruffian Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on Xbox 360 in July 2010 and is a direct sequel to the 2007 video game '' Crackdown''. A sequel, '' ...
'', a massive terrorist attack from an unknown source cuts electrical power around the entire world. The Agency is thrust back into action after the attack is traced to the city of New Providence, controlled by the mysterious but sinister corporation TerraNova, led by Elizbeth Niemand; New Providence is the only city that still has power. The player characters - super-powered Agents - are called into the field by Agency Director Charles Goodwin (
Michael McConnohie
Michael McConnohie is an American voice actor, writer and director who has provided many voice roles in movies, anime, and video games. He and fellow actress Melodee Spevack run a production company called VoxWorks. Some of his major works includ ...
) and led by Commander Isaiah Jaxon (
Terry Crews
Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former American footballer. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/ CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords in ...
) to drop into New Providence and dismantle Terra Nova any way they can.
As Jaxon briefs the agents of their mission, their drop ship is attacked by TerraNova, resulting in the deaths of everyone on board.
Echo, a member of the New Providence rebel group known as the Militia, recovers the remains of one of the agents and regenerates them. Heavily outnumbered by TerraNova’s forces, Echo enlists the agent's help in fighting back by dismantling TerraNova's infrastructure - Logistics, Science, and Enforcement. As the agent fights TerraNova, they discover that the Science branch of TerraNova has been mining a mysterious green mineral called Chimera, which Goodwin deduces is responsible for the power outage - Chimera reportedly consumes electrical power. The agent also investigates the mysterious disappearance of many New Providence citizens, discovering they have been kidnapped by TerraNova in an attempt to brainwash and create an army of genetically enhanced super-soldiers. Audio logs found throughout the game allow the agent to learn the existence of an anonymous client who reportedly paid TerraNova to perform there
Eventually, the agent assaults Elizabeth Niemand's tower and ascends to the top, where they confront Niemand, who is piloting a massive Chimera-powered dragon mech; Neimand states her desire to use the Vitalis project to make herself immortal. The agent destroys the dragon mech, killing Niemand. In the aftermath, Goodwin offers Echo a position at the Agency, which she accepts. An agent's severed arm suspended in a Vitalis tank is then seen as the voice of the anonymous client addresses the agent, stating that the Agent is the end of the evolution of Chimera.
Development
''Crackdown 3'' was announced at Microsoft's press conference at the
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014 (E3 2014) was the 20th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 10, 2014, and ended on June 12, 2014, with 48,900 total attendees.
...
in June 2014, as an
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
exclusive. While the game was still at an early stage at the time of its reveal, Microsoft's
Phil Spencer said that the title came about from talks with
Dave Jones who, after leaving
Realtime Worlds
Realtime Worlds Ltd. was a British video game developer based in Dundee, Scotland. The company was founded by David Jones in 2002. After developing ''Crackdown'' (2007) and '' APB: All Points Bulletin'' (2009), Realtime Worlds filed for admini ...
, joined
Cloudgine
Cloudgine Limited was a British video game developer based in Edinburgh. Founded in 2012 by Dave Jones, it focuses on cloud technologies for video games. It was acquired by Epic Games in 2018 and integrated.
History
Cloudgine was founded ...
, a software company that is developing technology allowing game developers to take advantage of
cloud computing
Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage ( cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over mul ...
features. Cloudgine had been previously rumored to be a core part of the Xbox One software, with their software used in a technology demonstration at a Microsoft developer's conference in April 2014, demonstrating the use of cloud computing to speed up the physics modeling and rendering in a fully destructible city environment. Spencer revealed that the demo world was the start of this newest ''Crackdown'' title, with ability to destroy any part of the city expected to be carried over to the final game.
According to Spencer, Cloudgine would help to develop the core engine, while Reagent Games, a studio located in close proximity to Cloudgine also founded by Jones, would develop the gameplay and art assets for the game, with
Sumo Digital
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
developing the game's campaign mode and ''
Crackdown 2
''Crackdown 2'' is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Ruffian Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on Xbox 360 in July 2010 and is a direct sequel to the 2007 video game '' Crackdown''. A sequel, '' ...
'' developers
Ruffian Games
Rockstar Dundee Limited (formerly Ruffian Games Limited) is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Dundee. The studio is best known for developing ''Crackdown 2''.
Gary Liddon, Billy Thomson, and Gareth Noyce ...
(credited as "Elbow Rocket") developing the multiplayer.
Microsoft Studios' creative director Ken Lobb asserted that the game would only be called ''Crackdown'' instead of ''Crackdown 3'', stating that the game is set in the future of the first game but represents an alternate timeline from what ''Crackdown 2'' provided.
The game was officially revealed as ''Crackdown 3'' during Microsoft's
Gamescom
Gamescom (stylized as gamescom) is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since 2018, it has been organised by ''game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche'' (English: Associa ...
2015 press conference on 4 August 2015. The focus on cloud-powered real time destruction was first demonstrated there, and Jones stated that Microsoft's cloud computing technology provides twenty times more power than playing the game on a single Xbox One console. Because of the game's reliance to
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure, often referred to as Azure ( , ), is a cloud computing platform operated by Microsoft for application management via around the world-distributed data centers. Microsoft Azure has multiple capabilities such as software as a ...
for destruction engine, the full scale destruction will only be available in the game's online multiplayer modes, while campaign mode, regardless of number of players, will only have access to limited degree of destruction.
In January 2018,
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents' house in Potomac, M ...
acquired Cloudgine, and with that, Jones left Reagent to join Epic Games. ''
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
'' reported at the same time that several Reagent programmers also left to go to Epic. During an interview at
E3 2018
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 (E3 2018) was the 24th E3, during which hardware manufacturers, software developers, and publishers from the video game industry presented new and upcoming products to the attendees, primarily retailers a ...
, Microsoft Studio's Matt Booty stated that Sumo Digital was now the principal developer on ''Crackdown 3''. Jones confirmed that in terms of development, Sumo Digital had always been the principal developer for the game; Cloudgine was there to help support cloud computing, with Reagent established as a consulting firm to allow Jones to help Sumo determine the direction to take ''Crackdown 3''. Jones did not believe there was any stumbling blocks due with Cloudgine, Reagent, or himself leaving the development at that point, since they had done what they had needed for cloud computing support, and considered that now, "it's just the technology stack, it's pretty straightforward" for Sumo to complete. Despite their departures during development, both Cloudgine and Reagent were still credited in the game's packaging and on the end credits.
The game uses
Unreal Engine 4
Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter game ''Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genre ...
and features a
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...
soundtrack.
Delays
''Crackdown 3'' was set to be released worldwide in 2016, which was changed to 7 November 2017 simultaneously with the
Xbox One X
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, but another delay was announced on 16 August 2017, moving the release back to an unspecified Q2/Q3 2018 date. In June 2018, the game was confirmed to be delayed again, pushing back to February 2019.
Reception
''Crackdown 3'' received "mixed or average" reviews, according to
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
.
''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' noted the lack of innovation stating, "''Crackdown 3'' delivers on what made the original an enjoyable game, but never much more."
''
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
' ...
'' was also disappointed with the evolution of the series and wrote, "''Crackdown 3'' is a good ''
Crackdown
Crackdown may refer to
* ''Crackdown'' (web series)
* ''Crackdown'' (video game series)
** ''Crackdown'' (video game)
** ''Crackdown 2
''Crackdown 2'' is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Ruffian Games and published by ...
'' game, which, unfortunately, doesn't mean much anymore. Modern game design has surpassed the Crackdown model by leaps and bounds".
''
EGMNow
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' wrote of the game, "It’s a blast when you just feel like zoning out, hunting orbs, jumping across rooftops, and blowing up bad guys" and closed by saying, "It’s good, solid fun, but it’s not going to completely revolutionize the industry."
''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' wrote, "''Crackdown 3'' comes along 12 years after ''Crackdown'' but without 12 years' worth of new ideas to share" and finished by saying, "It's an OK game that could've been exciting a decade ago."
''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' referred to ''Crackdown 3'' as "the
Netflix Original
Netflix is an American global Internet streaming-on-demand media provider that has distributed a number of original streaming television shows, including original series, specials, miniseries, and documentaries and films. Netflix's original pro ...
of games", by stating: "You know when there’s a show you really like, but then it dips in quality and eventually gets canceled, and the creators say they want to make a new season someday or maybe a remake, but it’s stuck in production hell for several years, then Netflix or whoever sinks a bunch of money into it, and it eventually gets released and it’s not quite as good as you remember the original, but it’s still pretty entertaining and hey, you’re paying for Netflix anyway so you’re not going to complain about getting it for 'free?' That’s ''Crackdown 3''. It is video game as Netflix Original."
Notes
References
External links
*
*
''Crackdown 3'' at MobyGames.com
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