Crackdown 3: Less Than it Was Meant to Be, but Still Stupid Fun - Variety

Crackdown 3 is the ‘Sharknado’ of video games.

That’s how creative director Joseph Staten describes the game that has been plagued by three delays over five years since its E3 2014 announcement. After playing three hours of multiplayer and campaign, “Crackdown 3” is fun, but it might not live up to the switch-your-brain-off enjoyment of the “Sharknado” six-movie series.

[ArchangelMike]

"Less than it was supposed to be" is being disingenuous. It's a real shame that the gaming community has been fueled over the years by bullshots and hyperbole; the constant pixel counting for bragging rights has conditined the community to become hyper critical of games that come out. Gone are the days when it was simply the fun factor that mattered, more than the resolution or how many frames per second the game runs at.

Howerver I do think that developers need to stop showing pre-rendered trailers and "tech demo's" to sell a game. They should simply show raw gameplay footgate, and if the gameplay is not ready to be show - then franky don't show the game until it's ready. We wait 5 years and get nothing that was originally promised - it always ends in dissapointment.

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

It's MS..now look at sony whose games look as good as they reveal them with lots of in game gameplay (Often even better). Somehow Sony rarely gets credit for this. MS are pretty awful.

[slate91]

Lets not forget the white knight sony and their Killzone 2 trailer. Really can only say Nintendont do this.

[yomfweeee]

While Killzone 2 was downgraded... it was still one of the best looking games of that generation.

This game is terrible looking.

[spicelicka]

I don't remember Halo 5 being downgraded, or Halo Wars 2, or Forza 7, or Forza Horizon. In fact I don't recall any other MS games that look worse than reveals. You're trying really hard to impose credit on Sony, really everyone here is already quite happy with Sony and its exclusives, don't see the need to turn that up to a cringey level.

[TacoTaco]

Halo 5 even had split screen in the beta. That is the king of feature downgrades, taken away because they wanted 60fps at all costs. Then there are the Halo 3 vs 5 Explosion comparison gifs which speak enough by themselves.

[Lexreborn2]

@Slate91 Did you forget about the Zelda tech demo? Metroid Prime 4 early announce? Xenoblade Chronicles X? The Pokemon Stadium Wii differences? Nintendo are as guilty

[starchild]

Well, to be fair I never saw most people acting like Crackdown 3 would have cutting edge visuals. In fact, the overall mood I noticed among most Xbox gamers was one of a bit of skepticism and tempered expectations. I'm not saying that I saw nobody looking forward to the game, but I don't remember seeing many, if any, people hyping it up as a killer app with cutting edge visuals.

[rainslacker]

The downgrade in CD3 was the cloud destruction. Although, they did show better graphics in the original tech demo used to promote cloud destruction. It is true that Xbox gamers weren't hyping it up to be an amazing looking game, but MS did talk up the cloud destruction, and showed cloud destruction, which was better than what they ended up showing in recent game play reveals.

Not all downgrades have to be graphical, because graphics actually have improved since other game play demos. But, when the biggest selling feature of the game is downgraded, and the media doesn't call them out on it, and MS fan boys act like it isn't there, or act like they never hyped up the cloud destruction, or linked that early tech demo as proof of the cloud power, it does make people question if people are more interested in holding companies accountable, or if they're just interested in the console war.

[Ceaser9857361]

So Xbox fanboys are comparing last gen game downgrade with this gen game downgrade, though CD 3 was delayed for like 5 years now ... Anyways Pat yourselves guys...

[tontontam0]

XBOX FANBOYS: it's on gamepass so it is okay.

microsoft should just make mediocre games from now on, they don't have to waste tons of money to make aaa games as long as it is one gamepass xbox gamers are happy.

[King_Noctis]

Its not ok even if its on Gamepass. But most of us (the real fan that is) haven’t set our expectations high for this game either. The only people who make this game to be bigger than anything else is the fan from the other side, like yourself.

[IRetrouk]

Sorry noctis but Ms fans really did use the cloud and this game to hype both up, plenty of articles on this, the game and the cloud was what was going to turn the tides at one point, all you have to do is look over the old articles to see this, fast forward to today and suddenly it was never a big deal?? Why? Because the original promise is gone? Because the reveloutionary mp mode is not as promised?? Both were made a big deal of and as usual nothing like what was promised, nothing wrong with people calling it out.

[Rude-ro]

@King_Noctis
Who made this a big deal?
Microsoft. With trying to hint that it could bring 4K gaming to the Xbox one.. a console that can not even display 4K.
The 12x Xbox One etc trying to give hope to potential buyers.
You are confusing people who called out Microsoft for this bs vs the false hype Microsoft used.

[Baza]

I think they are already starting to do this

[Thundercat77]

Gamepass has become a garbage bin.

[tontontam0]

"But most of us (the real fan that is) haven’t set our expectations high for this game either."

That is really sad, you should switch to sony whenever an exclusive is announced we set our expectations really high.

[Sirk7x]

I think it's cool that it's coming to Game Pass. New games add value to the service. Am I incredibly excited for it? No, not really. I've definitely had my issues with MS the last couple years, but I am looking forward to where they're going to be in a couple more.

[rainslacker]

@Noctis

So, if I go through all the Xbox fan boys comment history on this site, I won't find them saying how cloud destruction is the future, or them linking that cloud destruction demo from way back when, or saying how cloud is the future, or talking about Drivatars, or talking about how cloud is amazing because of the AI on titanfall which couldn't be done without the cloud?

I have a feeling I probably could....particularly from a few individuals who are prone to such things.

I don't know how you felt about the game prior, but MS, and it's fans, have used this game as hype. Maybe the regular Xbox fans, who aren't fan boys fall into your narrative, but they weren't vocal in saying that this game wasn't going to amount to much, so that leaves the fan boys as the voice of the XBox community.

"The only people who make this game to be bigger than anything else is the fan from the other side"

Ah yes, blame the other side. Because Sony fans have spent years hyping up CD3 as something amazing. Not spending these years saying how the game wasn't going to live up to expectations.

I was with you in your comment, assuming maybe it was from a regular fans perspective. But this....really? CD3 and cloud destruction has been a hot topic on here for years. Do you really think it's just an out of the way topic that most didn't pay attention to? This makes the Xbox fan base sound desperate to not look foolish, and it makes just adds to the voice of erratic and increasingly delusional Xbox fan boy discourse that seems to grow with every passing of the moon in the sky.

[slate91]

I agree with everything ArchangelMike. MS pretty much brought these reviews on themselves with their attempts at marketing a "revolution" in cloud gameplay. Since we aren't getting the initial promise from years ago, the reviews will reflect that. And it is deserved.

[Ratchet75]

Well said.
I will wait for it to come on Xboxpass to give it a go.

[darthv72]

I'm old school so FUN is the main reason for me to play a game. And this looks to just be fun in the simplest sense of the word. I enjoyed the first game and even some of the second but this one is said to be a return to form with even more destruction. It's right up my alley so I will view it objectively.

[UnholyLight]

@yomfrweeee A little hard to compare Killzone 2 and Crackdown 3. Crackdown has always been about avant garde style cell shading and was never about graphics. Killzone 2 and Killzone in general was always supposed to be a "Halo killer" and supply Sony with the best looking game possible. How can you possibly compare the two?

Pro tip....you can't!

[yomfweeee]

Wait... they really compared it to Sharknado? Dear lord.

[ArchangelMike]

I guess they're trying to manage expectations 😆

[chris235]

last time i checked that was what every othergeneric multiplayer shooter does. i wish them the best of luck with this mee–too product in a saturated market ;–)

[Razzer]

What is being shown now is nowhere even close to that pre-alpha in-game footage in the article.

https://youtu.be/d_nZ1xYyj6...

[mark_parch]

character movement looks much better now. The transforming car looks amazing in the alpha footage though now it just changes instantly like a shit magic trick. This game really has been through development hell , still looks fun though

[FloydianAndroid]

I don’t like the Way the world looks. I assume it has something to do with the destructible environment but it look like the whole city is just a bunch of platforms and squares to shoot down. None of the buildings look like finished buildings. They look more like beams and floors with no walls. I’d much rather have had a good looking city to explore and not this geometric shooting range. I hope it’s fun at least.

[rainslacker]

The SP, and regular MP, look better. The destructible stuff is supposed to be a virtual simulator for training the agents, which is probably why they styled it that way. Or at least that will be the reason given. But, the destruction itself wouldn't likely work with better looking environments.

Rest of the game is more complete, but still has kind of a flat look, with a lot of buildings just being cubes with some textures on them. Some of the downtown city area looks pretty decent, although I have only seen pictures of it from a distance.

[FloydianAndroid]

Okay that makes me feel a little better. I want the game to succeed as I loved the first game, but I’m worried honestly.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Delayed several yet yet it still released. How’s Deep Down doing these days?

[salmonade]

Deep Down wasn't hyped up to crazy heights like MS did for Crackdown 3. You simply can not compare the 2 at all.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

You are out of you mind if you think DD wasn’t hyped up. If I remember correctly it was the first PS4 game shown. It’s the reason I bought a ps4. MS has not hyped CD3 in anyway so that’s a lie.

[IRetrouk]

https://n4g.com/news/184197...
One of many, many, many hype articles for the cloud/crackdown 3, overblown promises and unfiltered hype, its really easy to check n4gs old articles with the search bar, you should try it.

[rainslacker]

Deep Down was shown once, or maybe twice, then hyped up for about a year, then everyone assumed it was cancelled, then I think there was a resurgence of maybe it wasn't, but no one really hyped it up on that rumor. I wouldn't say it was at the top of everyone's hype charts though. No one really knew what to expect of the game. We didn't know the genre, we didn't know what it would look like, we didn't know what it was really about. Excitement was more about the premise of the dragons and stuff, not for any game play or technical aspect of the game.

That said, Deep Down was never given a release date, and to my knowledge, no one knows what has happened to it.

[Skankinruby]

Lol just dont dude, that's a 'knife to a gunfight' comment

[Legatus]

Well, it's certainly not doing any worse than Fable Legends, Project Spark and Scalebound.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

I actually own project spark and played Fable legends so you’re comparing apples to oranges.

[Sirk7x]

Ouch dude. Those were all sad days.

[boing1]

wow...

[BlaqMagiq1]

I heard it's doing as well as Scalebound

[yomfweeee]

What does a Capcom game have to do with anything?

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Maybe the point of the delays of CD3 went over your head. Games get delayed (like CD3) and in some cases don’t come out at all after being hyped (like Deep Down).

[Nyxus]

Ask Capcom?

[Legatus]

"I actually own project spark and played Fable legends"

So you own a cancelled game, played a cancelled game and Scalebound is thrown there just for a good measure. Nice MS trio of cancelled games.

"so you’re comparing apples to oranges."

I agree, i'm comparing three confirmed camcelled MS games with one Capcom game that is still not cancelled, oh and Deep Down can't touch Scalebound in terms of hype, Scalebound was hyped as one of the best game of all time.

[yomfweeee]

Ya right a point about delays. You picked a Sony exclusive on purpose not realizing it wasn't developed by them.

[salmonade]

Should be $30 and should never have been hyped up as much as it was by Microsoft. It's a joke. An actual joke that people are laughing at. They only have themselves to blame. Game looks like mediocre shovelware for gamepass. Basically trash.

[starchild]

Aside from Microsoft hyping up the potential of cloud computing when they were first showing off the game I haven't seen them hyping up the game itself for a long time. They've actually been notably low key about it.

[Fluttershy77]

9

[sizeofyou]

copies sold?
million copies sold?
chapters?
characters?
sequels?
DLCs?
positive reviews?
negative reviews?

Or just no in German?
🤪

[BlaqMagiq1]

Not gonna lie I chuckled at your comment

[MasterCornholio]

I guess he means 9/10?

:l

[Fluttershy77]

yes

[slavish0]

Wow people love trolling this game.😂

[Thundercat77]

Is not that people love trolling this game.

Is that people hate the lies and false hype of Microsoft.

[Atticus_finch]

Ms brought this on themselves.

[Master of Unlocking]

The clout of the cloud... lol

[Varodor]

Remember Spider-Man "PuddleGate" Downgrade? Good times.

[rainslacker]

If there is any silver lining to all this, its that Days Gone may not suffer downgrade accusations when it gets closer to release. I mean, after having been wrong about GOW and SM last year, and now having this game which they are desperately trying to say wasn't downgraded, or act like they never hyped it up in the first place, how could they do that with a straight face?

Or maybe its just too soon, and they will anyhow.

What I see now is a desperate attempt by a lot of Xbox fan boys to distance themselves from their prior hype of the game, to try and just act like it was just some passer by filler title which was never meant to make waves, and that they didn't use it as ammo in the console war. They'll say it's a lot of fun, because they thought SoT was a lot of fun, so they really don't have much expectation of strong game play, and it'll probably be fun based on previews. But they will do their damndest to avoid talking about the downgrade in the cloud destruction, and it's ultimately lackluster implementation.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

“Stupid fun” as in what games should be.

SOLD

[Atticus_finch]

I like Goty contenders better.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

You like movie games

[Atticus_finch]

"Movie games"
Like hellblade.... Lol

[optimus]

to be fair, the 1st crackdown was only a "hit" because it had the halo 2 beta attached to it. it would be considered a sleeper hit if it was released on its own. it didn't use revolutionary graphics, cell shading had been a thing since the dreamcast days. but it was fun to play, and open world gaming was becoming the new trend at the time...

crackdown 2 got panned across the board...this new one seems to go back to what people liked about the 1st crackdown but people expect revolutionary graphics and gameplay at this day and age....but I'm willing to bet if they changed the whole look and feel of this crackdown people would complain saying it's not the same crackdown, and they shouldn't call it crackdown. 🙄...
just goes to show, you can't please everyone, you just have to put the game out and cross your fingers that people will like it.

[Atticus_finch]

I really hope for the sake of green boys that this game scores at least a 6.

[Gwiz]

But seriously though,can't we crossplay this?OMG *pitchforks* LOL

[Platformgamer]

the sharknado of videogames, so accurate

[QuePasa87]

I just can't get hyped for this. Having so many other stellar titles to play really doesn't help this stand out either.

[GoodnessGreatness]

Game pass is a garbage bin lol. Microsoft knows it can't make AAA games like sony does.