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Crackdown 2 demo impressions

So codes went out via text today for people who participated in a little game/viral promotion and someone from Ruffian games gave out codes in the other thread
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=396089

Demo is about 1GB and 30 minute limit with Achievements.

There were 4 agent to choose from-White(obvious affirmative action hire), Black(looks like Samuel L Jackson from unbreakable), Asian guy, and Latino guy. As you level up powers the suit gets built up so you start off with just a suit and no helmet but after 1 or two levels into agility then the helmet appeared

First 30 seconds I was disappointed because my agent felt sluggish. Then I realized my agility powers and everything else wasn't powered up yet so I spent about 15 minutes collecting orbs so my agility went up two or three levels and now my agent is running fast and best of all jumping higher(Can't do the Jump--->Ground thump yet). Didn't try the driving(who drives in Crackdown?).

Shooting guns was ok. Level was still low so I wasn't popping heads in one shot. Chose the Tough difficulty and the enemies bullets didn't do as much damage as in the first one. Haven't run into freaks yet.

It's a lot more crackdown if you love it its awesome. If you didn't it probably won't change your mind. Didn't notice tearing and no huge slowdowns. 30 minute limit is a bummer though since you want to collect orbs to power up a bit and you won't have much time left to do the main tasks. Agility orbs are fun to chase but it seems they just go around a loop.
 

a.wd

Member
I am so jealous....seriously how do the achievements work? Is it completely open again? have you tried the driving yet?
 

Coin Return

Loose Slot
a.wd said:
I am so jealous....seriously how do the achievements work? Is it completely open again? have you tried the driving yet?
There's quite a few achievements to collect, all worth 10GP each. They aren't unlocked until you play the full game, though.

And yeah, the driving is great, but like all skills, needs to be leveled-up before you can really begin enjoying it. Ended up taking a squad car through a street full of freaks, green blood splashing everywhere :lol .
 

Mrbob

Member
Copied from the other thread:

I got through the demo one time today, and I did like the extra objectives in the game play. I did get underground near the end of the demo but didn't get to do much. The infected creatures seemed a little slow. I thought they would be a bit harder to fight off. I hope the final game doesn't have too much underneath because I think the bulk of the game will be best on the surface when you can sky high.

I had the same thought initially too with the controls, but realized my agent wasn't powered up. The renegade orbs are a cool idea. These are orbs you have to chase down, and they are fast and not always easy to get. Nice bonus though if you grab one! Not sure have I feel about the co op orbs. That part feels a bit artificial.

Ultimately, it is more Crackdown and it is a lot of fun to play. The true joy can never come from playing this demo though. It is from getting your agent fully leveled up and just dashing around town.

I believe the demo goes live for everyone soon, on June 21.
 

Gowans

Member
Hate you all.

Didn't win a chide in Twitter & all the gaf vides nicked by lurkers. Where is the GAF sharing account?

Good times with Crackdown 1, spent four hours in co-op getting a guy pinned to the top of the agency tower.

Oh well I can wait till Monday.
 

Tashi

343i Lead Esports Producer
Damn, how did I not know about this viral game to get the game early. I guess I'll just wait until Monday. Also, about the driving, it was definitely fun in the first Crackdown. I used to love driving up walls with the SUV.

Does the demo support 4 players online? To me, that's where the game really shines. I'm really excited to play the game.
 

S1kkZ

Member
played 2 hours so far

-graphics are worse (explosions, texture resolution)
-the freaks at night are very impressive (hundreds on the streets, feels like dead rising)
-controls take some getting used to (gets better after leveling up some skills)
-driving feels very sensitive
-i hope there are more mission types. so far its just: protect the bomb and kill all enemies, clear the area and kill all enemies, activate the beacon by standing still and kill all enemies.
feels like i had more freedom in the first game.
-new orbs are fun
-agent and water look much better
-more (optional) story and better storytelling. feels like you do something important by collecting the lightbomb parts.
-the mag grenade could be pretty awesome, i just lack the creativity to use it.

the demo is fun and killing the freaks underground before dropping the light bomb is pretty cool. but it feels like an add-on.
 

FrankT

Member
As I said from the other thread you start out real sucky like of course, but once you get that first agility upgrade it call comes sinking back in; this is Crackdown and it is good. Haven't had a lot of time with it so far, but will have lots of time this weekend. :D
 

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
I can't wait to try this when it's out for Gold members.
The impressions so far sound good to me, my only major complaint about Crackdown 1 is the constant bullet spam from enemies. In active areas or when going after a boss I felt like I was running into a firing squad and it got pretty annoying at times. I hope the unarmed infected enemies will help this.
 

Philthy

Member
Between this and Infamous 2 I will be in gaming bliss. I love these superhero sandboxy type games to death.
 

Metalic Sand

who is Emo-Beas?
watership said:
uhh..what? i thought the screens looked better than CD1. You're scaring me dude.

Yea even the videos make Crackdown 2 look alot better. I just put in crackdown 1 last week and there is a HUGE difference.
 

S1kkZ

Member
Metalic Sand said:
Yea even the videos make Crackdown 2 look alot better. I just put in crackdown 1 last week and there is a HUGE difference.
i played cd1 yesterday: the textures are better and it looks less blury. the explosions look much better too (less pixelated).
 

Metalic Sand

who is Emo-Beas?
S1kkZ said:
i played cd1 yesterday: the textures are better and it looks less blury. the explosions look much better too (less pixelated).

Havent seen Crackdown 2 on my TV so maybe you are right, :(
 

Blimblim

The Inside Track
What I loved in Crackdown is being able to get around the rooftops and streets and go get the agility orbs. I played one full 30 minutes round of the demo and I definitely did not get that same feeling because there are enemies everywhere. During the day there is that gang (at least in the demo area) that shoots you anywhere you go, and at night you simply can't move on foot in the street.
It's more or less what I feared it would be, more about combat and pure action, and less about platforming. I'll try it again later, but so far I'm not liking it at all.
They also seemingly had to cut down on the details (especially textures) to get the engine to display as many enemies as it does now.
 

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
Blimblim said:
What I loved in Crackdown is being able to get around the rooftops and streets and go get the agility orbs. I played one full 30 minutes round of the demo and I definitely did not get that same feeling because there are enemies everywhere. During the day there is that gang (at least in the demo area) that shoots you anywhere you go, and at night you simply can't move on foot in the street.
It's more or less what I feared it would be, more about combat and pure action, and less about platforming. I'll try it again later, but so far I'm not liking it at all.
They also seemingly had to cut down on the details (especially textures) to get the engine to display as many enemies as it does now.
I think there may actually be a reason to use the vehicles this time around. I hope the rooftops aren't too crowded though, since that's where most of the orbs are. Maybe claiming a base will help reduce the gang and freak population in that area.
 

Pimpbaa

Member
S1kkZ said:
i played cd1 yesterday: the textures are better and it looks less blury. the explosions look much better too (less pixelated).

The textures in CD1 are very repetitive and not a whole lot of unique ones.
 

mr_nothin

Banned
Blimblim said:
What I loved in Crackdown is being able to get around the rooftops and streets and go get the agility orbs. I played one full 30 minutes round of the demo and I definitely did not get that same feeling because there are enemies everywhere. During the day there is that gang (at least in the demo area) that shoots you anywhere you go, and at night you simply can't move on foot in the street.
It's more or less what I feared it would be, more about combat and pure action, and less about platforming. I'll try it again later, but so far I'm not liking it at all.
They also seemingly had to cut down on the details (especially textures) to get the engine to display as many enemies as it does now.
That's sad to hear because the platforming was 1 of the reasons why I enjoyed Crackdown so much. :/
 

Mrbob

Member
I saw plenty of high rising orbs in the demo I couldn't reach. I think our memories get tarnished a little bit because we are trying to compare agents who are maxed out in Crackdown versus level 1 again in Crackdown 2. It will take time to build up. I went up two agility levels in the demo and was skying high pretty quickly.

I do agree Crackdown 2 has a little dirtier look than the first game.

SapientWolf said:
I think there may actually be a reason to use the vehicles this time around. I hope the rooftops aren't too crowded though, since that's where most of the orbs are. Maybe claiming a base will help reduce the gang and freak population in that area.

It does. You can claim territorial control in certain objective points. I would clear out an area and then hunt for the orbs ofter.
 

Coin Return

Loose Slot
Got to level 3 agility after about 30 orbs. There's the Crackdown I know and love.

And about the lack of platforming, what are you guys smoking? I spent the my entire third runthrough of the demo on the rooftops and only encountered a few bad guys. The rest was platforming goodness through and through.
 
I had a lot of fun with the demo, but the skybox is so horribly done. If you stand still and look straight up, it is horrible. It's incredibly pixelated. Otherwise, I'm having fun with it, but Blim has a point with the game not letting you run free.
 

FrankT

Member
Coin Return said:
Got to level 3 agility after about 30 orbs. There's the Crackdown I know and love.

And about the lack of platforming, what are you guys smoking? I spent the my entire third runthrough of the demo on the rooftops and only encountered a few bad guys. The rest was platforming goodness through and through.

Must aim for three this weekend. Man tomorrow needs to hurry up.

I do agree Crackdown 2 has a little dirtier look than the first game.

Agreed, although I hope those skylines are just as clear, but it will be awhile before I get up there.
 

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
Vinterbird said:
I had a lot of fun with the demo, but the skybox is so horribly done. If you stand still and look straight up, it is horrible. It's incredibly pixelated. Otherwise, I'm having fun with it, but Blim has a point with the game not letting you run free.
Maybe that's just because it's a demo. You can still beat up gangs in whatever order you want in the final game, right?
 

FHIZ

Member
I got the text and literally two seconds later my comcast service went out. back now, and I'm downloading, so pumped for this. I fucking love me some crackdown.
 

Ding

Member
S1kkZ said:
played 2 hours so far

-graphics are worse (explosions, texture resolution)
Thinks for all the impressions. Regarding the textures, in the comparison screenshots I saw a couple weeks ago, it looked like they had removed the "detail textures" from Crackdown 2. That would be, as they say, crazy.

I'm talking about those "infinitely zoomable" textures that are applied over the top of just about every other texture in the game. It sorta looks like, granite, I guess. Check out the wall in this pic. You could stick you nose 6 inches from a building, and it would still be texture-y. This is a good thing, since you do spend a lot of time clinging to buildings! Plus, stuff like concrete didn't even need a real texture.

Anyway. Please tell me that the detail textures are back. Please. They, along with the draw-distance, were the best part of the original engine.
 

derFeef

Member
Played an hour and I am already in love. But maaan 30 minutes are just not enough. Visualy it is a bit sharper as the first one There is more texture variety I think and It looks a bit more detailed from far away, but yes, the details wash out if you come close. Does not bother me though as it fits the game pretty well.

Sounds do have a bit more impact this time, which is nice. The Agency voice telling you you earned an achievement is pretty sweet :D
 

derFeef

Member
uh, hum. I have a spare code left for the early access demo. First one who PM´s me the name of the CD1 achievement where you have to climb the agancy tower and then jump back into the water, gets it.

edit: and it´s gone! (sry Jtwo)
 

dorkimoe

Member
derFeef said:
uh, hum. I have a spare code left for the early access demo. First one who PM´s me the name of the CD1 achievement where you have to climb the agancy tower and then jump back into the water, gets it.


lol whoops i didnt read the whole question i just read the "spare code first one " then i sent you a pm, ignore it lol


:( anyone else gets a spare code want to send it my way. HUGE crackdown fan :(. public demo is next week right?
 

Petrie

Banned
If there is a sharing account I'd love to get in line...please?

Or if anyone has a code to spare, I'd be ever so grateful. Please and thank you.
 
derFeef said:
uh, hum. I have a spare code left for the early access demo. First one who PM´s me the name of the CD1 achievement where you have to climb the agancy tower and then jump back into the water, gets it.

edit: and it´s gone! (sry Jtwo)
Thanks dude - I don't think the speed at which I mashed words into google then counted as typing :lol
 

Okin

Member
Played this at E3. The driving controls were awful. If you were going top speed and turned in any way, your car would just spin out. I hope they tweak that before release.

I also disliked that there was a delay between when I pressed jump, and when I actually jumped.

Coupled with some other wonky controls, I felt that this game controlled far inferior to the first, and needs more work in that area.
 

Big-ass Ramp

hella bullets that's true
I wasn't really excited about this game until about a week ago when I had a dream about Crackdown 1 that made me realize how much I loved that game. Then I realized, dude, they're making Crackdown 2! This is a definite pick up for me. Thanks for the impressions. The lowered platforming aspect does worry me, however.
 

jkanownik

Member
Orb collecting is still insanely satisfying. I played it for ten minutes at E3 and I couldn't tell you anything about the game other than I collected a bunch of green orbs and found a hidden one.
 
Booting it up for the first time now, feel free to add me but I am not using a mic because it's nearly midnight in the UK, usually wakes someone up when I use it :lol

Diablohead+UK.png
 

Mairu

Member
Aiming is messed up. I'd have groups of enemies in front of me and locking on would target enemies far away. Really frustrating.
 

CrunchinJelly

formerly cjelly
My only complaint is that the demo isn't long enough...

CD1 demo was great because it let you level up really quickly to get a feel of how the game plays further in.
 
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