This is an opinion editorialThe year 2007 brought us many gifts, some have been positive while others have caused controversy, which consequently reverberated throughout the entire industry. Between the Red Rings and a growing number of discontent 360 owners, one thing can be stated with absolute certainty; it has been the year of the games. In the midst of a strategic battle for console dominance, Microsoft has had many obstacles to overcome and their one saving grace, their single life boat in the turbulent waters of the unforgiving industry, has been their concerted effort to provide us, the Xbox gamer with what we desire most; an expansive list of highly acclaimed and wonderfully developed titles with many exclusive to Microsoft’s platform. Our collaborative Year in Review will break down the who’s who in a variety of categories that will ultimately culminate with the Game of the Year. Up for PX360 awards are games from such genres as Role Playing, Action, Sports, and Racing to name only a few. Many have been nominated but only one will win. Keep an eye for our latest publications to see who was voted the best of the best for the year Two Thousand Seven.
Best Original Game of 2007CrackdownWhen you sit back and look through the stockpile of titles available for next-gen consoles today, the component they all seem to share, or at least try to, is realism. Realism is a great thing. There is nothing better than driving through a perfectly reconstructed Tokyo in PGR4 or being able to see the sweat trickle down your favorite basketball player’s face in NBA 2K8. However, somewhere along the way developers have forgotten their gaming roots and replaced fun with too much realism. In the old days, gamers didn’t need HDR lighting, they didn’t need motion-blur, all they needed was a controller in hand and a bad guy to kill. It was the simple format that made games accessible. Fortunately, it seems the developer of Crackdown, Real Time Worlds, remembers perfectly. Led by the original creator of Grand Theft Auto, David Jones, they managed to put together a doozie.
When gamers first heard there was a Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta coming soon, suffice it to say, they lost their minds. Everyone had to have it, they couldn’t wait. That’s when the think-tanks over at Microsoft decided to use their wonderful marketing prowess and package the Halo 3 Beta with pre-ordered and specially-marked copies of Crackdown. It was a great marketing strategy for all parties involved, getting a new franchise and Microsoft’s system seller a lot of attention.
When Crackdown finally released, gamers rushed to their respective stores to pick up their copies, dreaming of getting just a taste of some Halo 3 goodness. Hell, I was one of those people. However, the situation many others and I had was that we found ourselves playing Crackdown far more than the Halo 3 Beta. Blasphemous right?
Perhaps, but Crackdown is a very good game and for valid reasons.
Your job in Crackdown is simple: To crackdown (get it?) on the large and nefarious crime world present in Pacific City. The great thing about it is that when you are fighting crime, you don’t just kill the bad guys; you guarantee a closed-casket funeral. Let’s be honest, it’s pretty hard to beat picking up the front end of a semi and tossing it at a hopeless gang member. If that was the everyday life of a real police officer today I wouldn’t be here right now writing this article. I’d be downtown tossing cars at pedestrians and criminals trying to impress the Cleveland Chief of Police. Consequently, this is why Crackdown is so undeniably entertaining. It revels in complete and utter ridiculousness. The explosions are massive, the superpowers are super, the bad guys are bad, and it is GTA on LSD. It’s a very satisfying experience and like any drug it’s very addictive (Google “agility orbs”).
To summarize, with Crackdown you simply cannot go wrong. The game ensures a good time. It has that missing element that so many games lack today – the fun factor. This is what I was getting at during the beginning of this article. Games can have all the bump-mapping and polygons in the world but if it isn’t fun, you can bet your ass it’s not spinning in my Xbox 360’s disc tray. Thankfully, Crackdown is pure unadulterated fun. Other notables for this award such as Assassin’s Creed, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation are fantastic games in their own regard, but neither of them fully compare to the addictive and entertaining nature that Crackdown presents. That is why it has been chosen as Planet Xbox 360’s Best Action Title of 2007.
