Crackdown - Reception

Reception

Crackdown received generally positive reviews from game critics who praised the open-world approach. Reviewers commented highly on the graphics of the game, both in its detailed city and large draw distances, and the cel-like shading of the characters; 1UP said that "it's just better to let a game approach reality on its own aesthetic terms than to go hyperrealistic". X-Play stated, "It's an absolute blast to play, and arguably one of the finest superhero games made thus far", and IGN stated, "Overall the thrill of jumping like a mutant kangaroo from rooftop to rooftop is unrivaled!" The co-op play feature over Xbox Live was well received; Eurogamer wrote, "Being able to pick and leap into any of your friends' or even complete strangers' cities is likely to keep that buzz going though", and 1UP agreed, remarking "That it represents the best, if not the first, online multiplayer sandbox game on a console is just gravy". Reviews did critique the lack of any appreciable story within the game, and how short the core game itself may be; IGN argued "Crackdown won't last that long, it's uneven, and the story and the music are weak sauce".

Crackdown was not expected to be a good game, due to it being tied to the anticipated Halo 3 multiplayer beta. However, the game surpassed many expectations; in his review, GameSpy's Gabe Graziani asked readers the rhetorical question; "Notice that I didn't mention the Halo 3 beta offer during this whole article? That's because it's completely irrelevant when looking at Crackdown, it's a solid game that delivers exactly what it promises: a giant sandbox to blow the crap out of".

The game was named the 2007 BAFTA "Best Action and Adventure Game" and "Best Use of Audio". and also won the "Best Debut" award at the 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards. The game received the Innovation Award at the 2007 Develop Awards, held by Develop magazine. Game Informer listed it as one of the top 50 games of 2007, citing its unique experience and several other elements. They listed the agents as the number eight top heroes of 2007 and climbing the tallest building in the city as the number nine top moment of 2007.