Sandbox game fans everywhere are no doubt anticipating this fall’s multi-platform release of Grand Theft Auto IV, but there’s still no information for us to drool over yet. Perhaps because of this or perhaps because it just looks like fun, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on the Crackdown demo for Xbox 360. There’s a taste of the single player and co-operative gameplay here and we’ve tried it all. Here’s what a few of us thought about it:

Sam Sollars

In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ll let you guys know that I’m the one here at HQ who was probably most excited to play this demo. I’ve always been the type to just get lost in the experience of playing open world games like this one. Hell, I got to 100% three separate times in GTA III - that takes some serious dedication. Anyway, it’s only about 9 more months until my social life is to be completely erased by GTA IV, so I’m starting to get a little anxious. Games like Crackdown are the only way for me to get my fix without heading back to San Andreas, so I’m always ready for a demo like this.

“What if GTA was an action platformer?” That feels like the question the developers put forth with this game, and the answer to that question is that it would be awesome. In Crackdown, you take the role of a super-human law enforcement agent, and you’re out to crush some gang violence with…more violence. Your skills, such as firearm accuracy, brute strength, and jumping agility will level up as you collect items and kill enemies, and that seems to be one of the coolest things this game has to offer. It’s not the first time a system such as this has been put into this type of game, but it sure works great. You’ll feel a real sense of progression as you begin to really settle in to your powers.

Unfortunately, there are a few problems here that are bound to deter some gamers. While you can free-aim your guns at any time, there’s also an auto-targeting system that definitely takes some practice. It does get easier to use with time, but the experience can be frustrating, and especially so at first.

The co-op play is extremely fun from what I’ve seen so far, and promises to add a whole new dimension of awesome to the final product. While you’ll have problems playing with your friends in the demo, the full version should allow you to have friends jump in or out at any time. With such a slow beginning to this year, it’s safe to say that Crackdown is near the top of my most wanted list at the moment. Let’s just hope the challenge and gameplay can stay varied and interesting come release time.

Chris Jensen

I’ve been following the development of Crackdown for quite some time, so when the demo finally hit Marketplace, I was all over it. Many have criticized the game’s art-direction, not liking the cell-shaded atmosphere, but I find it works rather well in creating a comic-driven setting that plays right into the hands of Crackdown’s gameplay. Critics of the graphics seem to want Crackdown to look like Grand Theft Auto and Saint’s Row, yet the irony is, if it did share a similar appearance, it would be tagged as a clone. You just can’t win sometimes.

Judging from the demo, I’m going to be a big fan of Crackdown. It offers a massive world to explore and endless enemies to dispatch in an infinite number of ways. The world is more interactive than any sandbox game that has come before, allowing you to pick up, kick, shoot, punch, throw and explode every in-game object, not to mention the huge variety of cars and trucks that can be used as implements of total destruction. While I enjoyed the single-player aspect of the demo, Crackdown ratcheted up the fun factor exponentially when I played with my brother via co-op. We haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. At one point, we just had to stop as we had tears rolling down our eyes. I think it happened when I lobbed a grenade into a parking garage in an attempt to wipe out some enemies and he happened to be standing a little too close when the cars went kablooey and he was sent flying approximately 500-feet. Being my brother, he quickly returned to the scene of the crime and proceeded to send roundhouse kicks into my face.

Co-Op is where Crackdown will truly shine. Allowing one player to drive while the other acts as passenger is total bliss, even more so if you decide to play passenger while crouched down on the hood of the car, wreaking havoc on pedestrians and cars with a sub-machine gun. Considering I’m stationed in California and my brother is in Florida, we expected to have some latency problems and were amazed that, after a solid hour, neither of us had experienced one iota of lag, which bodes exceptionally well for the final release.

When taken in totality, from raising skills to open-ended missions, great graphics and a massive world to explore, Crackdown has surpassed my expectations. Now bring on February 20th, as I can’t wait for the final any longer.

Matt Butrovich

Crackdown came out of nowhere for me. I’ve spent the past couple months lost in the hype of titles like Gears of War and Lost Planet and didn’t even see it coming before CES 2007 a couple weeks back. The few moments I spent with it managed to pique my interest for a demo on XBL, and luckily we got just that. I’ve only played through the demo once, but my initial impression is that it reminds me a lot of Grand Theft Auto, while still being uniquely different. It’s like the Grand Theft Auto game for people that don’t like Grand Theft Auto.

You get the free roaming environment, wanton destruction, and the ability to progress through the game at your own pace just like the GTA series, but the similarities stop there. Instead of taking out mob bosses or robbing casinos, you’re trying to fight crime. The game incorporates an interesting experience system that allows you aim faster, drive better, and kick harder as you progress through the game.

I can’t say I’m completely sold on the game yet, but the prospect of cooperative play over Xbox Live is almost too good to pass up. We also can’t forget that every copy comes with an invitation code for the Halo 3 beta, though I’m sure that detail didn’t slip past anyone.