JackOften
2019
The original Crackdown had such perfect mechanics and puppeting. Even though it seemed to be missing a final chapter where you go after your sinister boss, it was worth playing over and over for the wonderful way it handled. Its success and popularity seemed to come as a huge surprise to the studio and they tried twice to capitalize on it. Sadly they never bothered to ask anyone why they liked the game and got it wrong every time.
If they had just cranked out a new one every year with nothing but a new map (and less racist caricatures,) I would have bought them all on day one and been happy as a pig in shit. But they did the exact opposite of that for the sequel. Same map, new mechanics. Who wants to play the same map, ever??
This third attempt had a fairly interesting city and might have been a worthy successor but they got sidelined by the useless multiplayer and pointless improvements. The balance of leveling up your powers was also way off, you get powerful way too fast. But worst of all, they added a handholding feature to keep you on mission that nearly drove me insane. The glory of the first game, aside from how beautifully it handed, was the total freedom; you could tackle any boss at any time, stop halfway through and go do something else - just relax and hop around to your heart's content. In this iteration they decided to add some babysitters that never ever shut the fuck up, constantly telling you where to go next no matter what you are doing until you have to play with the sound turned off. There's no other way to rid yourself of their nagging incessant voices. It was a very weird decision, and it ruins the game.
Anyway guys, it's not too late. Just make the first Crackdown with the exact same controls and a new map please.
If they had just cranked out a new one every year with nothing but a new map (and less racist caricatures,) I would have bought them all on day one and been happy as a pig in shit. But they did the exact opposite of that for the sequel. Same map, new mechanics. Who wants to play the same map, ever??
This third attempt had a fairly interesting city and might have been a worthy successor but they got sidelined by the useless multiplayer and pointless improvements. The balance of leveling up your powers was also way off, you get powerful way too fast. But worst of all, they added a handholding feature to keep you on mission that nearly drove me insane. The glory of the first game, aside from how beautifully it handed, was the total freedom; you could tackle any boss at any time, stop halfway through and go do something else - just relax and hop around to your heart's content. In this iteration they decided to add some babysitters that never ever shut the fuck up, constantly telling you where to go next no matter what you are doing until you have to play with the sound turned off. There's no other way to rid yourself of their nagging incessant voices. It was a very weird decision, and it ruins the game.
Anyway guys, it's not too late. Just make the first Crackdown with the exact same controls and a new map please.
2018
I held off trying this for a long time due to the problems it seemed to be having, and my disappointment in Fallout 4. But to my shock and surprise I enjoyed it enormously, no terrible voice acting forced upon my character, etc. And then they suddenly added level-scaling and it completely ruined the game for me. Exploring was no longer fun, there were no barriers or off limits areas to aspire to. I lost all motivation to play, for me it was not an improvement.
2018
I had a really great time with this not long after launch and then moved on apparently right before it became a hellhole, or so I've heard. Lucky me. Gave my dude the smallest dong possible to inject a little variety into the dongscape.
2016
I had a transcendent experience with this while it was in development. It seemed like the future of gaming to me, with a bunch of mechanics I love meshed together in one game; rpg/survival/crafting, and a great deal of creative problem solving with a minimum of handholding. The struggle of crossing the continent on my own steam and coming upon a new race at the crack of dawn is one of my best gaming memories of the last decade. Sadly with every update it seemed to slip further and further away from the early promise it showed until it finally became barely functional abandonware.