Crackdown 3 E3 2017 Impressions

Kills for skills agent, kills for skills. I really love the Crackdown franchise, the past games were wild and just fun to play. They might not quite hit the same caliber as some of the big hitters for Xbox, but the series is still definitely worth playing. You essentially play as these super agents that continue to grow in size and strength as they perform in the field. During the E3 demo we were given accelerated growth and that was mostly to showcase this effect within the game. I didn't get a chance to see the multiplayer and was instead given this open world to thrash around in. It was grand in scale being significantly larger than the original map according to the developers with a small area available for E3.

I moved around the city trying out different weapons, jacking vehicles and slaughtering enemies. It felt like the good old days though on that note I'm not sure what has changed. I want it to stay relatively the same, yet at the same time there needs to be an evolution. I won't judge it too much based on just the small portion of what I saw at the show though I'm still expecting a lot at launch. This mostly being due to the long wait for this game and that it's one of the core releases for Xbox in 2017. I never thought Crackdown would be a lead on a launch for a refresh console and here we are.


I did also jump into a building as I was playing, a trademark of mine it seems where I break games at the show each year so my game had to be reset. The current build was being rendered at 4K 30fps which honestly should be amped up to 60fps though they mentioned the goal is to hit 30fps solid. I get that it's an open world game with lots of explosions and multiple coop players though the graphics really aren't pushing any boundaries for it not to be buttery smooth. It keeps that distinct cartoon look and if you've played the others it'll be instantly recognizable.

I'm not sure why some people thought it would look like anything else and I'm glad they've kept this signature style. The game felt smooth on the new hardware and I'm excited to dig into the massive sandbox that has been created for this third entry. Fans will also be happy that the rubber ducky grenades are coming back as I confirmed that with the developers. I suppose they were surprised to hear someone specifically ask about that aspect of the game. I'm pumped to collect Agility Orbs once again and to clean up the streets in Crackdown 3. It should be interesting to see the multiplayer in action when the game finally releases and for now this is a highly anticipated game for me.

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