CRACKDOWN 2 REVIEW XBOX360

You know the feeling, we all get it. You've had a particularly stressful day at work, your head is absolutely pounding, your feet are aching and all you want to do is tune in, turn on and drop out. So you order a takeaway crack open the first beer of the night and flop down in your favourite chair. But as a dedicated gamer how do you amuse yourself when in this vegatative state of mind, something mentally taxing is clearly out of the question and and anything that involves hair trigger reflexes and uber competitiveness is only gonna add to that headache of yours. So what's the solution? Ideally you want a game that's easily accessible and low on complexity whilst still retaining a modicum of fun and addictive gameplay. Well the solution is here ladies and gentlemen and it goes by the name of Crackdown 2.

Ruffiansp to one of the surprise hits of the first wave of 360 games begins with the most perfunctory of tutorials before you're plunged straight into the sprawling metropolis that is Pacific City. Your mission there is almost secondary as the plotline in Crackdown 2 is shallow to say the least, as a member of the Agency you're tasked with stopping the dual threats of The Cell and the Freaks. The Cell are a rebel group of civilians who's main purpose in life seems to be making your life as difficult as possible at every available opportunity, the Freaks on the other hand seem to have an aversion to sunlight and a blatant disregard for their curfew as they only come out after midnight and generally make a nuisance of themselves by roaming the streets and wailing incoherently at anyone stupid enough to make nice with them. The main thrust of the plot is to get the Agency generators, which power Project Suburst, back online. Project Sunburst is a huge solar powered bomb which the Agency have concocted in an attempt to elimate the Freaks who while away their days in their underground lairs completely oblivious to the heinous fate which awaits them. Unfortunately these generators are defended by members of The Cell and before getting them back online you must eliminate these most stubborn of foes, for each three generators that you revive there is an underground beacon which must also be reactivated and doing this involves holding off an ever increasing volume of Freaks as the beacon fully charges before detonating and destroying everything in its path, yourself excluded obviously. Aside from the increasingly annoying Agent guardian who insists on commentating on your every move,and the occasional audio log which fills in parts of the ten years between this title and it's predecessor,there is little involvement in what you're doing and like I said previously the plot is in many ways secondary when it comes to Crackdown 2.

Once you have landed in Pacific City you are free to do as you wish and in much the manner of a child let loose in Disneyland the results are predictably chaotic. There's no such thing as gradually allowing the player to familiarise themelves with their environment as from the off you are bombarded by all in sundry and find yourself running for cover just to catch your breath. But catching your breath is,I'm afraid,not really an option as the pace of the game is unrelenting and after a while you get used to being in a state of perpetual motion. Whether it be malicious Cell members unnecessarily making your day a misery,or ambling Freaks throwing haymakers at you,there's never even a momentary respite and for those with borderline attention deficit disorder this will make for the gaming experience which you've always dreamed of. Aside from getting the aformentioned Agency generators back online there is a variety of other tasks and travails for you to get your teeth into, both The Cell and the Freaks have strongholds dotted around the city and if you so wish you can make it your business to reclaim these strongholds by calling in an aerial assault and holding off the irked incumbents whilst you wait for support. These missions are rather basic and seeing as they have no real effect on the outcome of the main storyline it's entirely optional as to whether you pursue them. There is also races of either the four wheeled or the two footed type available which can be entered by simply waiting at the start line and going on the b of the bang.

Of course one of the main selling points of the Crackdown series is that the character you control is no ordinary man, in a world where carnage is king it would be grossly unfair to go in outgunned as well as being outnumbered so thankfully you have a few extra abilities to help you on your way. In the beginning, as with most things in life, you are in essence a puny weakling and you can expect to have the bitter taste of defeat in your mouth quite often during the earlier stage of your time in Pacific City. But,as I'm sure most of you are aware, your time as the schoolyard victim doesn't last all that long due to the fact that during each and every second of your existence your Agent is gradually becoming more powerful and proficient in each of the key elements needed to survive in Crackdown 2, these being Agility, Driving, Firearms, Strength and Explosives. You can level up these abilites either by engaging in the relevant activities or by the collecting the many, many, many, many orbs dotted around the city. There is so many orbs and collectibles of all shapes and sizes that it will mean that only the most die hard of gamers will manage to accrue them all, new to Crackdown 2 are the Renegade Orbs which, like true renegades, will attempt to escape your clutches at every opportunity and need to be chased down whether by foot or in a vehicle. As you progress through the game you also unlock more vehicles and weaponry allowing you to create more and more elaborate scenes of mayhem and destruction if you so wish. In a funny way Ruffian have created a game where at first sight it seems like the world is your oyster and you can as you wish,when in reality the true depths and excellence of Pacific City can only be fully experienced with an Agent who has served his time and is ready to hand out some serious payback.

A big factor in any modern day game is it's online play and in particular the co-op modes available to players, co-op is becoming more and more important when deciding what games to purchase and Ruffian have come up trumps with Crackdown 2. Four player co-op mode allows you to play through the campaign mode as normal although only the host player will see his mission progress, but the inclusion of Online Orbs means that there's still motivation to play cooperatively even if you're not furthering your own cause.

This titlethout it's flaws and one issue that began to grate on an all too regular basis was the difficulty in negotiating your way through some of the enviroments late at night, when basked in the midday sun Pacific City is a joy to behold but once the stars come out it becomes a place full of mysterious stubborn walls and confusing layouts, this can also be said of the Freaks lairs and woe betide anyone who falls to the bottom of one of these lairs as getting back to the top requires the patience and navigating skills of General Patton! The repetitive nature of the missions is something which can't go unmentioned also and you can't help thinking that with a bit more creativity and thought the world which Ruffian have created could have been utitilised to much greater effect.

Crackdown 2 is one of those games that it's impossible to dislike but at the same one you could never truly love with all your heart, a bit like the ever willing girl down at your local it's a lot of fun to be with but once you're away from it it rarely occupies your mind. There's an inordinate amount of enjoyment to be had in just visiting Pacific City and I lost count of the amount of occasions whereby I sat down 'just for a half an hour' and found myself still there two hours later having totally deviated from, and nigh on completely forgotten about, my original intentions. But as I progressed through the game I found myself becoming less and less interested in what was unfolding before and I fear that the absence of any real storyline and character development may make this a soulless experience for some, like someone once said 'it's not what's happening that's important but who it's happening to'. It's one real saving grace is the cooperative mode and that alone makes this a title worth purchasing if you can convince three friends to do the same, the level of pure unadulterated fun to be had in co-op is such that I can virtually every sandbox game including it in future releases for fear of being shunned by gamers eager to tear things up with their mates. I think many of us are going to be left feeling slightly disappointed by Crackdown 2 as, for a sequel, it hasn't really pushed the boat out that far and seems to be a risk free venture, but thoughts of that nature were the last thing on my mind as I unashamedly rampaged from one end of Pacific City to the other all the while cackling like a manical loon. The perfect way to forget about the misery of your 9 to 5 I'm sure you'd all agree.  7/10

Lost Odyssey Review XBOX360

In recent times the boundaries of the RPG genre have begun to shift somewhat, with new themes and ideas constantly being implemented its almost impossible to define what a real RPG is nowadays. Where once the staple diet was a mixture of turn based combat, swords and spells we now live in an era where developers attempt to create sci-fi space opera's and post apocalyptic FPS' whilst all the time attempting to stay true to the roots of the RPG. I for one have enjoyed seeing the genre mature and blossom to incorporate new ideas but like all fans of RPG's I'm a stickler for tradition and occasionally yearn for the good ole days.

Similarly to most gamers of my generation the first dalliance I had with the RPG genre came in the form of the now rightly revered Final Fantasy VII, unquestionably one of the all time great games it heralded a new era for the RPG and some may argue that it has yet to bettered by any of its predecessor's. The man responsible for the creation of the Final Fantasy series, Hironobu Sakaguchi, has since moved on to pastures new with the creation of his own development studio Mistwalker. Since Mistwalker is backed by Microsoft Game Studio's it was only a matter of time before we 360 owners got the chance to once again delve into a world created by the master of the RPG genre, and in 2008 we were rewarded for our patience with the wondrous Lost Odyssey.

Lost Odyssey was billed as a return to the traditional roots of the JRPG and in that aspect it didn't disappoint. With turn based combat, random battles, a world map and an eclectic bunch of main characters it fastidiously copies the blueprint so carefully formulated by its forerunners all those years ago. Some may criticise it for its lack of innovation but when a game is this good such matters can be overlooked, a throwback it may be but harking back to the golden age of RPG's can only be a good thing.

Story wise Lost Odyssey achieves something which very few titles in this day and age manage to do. It not only incorporates the story to a degree that it affects the way the game is actually played, but also gradually draws the gamer in to its narrative with an intriguing tale that truly captures the imagination. The central character in said tale is Kaim Argonar who is an immortal and has lived for a thousand years, Kaim spends his time travelling from place to place working as a mercenary and taking part in the numerous battles and wars that arise in the game universe. Kaim's main cohorts are Seth, a fellow immortal who despite the manly name is actually a woman, and Jansen, who offers some light hearted relief from the musings of Kaim and is arguably one of the most hilarious game characters ever created. Unlike many RPG's, which tend to define an evil force right from the off, the storyline in Lost Odyssey is a far more complex affair with the posts continually being moved and your true enemy only revealing themselves towards the latter end of proceedings. The basic thrust of the plot is the battle for control between rival nations for a source of magic called The Grand Staff with your the affiliations of your merry band of characters changing as the story unfolds. Aside from the main story which is constantly evolving throughout there are plenty of side quests and sub plots to maintain your interest and add to the weighty feel of the game.

As with all games of this type the group of characters in your command increases as you progress along your journey, each new addition brings something new to the table and quite remarkably for an RPG not one of these characters grates on the nerves in the slightest. As mentioned earlier some of the members in your group are immortal, and although they can still be rendered inactive how you utilise them in battle will determine how successful you are. The battles in Lost Odyssey are randomised ( cue collective groans ) but rarely feel irritating or overbearing to the gamer, this is mainly down to the graphical flair allayed to each battle sequence not to mention the enjoyment garnered from destroying even the most miniscule of opposition. Once the battles begin its strictly a turn based affair with plenty of time given to plot the decimation of your foe, combining the relative merits of each character whether they be an expert in swordplay, black magic or white magic is paramount to your success and tactical acumen is required in spades. One unique aspect of the battle system is The Aim Ring, a timed accuracy challenge which when done correctly can utilise some of your equipped items and inflicts various forms of malaise on your enemies. The way your characters level up is also refreshingly different with the immortal ones learning skills from the mortals and then assigning these skills to a limited amount of skill slots, how you manage these slots is pivotal as failure to prepare will have you preparing to fail. When you factor in the mage classes that can only specialise in one type of magic but still use other types in battle it all adds up to an incredibly deep and immersive battle system, it may seem daunting at first but it is easily grasped and will become second nature quite quickly.

Visually Lost Odyssey is a sight to behold with each fantastical setting outdoing the previous one in a world full of lush, colourful environments. There's many moments littered throughout this game that will have your jaw dropping at the sheer beauty of it all, some of them cut scenes admittedly but even the in game material is a cut above the majority of 360 titles. Speaking of the cut scenes there is many dream sequences in Lost Odyssey which can be triggered by the discovery of remnants of the past by the immortal characters, some of these dream sequences are genuinely engrossing and are complete stories within themselves. The main narrative is never intrusive with each cut scene pushing the story along without ever becoming tiresome or dull and the quality of the voice acting makes them entertaining to the last. As stated earlier Jansen is undoubtedly the star turn and even had this most cynical of gamers chortling away to himself on many an occasion, even the pint sized, mandatory kids in your party are relatively endearing with Mack resembling a modern day human version of Scrappy Doo!! The charm and attention to detail of the cut scenes benefit the game as a whole and tie you emotionally to your characters before you know it.

Completing Lost Odyssey is going to take you 40 hours minimum, the action is spread over a mammoth four discs and there's no doubt that this game is quite a life sucker of epic proportions. Once you factor in all the side quests and undiscovered areas your gametime could rise to over 60 hours, but really isn't that what RPG's are all about? A minor criticism I found with Lost Odyssey was the world map, rather than having the freedom to roam about this map as you wish you can only ever hop from town to town therefore negating true exploration of the area. This made it quite difficult to locate some of the hidden places in the world, but then again maybe that was the intention, they wouldn't be much use as hidden areas if they could be easily located now would they? The use of save points was something else that caused occasional annoyance, rather than having the ability to save whenever you wanted you can only do so at the save orbs which needlessly makes an already quite difficult game that much harder.

For me Lost Odyssey is the best RPG currently available on the 360 and I include Mass Effect and Fallout 3 in that estimation. Its shamelessly old school in some ways but at the same time manages to carve out a unique place for itself in gaming lore by being such a well crafted, downright lovable gaming experience. This is one title that I'll always look fondly upon in years to come as I fear RPG's of this type and style are becoming a dying breed in the modern day gaming industry.  9/10