Cracking Down on the Creed

Damn. Thats right, DAMN. I started to play Assassins Creed yesterday afternoon and got bored within the first hour of game play. I know I know, its all about stealth tactics and walking through large crowds with 'superdy doo' physics and realism! But come on, gimme some action...hell gimme something to kill or mess up. Perhaps I'm jumping to fast to superfluous thoughts of grandeur and didn't delve hard enough into the thick of things; so I will go back to it...I will grind through it...I will beat it. However, in the grand scheme of things I left Assassins Creed to go back to a game that I had a boat load of fun with. A game I haven't touched in a long while:

- Crackdown -

I had forgotten just how good this game is. Basically, to put it simply, its Grand Theft Auto on PcP. PcP laced with anabolic steroids. PcP laced with steroids dipped in crack (see what I did there?). Your a super human cop with a license to kill gang bangers, thugs, mob bosses and your occasional demented mad scientist. Progression throughout the game is based on your growth as a super soldier. You collect things like agility orbs and hidden ability enhancers scattered through out the city. Some high atop massive sky scrappers, some below in hidden water caves. For every kill you make or stunt marker you pass through or even rooftop race you complete, you get enhancers awarded to you as well. The idea is to get you to explore every little sub section of each of the enormous cities you unlock through out your play through. By collecting a lot of these ability enhancers you beef your character up to the point where you find yourself able to jump over buildings, pick up mac trucks like they were muffins, run like the wind and basically beat the ever loving turds out of your enemies. I cant tell you how much fun I've had picking up a car with some thugs still in it, tossing said vehicle 200 yards up in the air, pulling out my rocket launcher and lacing the car until you get one hell of a fire works show. Priceless.

I don't know what it is, perhaps its my ADD or something, but I need action. Which, I may add, is really weird and has one exception. RPG's. I love RPG's and can play through just about any of them; Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star Universe, Diablo, Eternal Sonata, any Tales installation, Disgaea (my favorite of all time). I don't know why but I love me some good old fashioned RPG level grinding. But stealth action? Not so much. Assassins Creed looks great and yes it plays pretty well, its just...slow. For a 3rd person action title I need constant gratification that what I'm doing is paying off; like in Crackdown...see what I did there, full circle people.

Like I said before, I'm not giving up on AC. I will hit it up again, probably over the weekend when I can sink a lot more time into it. But for now, I'm sticking with a past gem known as Crackdown, blowing up some dudes and shaking the very foundation of a great sand box experience.

Perhaps this excellent display of the absurd stuff you can do in the game will further your appreciation of it, enjoy:



-Game Hard-