Tech Analysis: Crackdown 2 demo

By Richard Leadbetter Published 22 June, 2010

Good job, Agent.

It's been a long time coming. Crackdown is something of a fan favourite for many Xbox 360 owners, and the confirmation of a much-delayed sequel from Ruffian Games was some of the most exciting news to emerge at last year's E3.

But actually, it doesn't seem to have been a long time in development. Ruffian itself is a fairly new outfit, and the development schedule for this one has been brief compared to the typical AAA title (if there is such a thing). There was nothing to show at the E3 2009 announcement other than a CG trailer, yet the final game passed Microsoft's certification process and effectively went gold on 4th June just over a year later.

So how has Ruffian done? The recently released demo code gives us our first chance to play Crackdown 2 in the Digital Foundry labs.

Technologically speaking Crackdown 2 is more evolution than revolution. The building blocks of the engine appear to be unchanged from the original, so with that being the case we still have a partially deferred lighting solution, a full 720p framebuffer with 2x multisampling anti-aliasing and a frame-rate capped at 30FPS.

Although initial impressions are that the game's performance level is roughly in line with its predecessor, going back to the original Crackdown soon proves that there have been plenty of optimisations. Crackdown 2 tears far less frequently than the first game, and sustains 30FPS more evenly. Similar to the first game though, the sequel does drop v-sync when the scene gets busy and the engine starts to frame-out.

Massive on-street battles can cause performance drops, but there's no doubt that Crackdown 2 feels smoother, more refined and less prone to screen-tear than its predecessor.

In terms of overall appearance, we're seeing what looks like a gently massaged and tweaked version of the original Crackdown engine. The cel-shaded look is present and correct, with much the same black outlining system, but it seems as though the water rendering is much more advanced, which looks nicer. Maybe it's because we're seeing a limited demo with only a small sampling of the day/night cycle, but cloud rendering appears to be a touch less dramatic than it was in the first game, too. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly but the overall lighting scheme is more refined.

Probably the most impactful enhancement is the implementation of a new crowd system, which crams the scene with enemies during the hours of darkness. If you find yourself in a wide open area you can truly appreciate the scale of this addition, with the Freaks filling out the environments well into the distance.

While our explorations of the demo have been fairly limited thus far, it also looks as though Ruffian has included some new specific crowd-control weapons too, which combined with the existing, excellent physics system should make for some great gameplay.

'Tech Analysis: Crackdown 2 demo' Screenshot crowds1
'Tech Analysis: Crackdown 2 demo' Screenshot crowds2

The Freaks emerge from their lairs at night-time, meaning that the Agents need to participate in some all-out crowd control.

It also looks as though the developer has indulged in some tweaking of the Crackdown engine, and while the overall impression is positive, one thing that is apparent is that an additional layer of environment texture overlaid over the basic art has been removed.

To get an idea of what this actually means, here's a shot of Crackdown 2 compared to the original game. You will note, however, that Ruffian has added an animated foliage system, and we suspect that further comparisons would reveal other additions to make some areas of Pacific City look less sparse than they did in the first game.

'Tech Analysis: Crackdown 2 demo' Screenshot c1-1
'Tech Analysis: Crackdown 2 demo' Screenshot c2-1
'Tech Analysis: Crackdown 2 demo' Screenshot c1-2
'Tech Analysis: Crackdown 2 demo' Screenshot c2-2

The same game area in Crackdown (left) and the sequel (right). Note the additional layer of texture detail in the first game, but also note the many changes Ruffian has made, including foliage that shifts in the breeze.

So there's no outstanding technical leap across the board as seen between, say, Uncharted and its sequel. It's clear Ruffian has sought to exploit the existing engine as much as possible in the pursuit of new gameplay opportunities instead.

The Crackdown single-player game used to be about the exploration, orb collection and annihilating territory-specific bosses. It's clear just from the initial stages of the demo that far more thought has gone into solo campaign this time around, with some pleasant surprises in how the orb-collection mechanic has been tweaked. Multiplayer has been similarly improved with the inclusion of more Agents and of course the new Xbox Live-specific agility orbs.

Ruffian has also managed to improve on the basic brilliance of the original Crackdown demo itself. For those that don't remember, the ability to accelerate the development of your Agent within the confines of the time-limited demo made for an experience that could be played in any number of ways: the replay factor in the sampler code alone was immense.

This has been expanded upon still further in the sequel with many more things to do, and at the same time it retains the option simply to explore the city collecting orbs. Additionally, 100 gamerscore can be earned within the demo itself, although you will need to buy the full game in order to get the unlocked Achievements.

The sheer amount of content in this demo makes it something of an essential download, a game in itself almost, like the original Crackdown demo before it. It'll be really interesting to see the full scope of the complete sequel, set for release in the UK on 9th July.

Update: The performance video has been updated with a fixed version with tear graph, which mysteriously - and rather annoyingly - disappeared from the original version.

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (54) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #1 2 years ago

    I think that I prefer the old look, especially in the first comparison shot. Good to hear that the performance is solid even though I never had any issues with the first one. In the end all I care about is having a huge city with tons of hidden orbs to collect.

  • J0rdan_KZ #2 2 years ago

    Man, did Crackdown 1 really look like that? Rose tinting ahoy.

  • captainrentboy #3 2 years ago

    Crackdown 2 is particularly ugly and when I first knocked the demo on I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed by it all, but then after 3 solid hours of replaying the demo over and over, I remembered, graphics really aren't everything.
    I'll be getting this on the 16th along with the 'slim'.
    Edited by 1 at 22/06/10 @ 16:01

  • mkreku #4 2 years ago

    Is it just me or have they shortened the view distance in Crackdown 2? It looks that way in the first comparison shot, but it might just be smog clouding the view.

  • FogHeart #5 2 years ago

    I had a 360 for a few months until I was burgled....Crackdown was the only game I missed badly. It never was the prettiest of games, but that was never the point. It was about draw distance so you could appreciate the view from high places, and keeping things moving when your antics made the physics system work hard. And the inheritors of the franchise seem to have taken that on board. Good show.

  • ybfelix #6 2 years ago

    Is the voice of agency the same person? I feel like he has changed, and not as calm as in the original.

  • mcmonkeyplc #7 2 years ago

    The voice is the same.

  • darkmorgado #8 2 years ago

    The voice is the same, though I agree he comes across as more agressive this time round - I don't remember him swearing in the original for instance, though he swore several times duing the demo.

    Interesting to see that I was right about the textures being downgraded from the first game. Presumably to increase bandwidth for the new crowd dynamics? If so, it seems odd that they have chosen to include rendered foliage that sways in the breeze - surely this must cause a significant processor hit, and seems an odd choice in a title set in an urban environment.

  • Quixz #9 2 years ago

    Want!

  • Hantheman #10 2 years ago

    Graphic's smaphics. Crackdown isn't about beauty. It's about crazy fun. And if it's smoother than the original than it's a step in the right direction.

  • BuckEntropy #11 2 years ago

    I appreciate the changes in detail priority, and I doubt the environment textures have much to do with rendering performance but rather memory resources. And this is a more appealing balance to me, the dynamic models seem to 'pop' more, and that's closer to the old-school arcade aesthetic. Which is appropriate for this sort of game. I think it looks great.

  • GamesConnoisseur #12 2 years ago

    Could it be that I have been spoiled in the intervening years of playing a more visiually advanced game, as upon the first few minutes of playing the sequel demo... I was knocked as to how ugly its looked and I had suspected that the developers had some how gone with the worse look!

    No it was just being rose tinted indeed, but I did truly loved the feels and play of the first game and still am unsure about the demo, but toward the last ten minutes I did finally be able to scale up the buildings with similar enthusiasm from the first game.

    Hoping its ll be as fun and great to play.

  • Miths #13 2 years ago

    If it turns out as good as the first one, this will be one of those very rare cases where I'll be sad I don't have a 360 anymore (might be tempted by one of the new "slim" models though). I loved the first game.

  • Darren #14 2 years ago

    Crackdown 2 definitely looks dated but that said I prefer the bold bright colour palette of the original as this new game looks quite drab and brown/grey in comparison. Waiting to try the demo but it looks pretty much the same as the first game from what I've seen of it and I quickly tired of that. Can't see myself buying this to be honest. Still the demo is free to try.

  • DrDamn #15 2 years ago

    Crackdown was Renderware - Crackdown 2 isn't. So how could it be a tweaked version of the same engine? It's a new engine surely?

  • lagoonalight #16 2 years ago

    Wow, this game looks like garbage. I know it's a good game but man this hardware is showing its age. I don't really see how people cannot buy into a PS3 at this point. There is just too much to resist.

  • ybfelix #17 2 years ago

    if this game isn't an exclusive and is on PS3 too, it would end up looking mostly the same as the 360 version.

  • lagoonalight #18 2 years ago

    If the 360 development did not limit the game then it would not look like this. What is your point? For anybody to deny that this hardware is ageing fast is ludicrous. I used to think the consoles were roughly equal but I have changed my opinion. The Cell is honestly a stroke of genius for the underwhelming GPU's this gen. I mean this game looks like upscaled xbox to me. Great game but clearly not worth 60 bucks imo. I don't pay 60 for any game to be honest. Maybe I'll pick it up cheap.

  • ybfelix #19 2 years ago

    What? No, most last gen games' xbox version has visibly better graphic compared to ps2 version, I don't think all devs would intentionally limit one version, what's the point.

    ps: does that means you also don't see why people did not "buy into" the original xbox or "buy into" wii?
    Edited by 2 at 22/06/10 @ 20:28

  • Kilters #20 2 years ago

    lagoonalight = trolling oaf

  • brseg #21 2 years ago

    I think the graphics could/should look better (polygon count and textures), bearing in mind whats in the market nowadays, BUT one reason to cut it some slack is the sheer number of things going on. Not sure I can think of a game with this many characters on screen, all with physics.
    I'll play the demo again asap, I was a bit rushed first time.
    Edited by 1 at 22/06/10 @ 20:47

  • darkmorgado #22 2 years ago

    The Cell is honestly a stroke of genius for the underwhelming GPU's this gen.

    Sorry to burst your bubble, the Cell is not a GPU. The Xbox GPU is actually superior to the one in the PS3.

  • WinterSnowblind #23 2 years ago

    @lagoonalight
    You can't be serious. The PS3 is undoubedly the more powerful machine, but not by a huge amount. One game certainly doesn't prove otherwise, epsiecally as there are other games on the 360 that look far better.

    And as others have said, I think Crackdown is a great example of how graphics don't mean anything when the gameplay manages to be so great. Mindless action perhaps, but it really brings me back to the old school beat 'em up days. And the co-op play is insanely amusing.

    I'd much rather play this than Crysis or Killzone.

  • miiiguel #24 2 years ago

    What about the soundtrack? I won't be demoing, ca't spoil that 1st full game feeling! 1's soudtrack was amazing, listening to Amon Tobin on top of Agency Tower was something sublime.
    Edited by 1 at 22/06/10 @ 21:24

  • Der_tolle_Emil #25 2 years ago

    I hated the soundtrack in the first one. It was neither good nor did it fit the game (personal opinion of course).

  • miiiguel #26 2 years ago

    lagonadude other face:

    Well, we know half you people don't and have never owned a PS so why are you even commenting on this?
    About the poor Twisted Metal graphics.
    Edited by 1 at 22/06/10 @ 21:30

  • miiiguel #27 2 years ago

    @ Der: Fair enough, I love Amon Tobim and even more DJ Krush, I found it so cool that sometimes I just stood on top of a bulding listning to Krush's and Tobim's tracks. I hope they keep the eletro-jazz mood.

  • miiiguel #28 2 years ago

    @ lagoona: This game won't play in you PS3, as I believe you previously said and I quote:

    I'll keep my 80GB PS3 and pretend everything else does not exist thank you.

  • DodgyG #29 2 years ago

    @DrDamn - It's a heavily modified version of Renderware.

  • TRUTH #30 2 years ago

    This looks waaaaaaaaaaaay to repetitive an looks, plays like CD 1 esp in gameplay...Come on! do a proper sequel, not a add on!

    I thought CD 1 was way to samey - all you did was kill and jump, then repeat doing the same thing. This is problem with the sequel too!...It does not matter about the sandbox approach, when all the gamer requires is doing the same bloody thing with the same 2 enemies (day+night).
    Edited by 1 at 22/06/10 @ 22:14

  • darkmorgado #31 2 years ago

    I thought CD 1 was way to samey - all you did was kill and jump, then repeat doing the same thing.

    How is this different from the FPS games you love so much?

    Racing games - You race and race, repeatedly doing the same thing.
    FPS - You shoot and shoot, repeatedly doing the same thing.
    Beat em ups - You repeatedly beat up people, again and again.
    RPGs - You level up, doing the same thing over and over again.

    Games genres are repetitive by their very nature. You may as well criticise Horror films for "always trying to scare you" or for comedies to "always make you laugh".

    EDIT: My main point here is pointing out the irony of TRUTH criticising a game for being too similar to its predecessor when he is a massive FPS fan that evangelises FPS franchises that offer only incremental updates.
    Edited by 2 at 23/06/10 @ 00:34

  • DrDamn #32 2 years ago

    @DodgeyG
    Crackdown was modified Renderware, Crackdown 2 is new engine though. If it was still Renderware then why no logo on start-up?

  • darkmorgado #33 2 years ago

    @DrDamn

    I've not seen anything that says CD2 is a new engine. Everything I have seen has said that it runs on a tweaked version of the CD1 engine. Given the short dev cycle (a year between reveal and release), this makes sense. The similarities between the two titles also go against them running on different engines.

  • DrDamn #34 2 years ago

    Rendering pipeline - which is really what we are talking about in relation to this article is completely reworked ...

    "James Cope: There’s also the rendering pipeline that we’ve had to completely modify. We’ve had to pretty much start again with it, but there’s old stuff in there that we don’t touch purely because we do have a time restriction."

    [link url=ht tp://www.vg247.com/2009/11/23/interview-part-2-crackdown-2-d esign-boss-and-producer-on-pacific-citys-future/
    ]http://ww w.vg247.com/2009/11/23/intervie...[/link]


  • zaftxx #35 2 years ago

    @lagoonalight
    How in the world is crackdown 2, a comic book style open world game indicative of 360's age? I guess MAG shows how dated PS3 is because MAG looks like an upscaled PS2 game



    BTW the best looking open world game right now is RDR, and guess what? 360 runs at native 720p unlike PS3.
    See what im getting at..

    your also acting like ps3 came out yesterday... its 3 1/2 years old..
    Edited by 1 at 23/06/10 @ 05:46

  • ukgamer #36 2 years ago

    I preferred the art style in the first game but the core gameplay is still in CD2.

  • Geordiemp #37 2 years ago

    The way they have organised this game its only worth buying as a GOLD member, which is harsh.

    LIVE only orbs ? No system link.

    First game I have seen which has items you can only pick up if you are a GOLD member......

    Like Crackdown but not enough to be the sole reason to buy gold accounts again.

  • 43n1m4 #38 2 years ago

    Actually look forward to the game. Crackdown was (and is) a surprisingly good game, and although the somewhat bland look of the demo of Crackdown 2 did seem a bit off-putting, extended time with it proved that the good old gameplay is back. If the graphics is good enough to convey the gameplay, I'm ok, but Ruffian could've tried to improve the look a bit more, imo.

  • edhe #39 2 years ago

    @38 - aww diddums. They're rewarding the coop players, you don't need to get them.

    the main focus of crackdown was blowing shit up. The explosions are great and the physics are fun.. The graphics aren't stunning from a 'woo detail' point of view but when i was UV shotgunning half a dozen freaks away at a time as a dozen more ran at me and another 50 or so were in the distance fighting peacekeepers as a buggy swung round blasting it's minigun and i could see the agency tower in the distance slightly hued out before the sun was up again...

    Yeah, thanks. I'm happy with the graphics. It's art style precludes it from anything fancy, which is a choice not a necessity.

    So i'll be finishing up Just Cause 2 soon then..

  • davisorle #40 2 years ago

    The game was just too much fun and for me, being a visual sucker, I was even more amazed by the fact that I felt of how there was nothing special about the graphics yet managed to win me over after the first 15 mins of gameplay. Not somethign that happens often ^^

    @lagoonalight

    At least 100 of crossplatform games and their developers felt and resulted otherwise than your silly statement through your agnorance..

  • tossum #41 2 years ago

    @DrDamn: from speaking to one of the devs, CD2 is renderware

  • RedSparrows #42 2 years ago

    'The way they have organised this game its only worth buying as a GOLD member, which is harsh. '

    Most MP games do this. Nothing new.

  • DrDamn #43 2 years ago

    @tossum
    I've got it on similarly good authority that it isn't :)

  • TRUTH #44 2 years ago

    I'm not a fps fan - actually I prefer adveture/Rpg/strategy games (Demon's Souls, Fallout, AC II, Oblivion )...The problem I found with Crackdown is it starts to look the same fairly quick, enemies remain the same without any physical or Ai change, vehicles were useless, the game never changed from early on as you fought the same foes who just got more shielding and you just keep doing the same with no progression in different enemies, bosses, environments. As in fps Halo, Half Life 2, Portal, F.E.A.R, Bioshock and even COD 4(I'm not a fan of COD)..there are changes - Ai, environments, enemies, approach, challenge alters to think differently with weapons against attacks etc. This was lacking in CD (you may power up; but mostly nothing really else changed)

    Playing CD2 is seems more of the same, added with zombies which just seem the same as humans only dumber and larger numbers. I don't see the point in all tooling uo when you just continue to fight the same looking characters all the way to the end. The sandbox nature wears thin quickly like this as you never see real changes in enemy, city or any changes as in CD 1 - just tool up and repeat, then repeat, then repeat...This game needs more enemy changes, bigger bosses, changing city environment etc etc.

  • DodgyG #45 2 years ago

    @DrDamn - Feel free to twitter @gyratory and ask him ;)

  • BlinxHDD #46 2 years ago

    We've seen a lot of great cel/toon shaded styles and I don't think this is one of them.

  • sfp_noodle #47 2 years ago

    This game has (mostly) kept the feel of the original. I'm not digging the new art style and I prefered the narrator guys tone in the original. Now he just barks at you and gets angry way too quickly. Having said that, meleeing the crap out of freaks is a blast with friends. I'll definately be picking this up but I think I will wait for it to drop to the £20 mark this time. It just hasn't drawn me in like the original did. I played CD1's demo non stop for weeks before I had the cash to actually afford it. The sequel is missing that special quality IMO.

    As for the graphics, well, why are they so important? This isn't a hollywood style blockbuster. The game doesn't take itself too seriously and is the better for it. They weren't trying to create a GTA beater. They were trying to make it fun and I believe they succeeded.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #48 2 years ago

    I think what most people complain about when they are talking about the graphics is that the original was a bright, cartoony and even colorful looking game. What they have done is taken all that out, improving it by making it more brown and grey and the end result is a game that has lost its charm to more realistic looking graphics which, however, look really weak compared to other games going for a more realistic look.

    It's just that they achieved nothing by changing the graphics. They don't look as good as other games and they lost something that made the original special. Maybe there was a need to update the graphics but there certainly was no need to change the style as well.

  • bing #49 2 years ago

    @Geordieimp

    'The way they have organised this game its only worth buying as a GOLD member, which is harsh.

    LIVE only orbs ? No system link.

    First game I have seen which has items you can only pick up if you are a GOLD member...... '

    Not exactly big news 'online features in a game can only be played by people who play online' dosent exactly cripple the game does it ...

  • MeBrains #50 2 years ago

    haha... donnie. still the same ol' goof aye?! ;)

  • Rorsch #51 2 years ago

    As I mentioned with Deus Ex 3, why is everything brown now?! :/

  • zztopp #52 2 years ago

    Wow, Crackdown 2 looks really dated with simple geometry and muddy textures. Its like its 2005 all over again !

  • DrDamn #53 2 years ago

    @tossum
    Ahem ... http://ww w.eurogamer.net/articles/digita... :)

    "There is almost no RenderWare code left in the game now, what little there is left we could not remove this time due to risk."
    Edited by 1 at 26/06/10 @ 21:27

  • IvorB #54 2 years ago

    Man, I'm sorry. I gotta say it: those graphics are pretty sh*t. I'm not trying to start a flamewar or anything. The gameplay may be awesome but from a graphical perspective it's looking pretty ropey and way out of line with what I would expect on an HD console from a major exclusive.