Free-Roaming Nirvana
Real Time Worlds and Microsoft Game Studios are teaming up to bring a new action-driving franchise to Xbox 360™ with upcoming Crackdown™. We had a chance to sit down with Dave Jones, Managing Director of Real Time Worlds, for an insider peek at what's in store.
Xbox.com: With sandbox games becoming a staple genre, what about Crackdown will immediately separate it from similarly designed games?
Dave Jones: In a word: interactivity. The open-ended, urban world of Crackdown takes full advantage of the power of Xbox 360 to create a living, breathing, virtual playground. Players can now fully manipulate the surrounding environment to their own destructive advantage in a way that more effectively ties the story to the landscape in which the story takes place. Many "sandbox" games provide only the illusion of a sandbox—offering a sprawling, static world in place of a setting with real consequence and depth. With Crackdown, we're making good on the promise of that experience.
Xbox.com: Is there any multiplayer planned for Crackdown and, if so, how will it be implemented? Co-Op? Versus?
Dave Jones: Crackdown will take full advantage of co-op multiplayer gameplay and is designed so that the single-player experience evolves significantly by approaching it with friends. Strategies that simply weren't available with only one player suddenly prove to be deliciously destructive as gamers tackle each situation from multiple angles.
Xbox.com: What keeps the game living on after the primary mission is finished?
Dave Jones: The freeform exploratory nature of the gameplay gives you two compelling directions to pursue when you have completed the single-player portion. You can either take your agent(s) online and play cooperatively with others or you can create new agent(s) to explore different ways of cleaning up the city. How players are ranked is based on a combination of speed and skills so there will be an emphasis on honing your strategies either by exploration or learning from those you play cooperatively with.
Xbox.com: Can you customize the look for your character and, if so, what options are available?
Dave Jones: Your character in Crackdown is largely created by your actions. So while you can't specifically design yourself into the game, your character will physically change over time in accordance with how your approach the world around you.
Xbox.com: How do your character's skills evolve over time?
Dave Jones: As in life, you become better at the things you do most often. Running, driving, lifting, shooting, jumping—all of these skills improve as you put them to good use. Toss around the occasional armored car and you're going to develop some serious muscles. Spend a lot of time with the game's arsenal of firepower and you're going to become a first-class marksman.
Xbox.com: Are there any concrete plans to make downloadable content available for Crackdown?
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