After Realtime Worlds passed the torch to Ruffian to create the next instalment of Crackdown, the gaming world waited with bated breath to see if the sequel could live up to the hype and expectation, and still retain the fun and addictive nature of the original. Could this be the game of the summer, or have Ruffian let the chance for greatness slip away?

To clear the air before it goes any further, it must be said that Crackdown 2 handles the same as it’s predecessor in almost every way. Orb hunting is present, with the addition of hard to catch renegade agility and driving orbs, the same level of ability progression returns and the player will most likely find themselves doing the same things they did before.

Having stepped back into the shoes of an agent in Pacific City it’s strange to think that so much time has passed, and while the sights still bring back memories, the city is clearly a different creature. Many of the bustling metropolitan areas, that were once filled with bustling civilian life, are now in ruin; boarded up, decaying and lifeless. It’s clear from the offset that Ruffian wants to show that nothing good has come since the preceding years, after the streets were cleansed of the gang violence as a different agent. It’s worrying that the developers went for such a, to coin a cliché, post-apocalyptic world.

Unfortunately, there is very little in this world that screams out with originality or character. Considering Ruffian were building, and remodelling, on a world lovingly crafted it is such a shame that they decided to approach the environment in this way.

The story involves mutants, or freaks, having been released onto the streets by an incident during the course of the first game. To add to this confusion a terrorist organisation, The Cell, are fighting the agency at every turn to stop them destroying all the freaks in the city. It’s all very nonsensical, granted the agency hasn’t endeared themselves to the population of Pacific City. But stopping them from destroying all the freaks, well it doesn’t make any sense.

When the world was remodelled, several issues arose from the way in which it was “modified”. Players may find it hard to work out which ledges are there for aesthetic value and which are practical for scaling tall structures. This is a complete and not entirely welcome change to the way in which the player will have to approach each task. In addition to this, the agents ability to grab certain ledges can be very hit and miss. One moment you find yourself ascending the face of a building, then for some unknown reason, your character misses every ledge and falls to their bone-crunching death.

The “go anywhere, do anything” attitude has been greatly hampered by the physical nature of the buildings themselves, but there are certain tasks that require the player to have a certain agility level in order to reach the target. This was not so much of an issue in the original as everything was negotiable. The one problem with this situation is very simple and can be summed up in one phrase; artificially extending the life of a game. The player is forced to orb hunt and take part in roof-top races, rather than the player deciding what they would like to do in the large sand-box provided.

Speaking of orb hunting, the purists who managed to collect every orb in the first Crackdown may become a little irate as Ruffian have now supplied the player with an orb ping, which shows the location of every orb in the vicinity of the player on the radar. There’s sure to be debate over this inclusion.

Combat handles very much the same as it did in the original. Enemies can be locked on to, then each body part can be targeted individually. There is also free reign for the player to use their own skills, as they can free-aim if they wish. New additions to the arsenal of weaponry don’t make a huge difference to the way in which situations will be handled.

Most fans of the original were looking forward to a more varied style of gameplay in the sequel and a more coherent story, but this is the games major failing. The player will spend their time divided between capturing control points all over the city and turning on power stations so you can light bomb freak lairs. It all gets very repetitious and extremely humdrum. The only element that captures the fun aspect is playing with one or more partners. Then you can all share in the repetitious boredom with conversation.

Ruffian decided to throw multiplayer into the mix with three game modes. There are standard death match modes, both teams and free-for-all. Despite feeling like an afterthought, they can be quite entertaining. It couldn’t be said that these modes will have the longevity of other open-world games multiplayer offerings, but are a welcome, if small, distraction. The final mode is simply called rocket tag. The goal is yet another classic mode with a Crackdown twist; every player vies for control of an orb, scoring points by holding it for fixed periods of time and by performing kills while holding the orb. The action is frantic and fast paced and is only mediocre at best. By no means is it a terrible effort, but it still feels like it was cobbled together rather than the fantastic multiplayer experience we were expecting.

All in all, Crackdown 2 disappoints and entertains in equal measure. New additions to the weapons roster might amuse for a while, but having to repeat the same tasks repeatedly has been the major issue with recent open-world games. The game lacks variety and ingenuity, and it’s clear that the developers did not push the envelope with this title. There is only one word to describe the overall effort that Crackdown 2 is: average.

VideogameUK verdict: 5.5/10