Crackdown: First Impressions

I've gotten in about an hour or so of playtime so far in Crackdown, and while I want to venture a little farther before rendering my final verdict, here are some early perceptions:

*Gameplay seems a little shallow, but thoroughly entertaining. There's an endless array of faceless goons for you to pummel and shoot, and while some are hardier than others, none of them really stand out. You also don't need much in the way of mental prowess to advance through this game. Run, jump, shoot, detonate.

*The graphics are awesome. Climb to the top of a bridge or building, and you'll spend at least a minute or two surveying the cityscape below. Then you'll leap off and plummet giddily to the ground or water.

*Orbs are your friend. To increase your agility, speed and jumping ability, you need to collect glowing green orbs scattered around town. I've spent more time so far scavenging for agility orbs than I have actually completing the missions, because Crackdown doesn't become awesome until you've ramped up your jumping abilities to superhero levels.

My final grade will run in the paper on Saturday. Right now, though, I'd have to say that while Crackdown is tremendously entertaining, it's not a terribly complex or absorbing game. The game I'd actually compare it to is Dead Rising, which lets you roam freely through a zombie-infested mall rather than through an entire city. But Dead Rising has a ton of different activities to perform, a coherent and entertaining (if B-movie) plot to keep you engaged, and actually requires some mental planning and problem solving in order to advance.

Maybe some more time with Crackdown will alter my opinion, though.