February 12, 2007 - If Crackdown were nothing more than a GTA-ish game with the fat trimmed away and some insane physical abilities, hell, that'd be something to be thrilled about. That it represents the best, if not the first, online multiplayer sandbox game on a console is just gravy.

February 12, 2007 - In other words, being so excellent that you obliterate the single-player in a weekend is not enough to stop it being my favourite Xbox 360 game of recent times.

February 21, 2007 - While some may take issue with Crackdown's bare bones story presentation, those with an appreciation for the fine art of blowing things up and leaping impossible distances across skyscrapers will be in heaven.

February 27, 2007 - Crackdown is a game that simply must be played if you are at all fond of free-roaming action games.

April 13, 2007 - Crackdown brings a lot of fun to the sandbox genre, but fails to truly innovate.

February 12, 2007 - However, and despite the vanilla missions and targeting snafu, Crackdown stands out as one of the Xbox 360's guiltiest pleasures.

February 12, 2007 - While you'll certainly have a lot of fun playing Crackdown, it's hard not to get the distinct feeling that it was on the cusp of being so much more.

February 20, 2007 - Notice that I didn't mention the Halo 3 beta offer during this whole article? That's because it's completely irrelevant when looking at Crackdown, it's a solid game that delivers exactly what it promises: a giant sandbox to blow the crap out of.

February 17, 2007 - The superhero powers and coop mode alone make Crackdown worth recommending. Next time, throw in some more structure - or at least some more gadgets and toys to wreak havoc with when there is no structure - and you'll have a classic must-buy franchise.

February 19, 2007 - The role-playing elements are addictive for a while, and it can be fun to play in this sandbox, setting up massive explosions and stunts, but the actual game is seriously lacking in a number of areas, and compared to the other GTA clones on the market, it falls firmly into the middle.

February 12, 2007 - The smart blend of collecting orbs in a wildly vertical setting while constantly feeling the reward of powering up creates an unbeatable sensation of addictive fun.