Crackdown 2 arrived on release day to play on my new Xbox which seemed fitting as one of the first Xbox games I played was Crackdown 1. It was also one of the games I’ve enjoyed the most.

Set in the familiar city that was the stage for Crackdown, the agency (of which you play one of the super human, genetically enhanced “cops”) is fighting a war on two sides. The first being the terrorist group “Cell” and the second being the nocturnal freak population that has been turned crazy and deformed by a strange virus that may or may not have something to do with the agency…

That’s the whole plot. Excellent. Don’t get in my way from stomping, shooting exploding, gliding, jumping, driving and most importantly….. collecting.

Anyone that’s played C1 will know that getting all the agility orbs becomes an addiction of OCD proportions. Hearing the familiar humming of an orb means you MUST collect it… I dream of those bastards…..

On C1 I collected all of them bar 2 so I’m damn well determined to get them all this time round. Helping me is a small tip… pressing up on the D-pad does a quick scan of the surrounding area and briefly shows you agility and hidden orbs in the vicinity. This is invaluable if you wanna get em all. Another tip is that when you press start, then press start again to exit the screen the radar briefly zooms out to focus in one where you are. If you do that and then press Up on the Dpad you get a wider view of the area while it shows you surrounding orbs.

I’m still waiting for a friend to get his new Xbox up and running so that I can multiplayer my way through collecting some online orbs and achievements but otherwise I’ve completed the main story line and am probably 60% through completing the numerous side quests / tasks the game throws at you.

Overall, I believe this is a must purchase if you loved Crackdown 1 like me. If you haven’t played the first one, do yourself a favour and get either game as they’re brilliant!