A few years back, Crackdown was the surprise hit for Xbox 360. Combining an open world environment with the ability to become a super cop, the game delivered violence and fun like no other. It’s three years later and the sequel is here to give fans of the first game more. But what Crackdown 2 offers is more of the same rather than bringing anything new to the table. It’s still an extremely fun game, but feels more like an expansion pack rather than a brand new game.

Just like the original installment, Crackdown 2 takes place in Pacific City and features your character as a cop with upgradable super powers. So the entire rooftop jumping, car tossing and crazy arsenal of weapons shtick from the first game is back. But now the city is a little worn down with mutants now taking over the city at night. And…well…that’s about all that is different with Pacific City. Your job is to restore order to the decimated city. But the meat and potatoes of the game revolves around blowing sh*t up and chasing ability orbs scattered throughout the city. The orbs will beef up your agility powers and by the end of the game you’ll be jumping 30 feet in the air and launching vehicles at enemies with ease.

Although the hunt for orbs is fun, the story is not. Let’s just say to even say that Crackdown 2 has a story is an insult in itself. Your job is to clear Pacific City of mutants called “Freaks” by activating homing beacons and then setting them off inside of the lair of the “Freaks.” You do this nine times and that’s pretty much it. Yup. That is all. You can do some side missions which consist of occupying “Cell” territory but it is literally the same old same throughout the entire game.

The game mechanics are a bit wonky as well. Targeting is a pain as you can get locked onto a close enemy and detonate a bomb meant for someone off in the distance and find yourself blown up. Driving mechanics are solid but some of the vehicles handle far better than others. Jumping from building to building is cool. That is, until you think you can grab a ledge but you can’t and plummet to the pavement below. It’s annoying as hell but doesn’t completely deter you from the fun aspects of the game.

The melee attacks are cool but nothing spectacular. You’ll spend a majority of your time jumping in the air while using your rocket launcher blow up the bad guys. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun, but you wish the game had a little bit more to it.

The multiplayer aspect is solid as up to four people can cooperate on the campaign mode and run around blowing sh*t up together. The multiplayer modes like deathmatch and rocket tag are a little ho-hum and just feel like a missed opportunity to make Crackdown 2 stand out.

Missed opportunity is the name of the game with Crackdown 2. While fun, the sequel feels like nothing more than a minor league upgrade to a game that had major appeal three years ago. Have fun while it lasts because throwing cars will get old sooner or later.

Pros

-          A vast assortment of weapons to pulverize civilians and baddies is always fun

-          Lots of in-game achievements and orbs to keep you busy even after the directionless campaign ends

-          Remains fun and entertaining because of jacked up abilities

Cons

-          The story is non-existent and basically consists of doing the same mission over and over and over again

-          The graphics don’t offer very much in terms of “wow” factor.

-          Seems more like Crackdown 1.5 rather than a sequel

Rating: 3 out of 5

I finally have a minute to sit down and give you all a taste of my first two hours at E3 2010.  The amount of shit in the main hall alone is overwhelming.  Imagine the floor of the Los Angeles Convention Center packed like sardines with gamers and low AC.   I almost want to yell out ‘Who let the dogs out’ and see what happens.

When you walk in, the first set up you see Perfect World Entertainment.  A subsidiary of Perfect World Beijing, they are the leader in publishing and operating massively multiplayer online games. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., Perfect World Entertainment is bringing the pinnacle of online gaming to North American and international audiences.  The best thing about the games?  They are ALL FREE. Honestly, the quality of these games are quite dope, especially for being free.

Battle of the Immortals from NerdLike. on Vimeo.

My next stop was Capcom’s huge space, showcasing their new game DeadRising 2 for the XBox 360, Playstation 3 and Microsoft Windows.  Full of blood, gore and of course, a zombie revival, the game is a cross between an action/adventure and role playing game.  Their site was quite enticing to the boys in the crowd, as they have a sexy zombie caged in the middle of the booth.   Set 5 years in the future of the first release of Dead Rising and coming out on Aug 31, this one looks like it has mass potential.

Then, we have a couple of new releases from Crave Games, featuring updated titles of some slower paced games.  Titles such as Deadliest Catch, Brunswick Pro Bowling and Man vs Wild are all available for demo.  I can’t lie, I was kind of feeling the Deadliest Catch title;

Deadliest Catch: Sea of Chaos ™ game is currently in development for Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Nintendo Wii™ and the Sony PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. Developed by DoubleTap, the game captures the drama and excitement of the Discovery Channel’s Emmy-winning, #1 series Deadliest Catch, challenging players to take on the world’s toughest job, crab fishing.

Brunswick Pro Bowling an interesting surprise, as it will actually support Microsoft’s Project Natal.  In essence, it is actually a more Natal-ified version of Brunswick Pro Bowling, the PlayStation Move bowling title revealed earlier this year. While it was essentially inevitable that Natal would receive some kind of bowling game, we can’t help but wonder how strange it will be to pretend to bowl without something to hold on to. If only there was some peripheral, something tangible we could use to enhance the experience. [Like the new CTA Bowling Ball for the Wii]

The Man Vs. Wild title was also debuted here, set to be released for the Xbox 360, Microsoft, Nintendo Wii and the PS3.  Developed by game developer Scientifically Proven, the game captures the heart-pounding excitement and realistic nature of the Discovery Channel’s top-rated television series. The game offers five authentic situations in a role play-style adventure, featuring seasoned survival expert Bear Grylls.  Only, this time you won’t be making any suspect rafting videos LOL.

Remember your coveted GameBoy you had as a child?  Someone has found a way to turn it into an closure for their coveted grown up Hard Drive.

[Via Boing Boing]

Check out this teaser of the return of one of my all time favorite characters, mr. Sonic himself.

GEEKitty - specializes in outfitting your feline companion with geek gear, but in a feline-friendly way. GEEKitty wants your cat to join in the fun of your geek lifestyle without getting cat hair all stuck in your controllers. Don’t make your cat feel guilty for jumping on your d20, get him his own to play with.

GEEKitty toys are made from felt, with no metal or plastic parts. Every detail is hand-sewn, making each one unique. Every toy is loaded with tempting GeeKitty catnip, which is significantly fresher than the ‘nip in mass-produced cat toys, and your cat can tell the difference.

GeeKitty sent us one of their original Nintendo controllers for felines. Right away the cats jumped all over it [almost causing a cat riot]. It was an instant love affair. The toys are durable and GeeKitty was right, the catnip is impossible for them to ignore!

One of the components that I like best is the ‘controller cable’ attached to the toy.

GeeKitty wants to give your feline friends a toy of their own!  3 lucky NerdLike readers will win one of the toys from GeeKitty’s collection.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit GeeKitty’s shop and leave a comment below letting us know which toy your GeeKitty would love.

EXTRA ENTRIES: Tweet, Digg or Stumble this giveaway and leave a SEPARATE comment below with your status update or username. You may do this once per day, each worth 1 entry.

For an additional entry: Subscribe via RSS with the big orange button up top. Leave a separate comment letting us know!

The giveaway winner will be chosen on Sept 5th.  Good luck!

After 3 months of living it up with her boy, the Heartless Doll [a San Franciscan blogger] has composed a list of the 10 best games to play as a couple. Being the only woman in my household, and more so being married to a gamer…I cosign this list. So ladies, put down the blackberry and pick up the sticks…..and kick his ass!

[Via Heartless Doll]

Activision, the creators of the Guitar Hero series, announced today that the late Nirvana front man [Kurt Cobain] will be making in appearance in the 5th release.

“Kurt Cobain is one of the most recognizable frontmen in rock ‘n’ roll history and it’s an honor to have two of Nirvana’s masterpieces included in Guitar Hero 5,” said Activision VP Tim Riley. “This is the first time the original recording of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ has ever been licensed in an entertainment property and we’re thrilled to offer Guitar Hero fans exclusive access to the unreleased live version of ‘Lithium.’”

Thanks to KokuGamer, we have a list of seven things the average gamer may not know about Halo ODST. Some major changes include no matchmaking for Firefight, the announcer will be making another debut and only 2 players will be able to play per console. If you want to check out the rest, click the jump.

[Via KokuGamer]

With all of the ladies shaving half of their heads bald, it was only a matter of time before the fellas joined in.  This guy put his own spin on it though, adding tetris themed blocks.  I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda into this.

[Via Geekoloige]

I am so juiced for this. From Rolling Stone…

the game’s design shows “amazing attention to detail” and depicts The Beatles performing in a variety of settings, such as Liverpool and on the “Ed Sullivan Show” stage.

The game is set to drop Sept. 9th, make sure you’re in line for your copy!