Crackdown 2 took Bioshock's twist and did it better

[@SourRobo8364]

All I remember was jumping across buildings to collect orbs.

[@urbanmidnight1]

Then you must've been on drugs

[@RustCohle072]

@@urbanmidnight1 Well Crackdown did come out over 10 years ago.

[@WinstonPoptart]

@@urbanmidnight1 That was the game though. Shooting, jumping and orbs.

[@Armataan]

@@WinstonPoptart shooting is a distraction from OooooooorbDown. It is like the Mary Jane levels in spider man. Every dude punched shot or run over is filler between that sweet sweet ding of an orb collected. Legendary expert mode on crack down 3 is 100% of orbs collected with zero enemies shot or punched.

[@xYOMOMA65x]

Yep I was in like jr.high when I played this game. Lol def didn't pay attention to audio logs.

[@cuppacoffee1572]

I played the first one so much I still have the directors voice lines embedded in my mind. Skills for kills, agent.

[@christopherlombardo883]

FINEST VIEW IN THE CITY AGENT

[@blakefowler8082]

I see you are noided agent.

[@loruliansheep1708]

Its back in 3

[@sernoddicusthegallant6986]

WEEELLLLCOOOMMME TO FUUUUUNLAAAAAND BAHAHAHHAAHA

[@Riaz1337]

@@sernoddicusthegallant6986 🤣👍

[@86lanzo]

Wow .. no idea crackdown was so deep....I was just killing gang leaders like a sheep...the announcers voice got me hyped

[@Wah_Corp]

Same especially when crackdown 2 came out

[@dipchips34garvis68]

Lol and I'll do it again I enjoyed killing civilians aswell everybody even peace keepers all dead the power yessssszxxxxxxx

[@dduffy6870]

Yeah and when i finished the game i killed all the innocents and agency agents

[@Weed814]

@@dduffy6870 they still spawn back aha

[@dduffy6870]

@@Weed814 yeah ik

[@MrZombieZealot]

My favorite Polygon videos are just the ones where you can see how excited they are about the subject and how much fun they're having. Good stuff, Clayton.

[@Shakenmike117]

I'm more a fan of the videos where they clearly have no idea what they're doing and barely have a grasp of what a video game is. Favorite of all time is the one where the guy is reviews the VR gun simulator and hes ranting about how he's scared of guns and doesnt know how to play

[@Gh0st652]

Very cool, Dinkster!

[@supersgt.johnsonwhatthelad4424]

ShakenMike link please

[@nectarinedreams7208]

It's called acting

[@Hannah-xh2cc]

I’m sure it’s more work, but I really love the videos that actually feature one of the video producers talking in front of a backdrop versus just a voiceover. It adds so much more personality!

[@WitchyLadyLily]

@Anonymous Panacea ...? No?

[@mithrilbookofmystery]

I've never played Bioshock or Crackdown (1 or 2), but I do love this video, because it's pretty much just Clayton geeking out and explaining to us something he loves, and who doesn't love enthusiastic explanations?

[@FinallyAlone]

Cynics.

[@darkthaumaturge587]

@@FinallyAlone Nah I'm definitely a cynic and I still love folks geeking out over things like this.

[@FinallyAlone]

@@darkthaumaturge587 Then your not a cynic then. Your most likely just depressed.

[@darkthaumaturge587]

@@FinallyAlone Oh I most definitely am a cynic. I think you are thinking of misanthropes. Many cynics are misanthropes, but not all.

[@FinallyAlone]

@@darkthaumaturge587 Ahhhh I see.

[@vinnm4516]

Mmmm, watching this in 2020 is a whole lot of something.

[@nikconlenike7637]

Yup

[@AlexanderDivineEmcee]

@@pokkiheart hmm yes, such a crazy unrealistic thing to happen in a videogame, nothing like that would ever take place in real life... hmmmm...

[@dls182]

Yeah that last line hits different now

[@loganmelchior2128]

@@pokkiheart Nah, more like 0:55

[@romancewastaken]

Crackdown 1 and 2 are now free to play on xbox btw

[@AsherGrace7]

All I remember about Crackdown 2 was that I was doing what I thought were side missions before getting to the main story and the game ended. I thought activating the Project Sunburst beacons was just a "side thing". And I finished the game in an afternoon.

[@iiCantSing]

You must’ve Been pissed😂

[@GrexTheCrabasitor]

Lol, i beat the cell strongholds and freak nests. Then i wondered why i wasnt getting some kind of reward for it.

[@Jormyyy]

It is essentially a game made up entirely of side missions, but the real fun comes from the sandbox it provides.

[@skeng4377]

Alot of people shit on crackdown 2 but I honestly thought I was a good game, even if it was the same map and used a stupid zombie gimmick.

[@explodingbearz]

I adored this game as a kid. It was my literal favorite for years

[@LagsterFragster]

I actually liked the zombies honestly, jumping down into a horde with a shotgun and melee or getting yellow clouds as I drove through them in the super car, shit was fun

[@digitaldevil7522]

You shit on shit, it's what you do. Crackdown 1 was pretty good but 2 was shit and 3 really needed to evolve.

[@exile9024]

personally i never saw the Freaks as a gimmick ...in fact to me it just seemed like a natural continuation of Crackdown 1's story also it was nice having giant ogre sized freaks that could match your strength by throwing cars at you or being chased by the acid spitters onto the rooftops and even though there weren't three different gangs the Cell at least had a selection of different lieutenants.

[@sportaflopsupreme5313]

One of my favourite games

[@DigitalBroomstick]

Finally someone covered this. I played through crackdown 1 a few times and only on the 2nd play through did I understand the meaning of the ending. Always wondered how it continued on in 2 but I was too young to care about the audio logs stuff

[@ehoffart529]

Right? Recently started playing Crackdown 1 again because those orbs hit me straight in the dopamine and I'm waiting a bit on the third game. I was way too young to realize that the agency was evil back then.

[@mioda3109]

@@ehoffart529 I was the same way, I havent touched Crackdown 1 in such a long time and I only realized they were evil just last week and I played 1 and 2 to completion

[@Quintonias]

Starting to wish I'd never sold my 360...I really wanna play those two games again.

[@berkieallen3611]

@@Quintonias 1 is free on xbone : ) not 2 though : (

[@ProperlyGaming]

Crackdown and crackdown 2 were the shit. I always loved the twist. I was 10 when I played it the first time and made and my older brother took turns playing it and we reached the eff d together and my older brother was like "holy shit" and I was oblivious to that was happening so he explained it to me and I was in awe. I had never played a game where you find out last minute you were the bad guy and it really left me in love with the game. To have you going around "saving" the city only to find out the agency you're working for wanted complete and utter control. Crackdown starts in my top 20 best games I've ever played sitting solidly at 13

[@chaoshock]

Wow, you know I always thought that the second games narrative was a bit simple, turns out I as just being the agencies right hand and not questioning it. Well if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s to read collectibles in a game

[@Mintbeef]

Unless the game is Crackdown 3, because there's barely anything interesting.

[@Chikara31011]

The issue with this comparison is that bioshock’s twist wasn’t that “you were the bad guy all along.” Andrew Ryan was still not a very good dude and neither were any of the people you fought along the way. Of course if you’ve been harvesting the little sisters then you’ve been a bad dude, but aside from the little sister mechanic, the twist of bioshock is that you’ve been acting as a sleeper-surrogate for Fontaine to do his bidding. That doesn’t make you, the player, the bad guy. All you really are is a neutral party that’s being taken advantage of and that’s why you end the game by getting revenge on the other bad guy who’s been using you the whole time

[@dymaseran]

It's more of "you were obeying a bad guy's orders all along," yeah, but that's also true of both games. In Bioshock, it was mind control; in Crackdown, it was propaganda (and probably also mind control, i mean, why wouldn't they). I mean, before Bioshock's twist was revealed, did we really know any more about Fontaine than the Crackdown PC knows about the Agency?

[@GaZaRaVe]

@@dymaseran Yes becuase similar to dark souls games. When you explore rapture you learn a lot about what happened before which includes the tapes about fontaine

[@juliushegge4845]

Finaly

[@MrShagification]

System Shock did it better.

[@agenerichuman]

@@MrShagification System Shock was much more subtle in its set up and delivery. The little voice in the your ear has been lying. The character had no choice and to get to that point in the game the gamer has no choice. Bioshock made it flashier and practically beat the player over the head with the point of the twist. It also doesn't work as well because the villain is forgettable and his plans seem quaint compared to those in System Shock.

[@rickyblitz9679]

Everyone hates this game, It’s my favourite crackdown tbh

[@npc2792]

Um, no, everyone hates 3.

[@nikconlenike7637]

@@npc2792 yup

[@ajemajh]

@@npc2792 imagine waiting for so long for mobile graphic game

[@naoaquieopatrickpatrick8565]

the only reason people dislike crackdown 2 is because it's inferior to crackdown 1, there's only one gang, the same map from crackdown 1 is reused, the mutants threat are more annoying than fun to battle, the objectives sucks (activate 9 beacons around the world map then defend the agency tower to win, for me at least, wiping out all the bosses was more fun than defending a beacon from waves of mutants until it activates, for the whole game), and the story twist was completely forgotten when crackdown 3, crackdown 2 isn't that bad to be fair, it has multiplayer up to 4 people, comparated to the first game, which could only allow 2 players, the combat is a little more polished than in 1, Driving, while not perfect, it's way better and more responsive than in crackdown 1, so driving challenges are easier and more fun to do than in crackdown 1, the twist in the story is just as good as in crackdown 1, except this time they gave hints throught the audio logs, which can either be a good or bad thing depending of the point of view of some people. Still crackdown 1 IS the best crackdown, Crackdown 2 feels more like a DLC than a full game, and Crackdown 3 feels more like a Mobile rip off game than a full game. Crackdown 1 rocks

[@rickyblitz9679]

@@naoaquieopatrickpatrick8565 you don’t get it. I don’t like crackdown 2 for its story or anything, I like it because it’s fun. It’s a toy box of interesting veichles and mechanics, that you can just play with. This is why I love keys to the city mode so much, you can just make your own fun and I really dig that about it. It’s a simplistic game that knows what it is, and that’s why it’s got a special place for me

[@BloodScorchedSun]

Forgot to mention how the protagonist dies but they recover his arm to do cloning.

[@Heretogasunu]

How could he die if he just respawns

[@slvrcobra1337]

@@Heretogasunu That's how "respawning" works in Crackdown, you get cloned.

[@Heretogasunu]

@@slvrcobra1337 I know

[@murielgalban7700]

Well agents die ofthen (depending on your skill of course) so they are cloned in a regular schedule so you protagonist may have died 3 times at least before reaching the ending.

[@shalax7881]

Pretty sure you live, and that was Cell who were making their own agents

[@Kabcr]

I'm in a minority but I loved Crackdown 2 too. It's such a good set up.

[@bruski4120]

Kabcr1 Congratulations?

[@tim36d]

Kinda surprised that Crackdown 3 was even less telling of the Agency's misdeeds

[@SageofSorrow]

Even the storytelling was downgraded lmao

[@ChrisDelChris]

Yeah I’m pretty sure the Crackdown 3 devs had no idea about any of this. What a shame.

[@dman5527x]

I think originally they planned on doing soemthing huge, but they had hardware limitations and shit like that on last gen consoles. So crackdown 3 was being perfected on last generation console, and then the new generstion gets announced and they basically had already made a large portion of the game. So that set them back years because they had to rebuild everything to work on next generation consoles, AND they also needed to work on graphics because lets be honest, crackdown 3 looks like a 2012 game graphically. Thats because they struggled to make the massive world they had made on the next gen systems. Overall crackdown 3 had a lot of developmental problems that led to it getting released years after intended, and also downgraded. They orginally wanted to build a completely destructable world for campaign, and i think they were close to achiving that in the last generation of consoles before the new ones were announced and it was simply too hard to build on the new generation with how good the games also look. So my thinking is they had built this new game based on continuing the crackdown 2 story, we're hit with a bombshell when told that they'd have to rebuild and release their game on a new console and made the story a secondary thing because it probably didn't work anymore with the changes they were forced to make. Im still hoping for a crackdown 4 in the future that continues this story

[@GrexTheCrabasitor]

@@ChrisDelChris that's what they want you to think (even though theres no safe way to use chimera and the secret backer is the same voice as goodwin)

[@lezuskonrad]

@@GrexTheCrabasitor what

[@Keynwar]

This is also just the plot to Just Cause. Including the agency being named "The Agency". Huh. Never realised that, despite playing both series.

[@magmasajerk]

The Agency in Just Cause is pretty much a naked stand-in for the CIA, though, rather than a private paramilitary. Operation Just Cause was also the name of the US invasion of Panama in 1989. Crackdown is about the actions of fascism at home, while Just Cause is about imperialism abroad.

[@andrewmillar4246]

Just Cause wearing this plot on its sleeve and treating it as a positive thing makes for an interesting contrast.

[@comraderosa6058]

@@andrewmillar4246 is Just Cause critical of the Agency's intervention in these countries on a subtextual layer or is it seriously treating American exceptionalism as a good thing? i played the games when i was younger but i can't remember if Rico was actually supposed to be the good guy or not.

[@pixelcount350]

@@comraderosa6058 It has some depth. You can tell by the cynical and satirical 90's B action movie view of the whole franchise. By the jokes to the dialogue, gameplay and overall narrative. Just Cause 1 and 2 were overarching context of the agency. While Just Cause 3 and 4 are more personified. At the end of the games they directly mention destroying the agency. That tells us that Just Cause 5 is the final game in the franchise. We have our enemy, location and culmination.

[@andrewmillar4246]

@@comraderosa6058 Rico is absolutely the Big Damn Hero of JC2. I can't comment on the other games in the series, but he's called a regime change specialist and while there isn't a lot of plot, he's treated as a hero by every faction and the game ends (spoilers?) With him destroying nukes and killing the Kim Jong Un looking dictator. At no point does JC2 ever stop, turn around, and look back on Rico's dayjob mostly being killing every husband, father, and son with the bad luck of being conscripted.

[@Sorrelhas]

The Terry Crews chooses, the slave obeys

[@GrexTheCrabasitor]

Terry is so goddamn likeable that i almost forgot the agency is evil.

[@karimdib4436]

@@GrexTheCrabasitor check his twitter and you'll change your mind on how likeable he is lol

[@daveincognito]

The game hints at the audio logs being something you want to find, specifically the Whistleblower files. One of the early objectives is near a file, and the director tells you to pick it up. After it plays, the director tells you to track down the rest of the files so they can find out who the traitor is. (I'm not sure if he says anything once you've collected them all, as I could never find them.)

[@mahmouddjellali2774]

when he called the scientist terrorist I know it was suspicious because everyone who has a good heart and care about humanity is suddenly a terrorist really exposed how the government thinks

[@Yamthief]

So why did Crackdown 3 completely ignore this and build a dead campaign?

[@Stefano236]

Maybe this time both parts were bad. Remenber that the "bad guy" this time want to keep shut down the world and this is bad for the agency plans.

[@hardcoreLazors]

Man I loved the look of agents in Crackdown 2

[@Kabcr]

They had that nice menacing feel to them. Less personality but a way to expose them as just tools too.

[@MHA-TSBro]

They felt a bit too much like Halo Spartans but I really loved them

[@jacobp8294]

this video is fantastic, and you know what? polygon as a whole has been releasing fantastic content as of late. keep it up I'm excited to see more from you.

[@digitaldevil7522]

I think you need help.

[@CybulDot]

@@digitaldevil7522 no u

[@Annaleebie]

Remember that "satire needs clarity of intent" picture with that guy in the shirt? Yeah if your twist is too subtle and hard to find it won't do it's job, which is a real shame, bc that game sounds really interesting but I never would have found out without this video

[@graykeenenight.4571]

that picture is about claiming satire as a defense when someone points out shitty actions (and how its fairly obvious when someone does this, because you cant just call just anything satire and expect it to stick), not about, prior to even a *possibility* for criticism, including in-game lore that reflects a much more compelling and dark plot that also manages to be more caring about the world it takes place in. . they left hidden notes that criticized not only the genres state-favouring slant and ham-handed delivery of plot twists in videogames, but pointed out the beauty in allowing players to genuinely investigate and form their own opinions on what is going on, while still acknowledging that there Is a findable, accurate truth, however you feel about it. . the twist isnt relying on everyone finding it, thats the *point*- its about rewarding the people thinking to look for one. it doesnt bother hitting you over the head with a million flashing lights and signs saying "THIS IS WHATS GOING ON", and it doesnt claim youre a bad person for playing the game and listening along, because you dont have a choice and never did. . instead of denying the reality of a videogame with only one possible path of action, it utilizes the grim reality of "you cant ever diverge from what we have carefully orchestrated" to illustrate the lack of autonomy of people living in a hypermilitarized propaganda state. it fully emphasizes that your player has been duped, and as such is a victim, if an especially haunting one for being an active but unknowing participant in the victimization of others. but theyre not "weak" or "foolish" for having been duped, because *thats just how propaganda works.* . in bioshock, the twist is delivered in such an obvious, loud, overpowering way that it really doesnt feel like you suddenly have free will- it just feels like another reality youre forced to believe. the twist is *supposed* to free you to make your own decisions, but there is One Right Answer and One Wrong Answer, and theres no way for you to misunderstand which is which. its not free will, its Forced Actions... 2!!! . bioshock actively insults you for following the directions of *a game that wont let you do anything else.* there is no way to question what is going on, there is no path where you realize early. you *have* to play along, even if you dont want to, and then the game calls you an idiot for doing so, implying that you could have done different things if you were Good enough, despite this not being the case at all. . crackdown 2, meanwhile, doesnt deny its medium- the fact that you cant do anything but what the agency wants you to do is the theme of the story. you are a victim, and there is nothing you can do to change that. your character *doesnt* know whats going on, and thats not his fault. everything he does, was planned by someone else pulling the strings. and its not you. . while you as the player can put in the work to understand whats truly going on, and youre rewarded with information on it, all it does is tell you that your protagonist has even less free will than you thought. . the story doesnt change, because your character doesnt realize that it should. and the only thing you can do, is watch, and play along. and noone pretends you ever had a choice in the matter, or faults you for it.

[@robertgibson1156]

What happens in Crackdown 3? Does it continue this narrative? Please do a follow up video!

[@blitzfyre669]

It hints at the previous but it more takes on its own approach, because you're in a new city not already in agency control. I really enjoyed it, i think the ratings were just too harsh

[@Thurnmourer]

So far, Robert, no, it doesn't seem to do too much concerning it, but. We do know this, Terra Nova is being used as a front by someone who has a very keen interest in getting their hands on an Agent's DNA, almost like the person has some parts, but needs a few more pieces to complete the puzzle.

[@RaxusXeronos]

Ending of 2 shows you exactly who it is. It was used as a sequel hook.

[@retro1x201]

No it doesn’t it doesn’t even have the twist that I thought it would where the agency was terranovas primary customer since they were hinting at it all through the game but it never happened still I loved CD3

[@RaxusXeronos]

I figured it's Cell's leader since she's shown with your Agent's arm at the end of 2.

[@comingsoon7118]

beat crackdown 1 and had super fond memories. Literally didn't pay attention to the story at all. Great video, makes me want to play the sequel

[@kc7284]

This reminds me of XCOM2. In that game--spoilers, by the way--it is revealed that the aliens weren't just killing and collecting human genetics to make a god for purely destroying the world, even though that's what Central believes, but rather to fight the subalantic monsters below. Hell, it was plain once you've reached the Elder missions that something else is going on, and it's even spelled out to you by the Assassin Chosen in the expansion. But, you didn't know the whole story, and you pay for that ignorance. I really hope that they make a third one--I know it is a remake--where XCOM freaks out about Lovecraftian tentacle amalgamations. Idk. The Assassin's final words always stuck with me, though: "You have fought well, XCOM. May you reclaim your world again." I feel like it was then that she realized that humans aren't just squishy bugs, that we could defend ourselves. Anyway, your explanations of Crackdown reminded me of it, even though I probably completely failed at explaining why that connection feels so strong to me.

[@Excalibursin]

+Xesathean Shadow You don't necessarily pay for the ignorance. You're better suited to combat any upcoming threats anyway, as you proved more competent than the elders. If the elders could not protect against you and your insurgents with control of the planet, then they did not prove themselves capable of stopping the future threat. Even in their complete plans, they specifically used the commander's mind in lieu of their own tactics.

[@kc7284]

That's true. I never thought of it that way before. Hmmmmmm. Hopefully they'll make a third game so we can find out! If not, well. I think both cases are plausible.

[@dymaseran]

Ehhh... I mean, the Elders weren't doing it to protect humanity or anything, they just wanted to make vessels that could replace their own dying bodies. They still needed us around until they finished the Avatar Project, but after that they *absolutely did* plan to liquidate humanity. This even comes up after your first Avatar kill, they start putting the final plans in place to send everyone into the gene clinics for a mandatory 'cure for the human condition.' Edit to add more: I saw their commentary about the Deep Ones more as a last-ditch attempt to manipulate us into giving in. Sure, the Deep Ones are a real threat to them, and also to us - but the Elders are still lying. If we did give in, they wouldn't uplift us as free equals! They'd make their Avatar vessels, add the ADVENT troopers to their menagerie of other genetically-modified battle drones... and still wipe out the rest of us. Yeah, they'd probably be better equipped to fight the Deep Ones in that outcome than humanity would, but we'd all still be dead!

[@kc7284]

@@dymaseran Lmao, turns out I'm just plain wrong. Haven't finished the game in forever. I've mainly been messing around in my current save. Although, the Assassin Chosen did say something like, "don't you want your children's children to live?" Maybe that was just a rouse to fool the headstrong XCOM. Even if they did let us live, I'm sure they'll genetically mutilate us anyway... I forgot if the game ever explained why humans were so important, though. Like, why not just mix up the cows or something?

[@Skrinklewink]

I feel Crackdown 2 doesn't get enough love. I liked it just as much as the first, if not more. There's a lot they give you to chew on.

[@Niclau96]

Totally agree. The tone was so different in the second game that I didn't mind the re-use of Pacific City

[@TheFly212]

"The Agency" is basically the real world equivalent of the US Intelligence Aparatus.

[@Stryfe52]

Wish the US Intelligence Aparatus had super soldiers that were all over 6 feet tall and could jump higher than my house. I’d do whatever I could to join them

[@ZionandStryfe]

While this is a fascinating thing that this game did, and deeply subversive, I think it's a bit reductive to just call it "better than Bioshock" other than for title grabbing purposes. It seems to be genuinely different with similar parallels rather than being the same idea. Bioshock is about what is beyond a person's control, it's a marrying of game mechanics to narrative. It's a deeply personal game. Crackdown is more about being the fascist force that is consuming and taking hold. And I agree, it's propaganda. But even if you find the information it doesn't change things. It's up to you the player to decide why that is, but it's not a revelation. It's not personal. It's decidedly anti-personal, because the goal of the game at that point is to shut that out and finish the game. I find them both unique, but calling you "The Bad Guy" in Bioshock is missing the point. And calling a game about systemic blindness strictly better than one about the lack of choice is not 1:1. That said, I'm still happy to see it, and I like longer form articles like this. Just... Maybe without being so reductive.

[@okamimystical]

And Crackdown 3 Forgot Everything

[@gravity1893]

Crackdown is soooooooooooo sooooooo underrated

[@phroobin]

Never played Crackdown, but playing Bioshock for the first time completely threw me because I NEVER expected the twist (and to this day, the Bioshock series remains my favourite)

[@cfierce]

Holy crap THANK YOU. I know like... ONE other person who has played through enough of the series to realize any of this.

[@alvindavisii9692]

Wish polygon did more crazy unearthing like this about crazy forgotten or hidden game lore

[@TevyaSmolka]

I loved crackdown 1 such a underrated game in my opinion

[@nextgen101]

What about Spec Ops: The Line though?

[@failtolawl]

overrated

[@nextgen101]

@@failtolawl I'm not even really praising it. It was just a similar topsy turvy kind of twist that I liked slightly better than Crackdown. Neither of these games are that great though frankly.

[@dman5527x]

Amazing story but in the end it was just another generic third person shooter when it came to game mechanics

[@nextgen101]

@@dman5527x Again, I'm hardly praising either Crackdown or Spec Ops. Crackdown 1 was alright for it's time, but really didn't hold up well after just a few years which showed by the time 2 came out. Spec Ops was already dated when it came out and had nothing going for it besides a subversive twist. I appreciated these minor plot wrinkles in both games, but they do not redeem the overall products.

[@crunkgrunk5183]

kinda saw the "are we the baddies" twist from a mile away, as for crackdown's, I knew something was up when they said The Agency was originally founded by The Shai Gen Corporation

[@computersocsci]

From your conclusion in the video, I think you might disagree with me on this (you seem to like the idea that you can't make a choice), but I think Crackdown 2 would have been immeasurably improved by a "good" ending that the player can unlock by choosing to go against the Agency at key points (or even a single point) in the story. The subtlety could be maintained by still only telling the true backstory in the audio logs, but allowing players to understand and then TAKE ACTION on that truth would be so much more powerful. I felt that way when I was playing Bravely Default for the first time and I realized the twist before it happened, but you still have to keep doing what the game tells you with the crystals...

[@dankwojak3689]

Just the option to go against the agency would reveal that there might be a reason to do so. The whole idea of the subtlety is that you have to be completely self motivated to find the truth, and if someone finds out by accident you can defy it, they get a hint at the truth

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

@@dankwojak3689 I mean, they don't have to clearly mark the choice. Metro 2033 is pretty subtle for example.

[@TheManofthecross]

only in fan fiction can this really be made in to reality.

[@BillBilliamson]

This reminded me part of why I really liked crackdown 2 and hope for the best for crackdown 3 despite the lackluster things I've heard about it. It was a fun game to kill zombies and be a super cop sure but realizing how bad the agency really were as you went a long added to the already pretty dire tone of the game. Hoping crackdown 3 concludes on what those first 2 games were going for.

[@LoganFreund]

It's not often that we get to see Clayton's great beard. Sure this video was rad, but MAN oh man that's a fine beard.

[@ExplodingDreamz]

The ending caught me off guard and it's what made me love the series and it's amazing twists.

[@Simon74]

Turns out Crackdown 2 is just 2020...

[@501stboi3]

And people say crackdown 2s story is shit XD

[@duru_mii]

Clayton, this was really fascinating to watch! huge props and great job 👍🏻 would love to see more content like this.

[@jonpsyeudonym6723]

Really dug this. Always liked the crackdown games, but never finished them or delved into the lore. Great work polygon! Also good fucking job to the two teams that made crackdown 1 & 2; ahead of the curve on that particular idea.

[@maxawesom3850]

I remember Halo 3 ODST having a similar thing where, if you get all the audio logs, one of the final missions changes slightly, and one of the minor ally NPCs is revealed as a traitor you have to fight. It's a blink and you'll miss it type of thing. Imagine if a developer of a game like this had the GALL to have 2 path ways, with one of them only being obtainable if you collect all of the audio tapes (in Crackdown 2's example). If I remember, That PS1 Castlevania game had that, wit the upside down castle.

[@purplefood1]

Who do you fight in that? I never even met someone from those audio logs and the only real bad guy gets torn apart.

[@maxawesom3850]

Purplefood There’s a mission where you go underground into the oni base as the rookie, like, 2nd last mission. You meet a police officer looking for something and if you are missing audio logs he gets killed by buggers- if you have all of them, he goes on with you where he unlocks a door and you find Sadie’s dad (she was the main character in the logs) whom he was going to assassinate. Then he tries to kill you and you kill him

[@purplefood1]

@@maxawesom3850 fair play

[@samadams8533]

Yeah it’s a very good twist, but you aren’t secretly the bad guy in bioshock, or atleast not in the way you are in crackdown.

[@AllCanadiaReject]

Linear singleplayer games like Bioshock and Spec Ops The Line that try to make you feel bad for playing the game always rang hollow to me. I bought it, I'm gonna play it.

[@KelsomaticPDX]

Damn, this was a really well conceived, well laid out, and well-executed video. Good work y'all

[@Klemeron]

That was a really good in-depth examination of something anyone would have missed. Exceptionally edited, great job! More like this please.

[@cyanideSnakeEater]

Awesome video Clayton, great to see you in front of the camera!

[@ldmaier96]

Wow this is a really excellent critique. Game stories are always better when they lean into player agency and interactivity imo, and this seems like a really subversive and interesting way to add that in through gameplay

[@ENDsyst3m]

Your analysis of crackdown's agency reminds me of the movie V for Vandetta

[@suspiciouscheese4518]

Before I start, I’m not talking bad about Crackdown 1 or 2. I haven’t played either. But I feel this is an unfair comparison. Bioshock’s twist for me was not “you were the bad guy” because you weren’t really. (Unless you were killing the little sisters) What made bioshock’s twist so great was the delivery. It took full advantage of the fact that no one knows or cares what your character did before the game started. It did not suffer from the biggest issue these “your memories are fake” twists suffer from, which is in my opinion, redacting something the player had already seen. After typing this up I realize I explained this really poorly.

[@andyxbox123]

Crackdown gets no love. This is great!

[@adamcaverhill3486]

a hidden choice would have made this twist perfect, but it's still rad as hell.

[@TomDarkwulf87]

Yeah I feel like a super secret ending you can only act on after listening to all the audio logs could have worked amazing if done well

[@neonx6202]

Wish crackdown 3 followed more with 2 storyline because Thorne could’ve made her own agents and let us choose to side with and get different endings or something

[@123blastoffful]

I’m so glad to see people talking about crackdown 1 and 2 I’ve been playing since 2011

[@thepearled0120]

I thought I was the only one who knew about this twist, since it seems like everybody else just played this game for mayhem for like 3 days and put it down. XD

[@itsviperz3065]

I played and beat crackdown 2 twice and never even knew about this underlying plot line. I never played crackdown 1 so I didn’t even know the agency was bad. This story is actually insane

[@nevarware]

This video is so full of amazing Clayton reaction gifs

[@wizardsleeve1174]

I played crack down 2 a few years ago and had no idea of this until now

[@deltasbj77]

This reminds me of Monster Hunter lore- the part about humans of ancient civilization treating Dragons and wyverns as slaves which led to the Great Dragon War specifically. While it does not turn everything by 180 degrees like the twist in Crackdown 2, it definitely makes the player question their actions and wonder if they and the guild are the villain of the story (Fatalis is definitely the hero though).

[@JonYugen]

I've always loved the Crackdown series.

[@Notorious_G.O.D_76]

Ah man...this video just gave me much of my XBox360 nostalgia....when the system first came out i immediately bought a system. One of my first games i purchase was Crackdown 1". Even though it wasnt much of a storyline....what made up for that was a open world shoot em all dead game play doing everything from character experience orb chasing....to seizing gang property....& Eliminating each gang faction in no set order. The music so memorable....i cant recall neverngetting tire of listen to "Toby Mac" or "Celldweller" while cruising for new ventures. I played part 2 & i had some fun on it but it was too straight to the point.....wheres in "Crackdown 1" i liked the various distractions while i explore Pacific City. 🎮🕹️🎮🕹️🎮🕹️🎮🕹️

[@Striker_AgingGamers]

thank you! Friends think I'm seeing things when I try to explain the story of Crackdown... and it's significance only if your willing to look.

[@nufcmenne9602]

The early crackdown games had the most underrated story!

[@elithebicycle760]

i love clayton's expressiveness in this. you can tell he's nerding out the entire time

[@MichaelPlank-m5p]

There should've been another ending where when you beat cell you actually end up saving the city and the boss gets mad and sends out agents to kill you and that's the final mission where you kill the boss that's why there's a new one In crackdown 3

[@tylercornyn-lopez7340]

I deadass forgot about crackdown 1's ending. This video blew my mind all over again.

[@waywardpun]

Played the Halo 3 Beta at a friend’s house when it came out with Crackdown. It was AWESOME. I miss those days.

[@kingjackson1719]

Great video. First time viewer, now to go down the rabbit hole via your videos.

[@nicholaswhite-spenik3453]

Spec Ops The line is similar except the twist is that literally EVERYONE is bad

[@PaisiosOfGOAOA]

I went into this video just wanted to know where the heck of the first agent from the original Crackdown is but I learned so much more. I love this. I actually love the Crackdown series even though you're technically still the bad guys but I love how different it is from all the others instead of just being a Mindless gang leader or terrorist or anything else in any other game you're actually a cop even though you're secretly the bad guy. Which is a pretty good twist.

[@DeathnoteBB]

As a kid, I never played enough Crackdown to get to the twist, but now it makes sense why I was the cops and yet was allowed to act as if it was a GTA. Hell I _felt_ like the villain sometimes, running around, ramming into things, and shooting random “enemies” up because they were there and I could. I didn’t realize how realistically it took the twist though. It would have been extremely interesting if your Agent met Catalina and learned the Agency was straight-up lying to you and everybody else and using you as their personal weapon.

[@minigiioi]

fuck this video hits. I saw it a year ago, and loved it then, and trying to recount parts I remembered from it, to my dad, I scrolled the whole catalogue until I found it again (because I forgot the game names involved) and enjoying it a second time is a joy indeed. So succinct -- which is always something I admire in an essay -- so thoughtful, and mood invoking, and the forward flow is so engaging. You don't linger on one game beating the dead horse and you don't waste time over-reconnecting points from one game summary to the points in the other. Everything you say and show speaks for itself loud and clear. Plus I hate "poo on you for enjoying the intended use" narrative in games (Spoiler?: for example DD:aDDS pushes Joseph and then they punish you for wanting fun and romance in a d a t i n g s i m). I love Crackdown's alternative.

[@unknowncontact2204]

And all my life I liked the agency. This changes everything

[@starfoxdude2000]

Doesn't help how much the announcer shames you for killing peacekeepers even though they're technically the bad guys.

[@OUTPOST1018]

Great video! Please make more of this!

[@wyg2935]

Bioshock and Crackdown: *exists* Metal Gear Solid series: "Hey I did it first!"

[@akittycat2448]

Why is crackdown 2 suddenly very recent

[@spaceaf_wtf]

just make it backwards compatible already microsoft :(

[@lozg1985]

Vigilante Film and Design crackdown games are aren’t they? I’m sure when they were given away with gold they became backwards compatible.

[@welshizz]

@@lozg1985 only the first one

[@silencedmaxim5889]

@@welshizz All are playable on X1 now, yipee!

[@keelan270]

Glad to see CD1&2 get some recognition 😊😊

[@marymcallister7963]

Why IS every polygon employee so ICONIC

[@bu11et98]

Crackdown 1 and 2 have go to be the most underrated games i've ever played.

[@silkenemperor]

I do like how there is a story but just there for those who want one.

[@Vultrus]

If the point of making player characters complicit with evil organizations is to make players think about their actions and consequences then hiding that message in optional audio logs that you can't change your interactions based on undermines the whole point. Nobody playing crackdown thinks about police brutality or the CIA because they hid that message too well. Just like Starship Troopers the subversion is subtextual while the main text is so loud and propagandistic that it's more likely to convince someone to join the military or police than Google COINTELPRO.

[@hewhogoesbymanynames]

I had a friend's dad (who was also former military) tell me that the government portrayed in the Starship Troopers movie is basically his ideal government. People absolutely miss the point if you don't beat them over the head with it.

[@denmasterben2348]

crackdown 2 is one of the best games ever made!!!

[@vazak11]

That is hauntingly relevant, kudos!

[@Helghast58]

I really hope they don't pull some "HAH NOW YOU'RE A REBEL AGAINST THE AGENCY" thing. It's been done to death.

[@krisblaise8580]

No worries, CD3 is pretty much still a hyperviolent Robocop simulator and you’re still fighting for the Agency

[@winnietheflu4633]

Honestly I would have rather had that as a story and game than crackdown 3

[@tomchaney6085]

The details may not have been there in the main story, but that the Agency was bad was telegraphed pretty much from the start. I don't recall exactly when I started to get suspicious, but it was somewhere between starting the manual and finishing the tutorial

[@vincentsavoretti2201]

This needs way more views

[@hannahkreig8022]

great video clayton!!! 💖💖💖 love this direction for polygon :)

[@blacksta-r]

I used to play Crackdown 2 on my 360 which I still have right now , but it can't run Crackdown 2 anymore just because I bought it as a "CRACKED VIDEO GAME DISC" which is a second hand....

[@blacksta-r]

bro?

[@taylorspears2375]

I've never played crackdown1 or 2 and I thought you were leading up to a way to play the game against the agency like it was a secret choice you could do. Now that would have been a crazy twist. I do want to play the games now, thanks to this video.

[@malatruse]

The fact that there's only one way to play and beat crackdown 2 actually feels like a bit of a letdown...it would be cool if you could make choices in the game that let you act on what you found out in the audio logs.

[@reiji_vt4262]

I remember playing this game so much way back and everyone was complaining that it had no story. But this is a pretty interesting plot to me

[@maskofnine5507]

I never played CD1 but I did play and loved CD2 but I never knew the game had this deep a story! 🤯

[@jabberw0k812]

Right at the Agency headquarters where you start the game, there's a door you can't go through that clearly leads to some sort of freak testing or cloning lab. I don't think the game ever mentions its existence, but its purpose is obvious once you start learning about the backstory.

[@tarttooth6022]

I've never played Crackdown but now I'm intrigued. Should I start with the first or second game? I know Crackdown 2 has a negative reputation; is it warranted?

[@DigitalBroomstick]

I think crackdown 1 is more fun because the mutants in 2 can be a bit annoying. Also the agency vehicles are much cooler in crackdown 1

[@64oil65]

I played the second one first, it was, for a long time my go to game. I loved it. on the other hand the first one feels really slow. Both are good games, but I'll admit I might be biased.

[@SerdeCosmo]

It's tricky because one after the other either way will get stale because they're set in the exact same environment. I'd take a break between the two. Crackdown 1 is certainly the place to start story-wise. But i couldn't ignore 2 because of the fantastic wing suit. I'd say pick them both up cheap and take your time, playing them in order. 3 is also insanely fun, but unfortunately is more of a reboot than a sequel, it doesn't really follow on so much as set up it's own narrative, one that much more subtly hints at the agencies penchant for world domination. A fourth would hopefully be where it'd all come to a head if the sales actually make up for the reviews.

[@mcshidnfard456]

I personally thought crackdown 2 was better. It was my favorite game for a long time

[@dman5527x]

The only thing that would make me say 1 is better is the "freaks" in crackdown 2 that fill the streets at night time and after a while, the changing dynamic of the game where you have enemies with guns after you during the day and zombies at night starts to get annoying. For a while though it is wildly entertaining, especially since you can basically stand there and melee most of the zombies and you'll be fine

[@rcgrizzly94]

I remember collecting all the audio files and literally spent days thinking about if I could try and do it another way...but you really can't...so you just go with it

[@jensi479]

Just hooked up my 360 today and saw this was free on the store, can’t wait for it to download!