With Crackdown 2 coming out on the Xbox 360, there’s chatter on the original. Many people hold the first game in great regard – but not everyone. On the OXM podcast, Ryan McCaffrey often talks about how he famously gave the game a “7”. Personally I think the game is a lot of fun, definitely better than a 7.

Why the discrepancy? I think the difference lies in the fact that Ryan had to finish the game. He needed, at some point, to write a review. Myself on the other hand, I had no interest in playing though the game’s admittedly weak storyline. I just wanted to run around and make my character stronger and jump higher by collecting all of the special items in the game. If I was forced to play though the game to the end, I might give it a 7 as well. As a sandbox though, I had way more fun than a 7.

In some ways, assigning quality by way of a number is kind of weird. The TV listings give Schwarzenegger’s Commando two stars, and yet how boring would the 4 star version be? Things with flaws can still be a lot of fun.

Here’s hoping that Crackdown 2 fixes what was broken without washing away what many people found so appealing about it.

RPG link: I like characters with lots of cool abilities. When designing Spellchrome, I made a point of letting all characters have access to some spells, skills and equipment that makes them special, but not to the point where the game becomes just about super heroes. As for the story lines, I can help – but ultimately it’s up the group’s GM to deal with.