
Microsoft has explained why Crackdown 2 landed with start-up studio Ruffian Games rather than returning to previous developer Realtime Worlds.
Phil Spencer, Microsoft executive, says it was the combination of two things: the first being Crackdown's lead designer leaving Realtime Worlds. "When Billy Thomson, the lead designer of the game [Crackdown 1], left Realtime Worlds, there was an opportunity," Spencer explains.

Darren writes: "“XBOX NEEDS EXCLUSIVES!”. Sound familiar? It’s something that has been ringing in my ears since becoming an Xbox gamer nearly 20 years ago. It’s possibly the longest standing and harshest criticism levelled against Microsoft’s console family, and I can’t say I wholly disagree. However, there are some out there which can slip through the net every now and then. But bucking the trend was the original Crackdown, which was not one of them. It shifted a very healthy amount of units as well as drawing in universal praise from critics. A sequel then, would be a no-brainer."
It was basically crackdown 1 with zombies, was fun but corners were cut, solid game though.
Crackdown 1 was one of the underrated gems of last gen. I loved that game. Crackdown 2 was crackdown 1 with added zombies and gave the map a paint job. Disappointing, but still enjoyed it for what it was with the added wingsuit, toybox mode and 4 player co-op. Crackdown 3 was basically what Crackdown 2 should have been.

While it is unclear at this time whether its a glitch or intentional. Crackdown, and Crackdown 2 are now free for download on the Xbox store.

Crackdown 1 and 2 were both given for free to Xbox One users to celebrate their launch on the Xbox Live Store and backward compatibility support for the Xbox One. In addition to giving the games for free, Microsoft is now also giving the DLC for Crackdown 2.
I think it was a good choice. I read that a lot of the devs at Ruffian were from Realtime Worlds? Regardless, RW left an awesome foundation for Ruffian.. it will be hard to screw up. Plus, RW is most likely too busy with APB to give Crackdown 2 the TLC it deserves.