
NowGamer writes: "Not so long ago – let's call it three years seeing as that's how long ago it was – cynics were suggesting that Crackdown must be rubbish. Why else would Microsoft bundle a Halo 3 beta key in it if they didn't think it was a dead duck otherwise? That was the logic, but it was, of course, more than a little flawed. The fact is that any new IP, no matter how good, is a risky prospect even for a platform holder and Microsoft wanted to ensure Crackdown got the chance it deserved. Sure, it ended up selling to people that didn't really want it, and the pre-owned sections of game shops were flooded with copies soon after the beta was finished, but a lot of people hung onto their copies of Crackdown. We did. We've still got four Agility Orbs to find yet."

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.