So, how does the game perform on a technical level? How has the Creation engine evolved from its past renditions? And what are the differences between the PC version and the Xbox Series X? These are the questions that we aim to answer with this comprehensive technical analysis of Starfield.

Game Engine And Overview

Starfield is Bethesda’s first game to be developed using Creation Engine 2, which is an updated version of the Creation Engine that we saw in games like Fallout 76. The rendering pipeline has seen massive improvements in key areas like environmental rendering and physically based materials, but it’s more of an evolution than a complete redoing of what came before.

This means that we don’t get to see cutting-edge rendering techniques like ray tracing being utilized in this project, which is a shame because the game could have benefitted a lot with such an implementation. But there’s a lot to like here as well, and we will be discussing those features in detail in further sections.

System Requirements And PC Parameters

In addition to the Xbox Series X version, we also tested the game on a high-end PC to get a taste of how it looks and performs in comparison to the console version. According to the official website, Starfield requires that players have a Ryzen 5 3600X, RTX 2080, and 16 GB of RAM to be able to run the game at comfortable framerates on a high resolution. Our test rig consists of Ryzen 9 5950X, Nvidia RTX 3080Ti, and 32 GB of RAM which is well over what the game recommends for itself. We also installed the game on a PCI e 4.0 SSD so that load times are snappy.

Opening the graphics settings menu, we get a slew of sliders ranging from volumetric lighting to contact shadows and crowd density to help you achieve the desired balance between fidelity and performance. The settings menu definitely leaves something to be desired as you don’t get comparison images or explanations as to what each of the settings does and how it impacts performance.

As for our test settings, we went with a mix of high and ultra settings and turned FSR 2.0 to help with upscaling a lower-resolution internal image to our target resolution of 4K. It’s a shame that Starfield doesn’t support DLSS upscaling on PC, but FSR does a good job of upscaling the image without any visible signs of artifacts.

Character Models

Let’s start off by looking at Starfield’s character models. Bethesda’s RPGs have never really featured character models that could be considered impressive, and that sentiment unfortunately extends over to Starfield as well. Not to say there aren’t any improvements either, but the end result isn’t anything that screams next-gen.

The skin meshes definitely have a lot more detail than something like Fallout 76, and the physically based materials used in the clothes also look a lot better than prior renditions of the Creation Engine. Fidelity levels also vary from model to model, and characters that are crucial to the story obviously look better than random NPCs that you would find during your travels.

Facial animations are still powered by automation, which means that facial expressions can vary wildly from somewhat believable to downright hilarious at times. While one would say that’s a natural compromise for a game of this scale, Starfield’s primitive approach to facial animation leaves a lot to be desired despite it being markedly improved from what came before.

Lighting, Reflections, And Shadows

As for the lighting, Starfield uses a unique real-time global illumination solution to light up the many environments that come together to create this gargantuan open world. The game doesn’t feature any form of ray tracing, so the global illumination is most likely a probe-based solution. The end result isn’t the most accurate, but it works well for the most part and the GI solution performs decently across a wide range of scenarios for both direct and indirect light sources.

The same story of using last-gen techniques continues over to the reflections as well, which look to be of the screen space kind. Reflections seem to be running at a fraction of the screen resolution and update with each frame to align with the player’s perspective. Reflections on surfaces like tables and windows don’t reflect the NPCs in the environment, which can look pretty weird when you zoom in to see the details.

As for the shadows, we get to see some really crisp shadows on not only the PC version but also the console counterparts. There are some artifacts present around shadow maps cast from fine objects like grass, but on the whole – it looks really good. In addition to this, Starfield casts shadow maps for distant objects as well which helps in giving the open-world a consistent look and feel.

Environments

Switching gears over to the environment, Starfield presents a vast number of locales that each look differently from one another. The asset quality has seen a lot of improvements, and the terrain texture generally looks really good. Whether you’re skirting along giant rocks in outer space or exploring a distant planet, the terrain features some impressive geometric complexity that comes together to create a visually pleasing image of outdoor environments.

Of course, it also helps that this space is filled with all sorts of interesting structures and trees which makes for a living and breathing world. Starfield also makes great use of dense height fog to accentuate a sense of scale within the planet, and you will notice thick volumetric fog in the distance which also helps to hide the low level of detail in faraway areas. The level of detail swapping is also pretty smooth for the most part, though you might notice some pop-ins at times.

The world streaming also works really well, though it needs to be noted that Starfield isn’t a seamless open-world experience. Moving from indoors to outdoors and traveling between planets will trigger a loading screen that lasts anywhere from 4 to 6 seconds, and it can cause a brief slowdown as everything loads into memory.

As you move towards the settlements and indoor environments, you will get to appreciate the NASA Punk designs of Starfield. Everything from the architecture of settlements to the high-tech gadgets all around to even the clothing strikes a great balance between realism and sci-fi fantasy, and it’s all brought to life by some great use of physically based materials.

Most of the world and structures are made up of rough surfaces that reflect little light into the surroundings, which gives these environments a sort of flat look. But the gorgeous art direction and smart use of colors ensures that the flat look isn’t a boring one, instead, it results in a distinct visual tone that slowly grows on the player.

Animations

Whether you’re slashing your way through skeletons in Skyrim or fighting mutants in the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout, the animations in Bethesda’s games always tend to be stiff with heavy movements that aren’t the most responsive. Starfield takes some big strides in this department, which results in a far more enjoyable combat experience this time around.

Animations are snappy and player movements are precise and responsive, whether you play in the first-person perspective or third-person. It is a big improvement over past releases from the developer. You can also use a jetpack to leap up in the air and take out enemies from afar, and it all works really smoothly. Guns also pack the right amount of punch, and each shot from your weapon is accompanied by generous amounts of visual feedback.

Post Processing

Switching over to the post-processing side of things, Starfield uses motion blur to make its action feel more cinematic (though you can turn off this feature in the option menu). The motion blur is of the per-pixel kind, and it looks really good in action. Conversations with quest-givers also give us a good look at the depth of field implementation, which is appropriately high quality and shows little to no signs of artifacts along the edges.

Volumetric fog is also an important part of Starfield’s presentation, and as mentioned previously as well – you will get to see a generous amount of volumetric fog throughout its planets and settlements. These volumetric meshes also diffuse light out into the surroundings, and they add an element of richness to the many environments. We also get to see alpha particles used to great effect in not only explosions but also during gunfights that involve energy-beam weapons.

Xbox Series X Parameters And Comparison To PC Version

The Xbox Series X version offers no choices in terms of graphics modes. The default mode locks the frame rate to 30fps and outputs an upscaled 4K image, and there are no additional performance modes to speak of. Starfield is a vast game with plenty of moving parts that can eat up CPU resources, so it’s no surprise that consoles don’t get a 60fps option with this release. That said, Starfield could have gone for a 40fps performance mode for 120 Hz displays – but that’s sadly not the case.

As for the differences between the Xbox Series X version and our mostly maxed-out PC version, we were hard-pressed to find any noticeable changes. A ton of what makes Starfield’s look so distinct is the superb art direction, and that obviously is retained across both versions alongside the rendering techniques used to bring that vision to life.

That said, there are a few differences that eagle-eyed players might be able to make out, ranging from better distant detail to denser skin meshes on the PC version. Image quality is definitely one of the biggest differences between the two, and the PC version has a much crisper image than its console counterpart – and we suspect that it has to do with minimal anti-aliasing in the Xbox Series X version.

Performance And Stability

Performance-wise, the console version does a great job of sticking to its 30fps target. We noticed minor frame rate drops, especially while loading into a new planet – but it bounces back up once everything is loaded into memory. We did have a much better experience on PC where everything ran smoothly at 60fps, and there were very few inconsistencies to speak of.

As for the stability, there were a few minor bugs and glitches but most of them were pretty harmless. These issues range from the occasional pop-in to weird NPC behavior and quest bugs that require a restart, but these inefficiencies are rare for the most part. Starfield just might be Bethesda’s most stable game of recent memory, though your experience will most likely differ from ours – so do keep that in mind.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Starfield is a beautiful game that makes great use of the Creation 2 engine to bring its vision to life. It doesn’t break new ground in terms of rendering techniques, but it makes good use of traditional techniques to create a crisp visual presentation. Everything from the environmental fidelity to the smooth animations and the NASA Punk designs come together to make a compelling experience that feels worthy of the years of hype and anticipation.

It performs pretty well on both PC and Xbox Series X, and it’s also one of the more stable releases from the developer with very few technical issues to speak of. Starfield has set a new benchmark for Bethesda RPGs, and we are really excited to see what the future holds for the Creation Engine and the many projects that utilize the latest iteration of this engine.

Along with solo play, there are options for local co-op, online or a mix of the two. Local co-op supports up to eight players while online play requires everyone to have a copy and an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Much like It Takes Two and A Way Out, there’s no online matchmaking. As for how co-op works, players need to vote on decisions with the highest voted ones influencing outcomes. In case of a tie, a random decision will be chosen.

Of course, there are also overrides. Each player has a set number and it will override any decision made, automatically going with their own choice. However, another player can override the override, which should lead to some interesting mind games. Multiplayer is cross-platform across Xbox Series X/S, PC, Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Windows, Steam, mobile devices and even via PCs connected through Xbox Cloud Gaming. Everyone needs to own a copy though.

Of course, playing with local co-op can be done via one’s phone and the Companion App. No additional copies are required and up to seven players can connect. The Companion App supports Android 4.4 (Kitkat) and upwards while iOS users need OS 12.0 or better.

Finally, there are several accessibility features from menu and gameplay Narration, control remapping and subtitle size to text to Speech, Speech to Text, disabling timers for choices, and much more. Check out all of them below.

Text To Speech Settings

• Menu Narration – Enables menu UI to be read aloud by the screen reader.
• Gameplay Narration – Enables in-game UI and important gameplay elements to be read aloud by the screen reader.
• Text to Speech – Enables chat text from other players to be read aloud.
• Speech to Text – Transcribes audio chat between players.

On-Screen UI

• Flatten Choice UI – Enabling this will remove the slightly angled appearance of interactive choices, making them appear flat on screen.
• Lower Case Only – Sets UI text for hotspots and action choices to being lower case only.
• Choice Color – Sets the text and background colors of on-screen choices and hotspot UI. The default is white text on a black background.
• Options Background – Allows the player to set the background transparency of in-game UI. The default is partially transparent.

Gameplay Adaptations

• Hotspot Display Type – Allows the player to have all the hotspots to stay on screen after being discovered, or to have them all appear from the beginning of the scene.
• Quick Action Types – Allows the player to remove mashing interactions, or to set all interactions to require a single button tap.
• Extended QTE Timer – All Quick Time Events (QTE) have 10 second timer to finish. For the Mash, it will have a longer amount of time to do the same amount of mash.
• Choice Timer – Allows the player to disable timers in all choice scenes and Timed Hotspots.
• Extended Override Timer – Extends the override timer from 10 seconds to 20 seconds.
• Broadcast Mode Timer – Allows the player to set the choice timer length when in Broadcast Mode.

Additional Settings

Within the game’s broader set of options players can adjust other elements to improve their experience.

• Subtitles – Allows the player to enable subtitles during the game.
• Closed Captions – Allows the player to enable text descriptions for in-game sound effects and non-spoken audio.
• Subtitles Size – Adjusts the size of on-screen subtitles.
• Subtitle Background – Allows the player to set the transparency of subtitle background. The default is partially transparent.
• Subtitle Color – Allows the player to set the text color and background color of subtitles simultaneously. The default is white text on a black background.
• Cursor Sensitivity – Allows the player to change the sensitivity of the current profile’s cursor.
• Cursor Size – Allows the player to change the size of the cursor.
• Controller Remapping – Allows the player to remap gameplay inputs on their controller to suit their preferences. Input customization is organized by action (eg. Select/Basic Quick Action, Cancel Selection, Override, Quick Action)
• Mouse & Keyboard Remapping – Allows the player to remap gameplay inputs on their mouse and keyboard to suit their preferences. Input customization is organized by action (eg. Select/Basic Quick Action, Cancel Selection, Override, Quick Action)

The story is separated into two books spanning decades with players making decisions that impact the lives of the main cast. TV shows like Breaking Bad and Fargo, along with the movie Dog Day Afternoon, were big inspirations for the overall narrative which offers big choices with high stakes and smaller decisions that create drama.

As Dusk Falls supports co-op for up to 8 players at a time locally and online. There’s also a companion app so that players can make choices using their phone or tablet. Throughout a session, you’ll gain insights into your play style and how you handle different situations.

As Dusk Falls releases on July 19th and will be available on day one for Game Pass.

As Dusk Falls is a cinematic adventure game, with a focus on storytelling. The game involves players taking on the roles of people caught in a robbery in 1998 gone wrong in a small town in Arizona, and spiralling out from there.

The game’s story presents players with the question of whether they can break free of the characters’ family’s toxic influence, and what the players would be willing to sacrifice for the ones they love. As Dusk Falls follows the stories of two families.

As Dusk Falls will feature co-op multiplayer with up to 8 players either locally, online, or a mix. It makes use of a companion app on smartphones to help facilitate the multiplayer mode, allowing players to vote for choices.

Grubb says that Xbox might already be ready to show Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 in all of its Unreal Engine 5 glory. However, given the density of announcements by the company at gaming events this year, Grubb believes that Microsoft will instead reveal the game at this year’s TGA, airing on December 9.

“I think Hellblade 2 was kind of the plan as well, but we’ll see if that actually happens. They were thinking about doing the thing that they had after E3 with Parris. They were thinking about putting that in the show but were like ‘no, that’s too much for you stuff so we’ll just save that and then we’ll do something later in the year’, probably The Game Awards, that’s going to be the plan. We’ll see, those plans could change,” Grubb said (as transcribed by Pure Xbox)

Grubb also mentioned that Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed could grace the stage as well, although it’s best to take the story with a grain of salt. However, given the fact that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 was originally revealed at The Game Awards, it isn’t too far-fetched to imagine the game re-appearing on the same stage.

Rather than view Age of Empires III’s shortcomings as a problem, however, developers Forgotten Empires and Tantalus Media seem to have viewed it as a challenge. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is less a remaster and more an overhaul that makes a deeply flawed game significantly better without fundamentally changing the parts of it that worked.

"The Definitive Edition looks gorgeous. The game supports 4K resolutions and features rebuilt 3D assets. Almost everything has been retouched, from textures to lighting and particle effects, animations, and physics."

Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way first: the Definitive Edition looks gorgeous. The game supports 4K resolutions and features rebuilt 3D assets. Almost everything has been retouched, from textures to lighting and particle effects, animations, and physics. Age of Empires III is fifteen years old, and you can occasionally see it when you look at the game’s character models, but this is a very pretty game. The game’s sound design and soundtrack have also been enhanced, with new music for each civilization. Age of Empires has always had an excellent soundtrack, and these new tracks and enhancements make everything sound better. All of this stuff is expected from a modern remaster, but that doesn’t change the impressive work that the studios have done to make Age of Empires III look and sound the best it ever has.

As impressive as the visual and audio improvements are, they pale in comparison to the work that’s been done on the gameplay. The most obvious improvement has been made to the game’s UI, which now supports 3 different options to choose from, including the setup that appeared in the original game. While I think the best UI setup here is the one the game defaults to because it looks like a UI that you’d see in a modern RTS, it’s nice that the developers have given folks the ability to choose what they want. The addition of progress bars over buildings, more zoom levels, new naval formations, and the ability to check your tech tree in game, which was, bafflingly, not in the original release, are just icing on the cake.

Okay, so it looks good and it sounds good. In terms of gameplay, Age of Empires III plays a lot like it used to. You select from one of the 16 civilizations on offer and turn your small base into a thriving settlement. Workers chop down trees, mine metal, and collect food, which can be used to build buildings, train armies, and advance to the next age, which unlocks new technology and bonuses. As you play, your settlement will gain experience, which can be used to request shipments from your home city. These shipments can vary from food and supplies to soldiers or permanent buffs and they’re essential to keeping your army in fighting shape, upgrades researching, and your settlement growing. Success means exploring the map, securing valuable resources, finding hidden treasures protected by dangerous NPC, and establishing trade routes while fighting off your enemies or establishing strategic alliances. In true Age of Empires fashion, you don’t have to win via military conquest. You can achieve victory by holding more than half of the trade routes on the map, killing the enemy Regent in Regicide mode, or holding the hill in King of the Hill. Age of Empires III unfortunately doesn’t feature the varied win conditions of its predecessors – you can’t just build a Wonder and hold it for a couple hundred years – but it does give you more options than more traditional RTS games.

“Okay,” you might be saying. “That sounds a lot like the same game that released in 2005. What are these new gameplay improvements you’re talking about?” Well, the first is that all of the Home City cards/shipments are unlocked off the bat this time around, so you don’t have to level up to build the deck you want. The Definitive Edition also features several pre-built decks for each faction, so you can just jump right into the game if you’re like me and don’t want to think about deck building in an RTS. The AI has also seen significant improvements: it will build more diverse armies, use hit-and-run tactics, and retreat from losing fights. There’s also a the new “Extreme” difficulty if you’re looking for a serious challenge.

Forgotten Empires and Tantalus Media have also added two new modes to the game: The Art of War and Historical Battles. The former is a series of challenge missions meant to test your skills and help players bridge the gap between the single-player and multiplayer modes. The game gives you the basics via an introduction video and missions objectives, and offers hints if you’re struggling while you play. You’re scored based on how well you do, so there’s incentive to stick with it, and it’s a good way to learn the game’s deeper mechanics. Historical Battles are essentially mini-campaigns that drop you into real events, much like earlier games in the series. If you missed the more history-focused campaigns from Age of Empires II, this is the mode for you.

The Definitive Edition also features all 8 of the campaigns from the original game and its expansions. There’s 54 missions here altogether, so you’ll have plenty to do. The developers haven’t been resting on their laurels here, either. A lot of the content here has been revamped and improved to meet modern standards, which makes the game more fun to play. By far the most work has been done to the Native American civilization. Their portrayal in the original game was historically inaccurate, both in terms of narrative and gameplay. The studios have taken these criticisms to heart, having a writer of Native American descent fix the errors and rewrite the entire second act of the campaign. In addition, they’ve also redone several of the faction’s mechanics, which simultaneously makes their representation of Native Americans more accurate and more compelling to play.

"The Definitive Edition also adds two new civilizations, the Incas and the Swedes, who bring completely new playstyles to the table."

The Definitive Edition also adds two new civilizations, the Incas and the Swedes, who bring completely new playstyles to the table. Age of Empires III’s various factions never felt quite a big as II’s did, but the flip side is that they all feel unique, each with their own variation of buildings and units that add up to completely different playstyles. The Chinese, for instance, recruit their armies in bulk and by forging alliances with European nations, while the Native Americans trade for furs instead of mining and can call on special buffs to enhance everything from their unit’s combat prowess to the speed at which they train. Each of the fourteen different factions feel different, and adding two more into the mix is icing on an already excellent remaster.

If the game’s extensive campaign and skirmishes against the new and improved AI aren’t enough for you, you can also check out the game’s multiplayer. The game has been rebalanced and features matchmaking, ladders and leaderboards, several new maps, a spectator mode, and rebalanced gameplay. There’s even mod support. I wasn’t able to test the multiplayer pre-release, but it is built on the same backend as the Definitive Editions of Age of Empires and Age of Empires II.

All told, Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition continues Forgotten Empires’ trend of releasing remarkable remasters. There’s been a ton of work done here, an Age of Empires III is a better game because of it. It doesn’t fix everything wrong with Age of Empires III. The game’s pacing often feels remarkably slow, especially in the early game. The campaigns, while better, aren’t as good as Age of Empires II’s, and though the Home City isn’t a terrible idea, the focus on deck building and experience often feels out of place. It just doesn’t fit. And while each civilization feels different, they also feel remarkably small, lacking both the grandeur and variety of Age of Empire II’s civilizations.

" If you don’t already like Age of Empires III, this edition is unlikely to entirely change your mind. I still don’t love I, but I do like it better than I did in 2005."

Age of Empires III was a daring game when it came out; it still is. Ensemble Studios had the bravery to experiment with their most successful franchise after their greatest successes, and that deserves praise. Age of Empires III does a lot of things right, but its willingness to experiment means it gets a lot wrong, too. How you feel about the game will largely depend on how much you like the concept of the Home City, and your tolerance for its particular brand of historical fiction. I still don’t particularly care for several of the campaigns, though the addition of Historical Battles goes a long way. I still don’t love the Home City, though it’s undoubtedly better than it used to be.

Age of Empires III remains a deeply flawed game, but Forgotten Realms and Tantalus Media have done an excellent job of remastering it. If you don’t already like Age of Empires III, this edition is unlikely to entirely change your mind. I still don’t love I, but I do like it better than I did in 2005. The additions of the Historical Battles, new civilizations, and revamped campaign fix a lot of the game’s issues. But several of Age of Empires III’s issue are baked into the game foundation. It would have been impossible to fix them without fundamentally changing how the game worked. Forgotten Realms didn’t do that. What they did was polish what was there to a mirror sheen, and add things that fill in the gaps of what we expect from an Age of Empires game. Age of Empires III isn’t Age of Empires II, and it never will be. But this version is very, very good. And for a game that many view as a disappointment, that’s more than good enough.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Crackdown 3 uses Unreal Engine 4 to deliver its cel-shaded style that the series is known for. As noted before, Crackdown 3’s single player component is set in an open world which is filled with futuristic technology and neon art style. There is a distinct charm to game’s world thanks to the developer’s smart choice of color palette and art style. Unfortunately, the world itself feels barren and flat. In an era where open world games are brimming with authentic crowd behavior and complex AI simulation, Crackdown 3’s world is pretty uninspiring. The mission spots are all where the action is taking place but besides those there is very little personality in the game’s world. The game also seems to be using a partial solution for implementing its physical based lighting model. Some areas in the world lack material shaders thereby resulting into flat lighting models. Overall, the implementation of the lighting model is inconsistent; when it works, it works really well.

However, there are some bright spots in Crackdown 3; one of them is the particle effects. Although not out of this world, the particle effects while shooting or causing destruction look great and it gels well with the colorful art style of Crackdown 3. The character’s armor looks impressive thanks to material shaders and the lighting engine.

We also got to try the single player component across all Windows 10, Xbox One X and Xbox One. Let us take a look at the PC version first. The developers recommend an Intel i5 4690 or AMD FX-8350, Geforce 970 or Geforce 1060 or  Radeon R9 290X or Radeon RX 480 and 8GB of memory. Our test PC includes a GTX 1080Ti, 16GB of GDDR4 memory and Ryzen 1700 CPU. As expected with most Microsoft titles for Windows 10, there are a ton of graphical options ranging from Effects Quality, Character Texture Detail, Vehicle Texture Detail, World Texture Detail, Texture Filtering, Shadow Map, Anti-Aliasing, Global Level of Detail, Light Shafts Quality, Sharpening, Lens Flare Quality and a few others.

As expected, we had no performance issues with every setting maxed out. The Xbox One X version runs at a higher resolution compared to the base Xbox One build. The Xbox One X version comes pretty close to the PC assets package but lacks in a couple of parameters such as world texture detail and shadow map quality. The Xbox One version on the other hand lacks the level of detail and light shafts quality found in the Xbox One X version. Performance, too, was solid throughout our test, across both versions

Now let’s move to the Wrecking Zone; but before we do so, please note that our impressions here are not final. This mode is still under development and we believe hat  the developers will be improving this in the future, so you can consider this as our initial impressions about the technology. With that in mind, let’s proceed ahead.

Back during Gamescom 2015, Microsoft showcased the power of the cloud. The gaming world was taken aback by the high-end destruction capability of the technology which dynamically pulled resources from the cloud. It was mind-blowing and unlike anything we have seen before. Unfortunately, the tech we saw all those years ago hasn’t translated in its full in Crackdown 3. This is not to say that the current technology isn’t great. It still does an admirable job of rendering some high level destruction but the impeccable physics and the volumetric effects that we saw during Gamescom 2015 is kind of missing here. There is still a ton of destruction here, a lot of complex physics calculations and the rendered effects could be impressive at times. But we can’t help but wonder whether the original vision got lost somewhere during the development hell this game went through.

On a more positive note, all three versions performed pretty well and ran at playable frame rate. However, the game struggled with the PC build at maxed out settings so we had to reduce it down to High to eliminate slowdowns and freezes. Another minor note that we want to make is about the connection requirement. We tested the game on a high internet connection and still the UI showed that the connection was poor. We are not sure whether this is a bug or you need a specific speed to get this working. Regardless, we wanted to point this out to our readers. Given that it’s still early days we can’t wait to see how this tech evolves. We are hopeful Microsoft can invest in it to make it more refined and mature, and do more things with it besides destruction.

At the end of the day, Crackdown 3 is a mixed bag. The destruction physics falls short of what we saw during Gamescom 2015, the graphics are a combination of good and bad, and the core gameplay loop is a bit inconsistent. In many ways, the troubled development that Crackdown 3 went through is pretty much apparent in its tech and content. Crackdown 3 could have been so much more but right now it seems like a first big step towards bigger and impressive things for the future of cloud gaming.

So, twelve years after the original release, Sumo Digital, the third studio to helm a Crackdown title, has stepped up to the plate. It’s weird for a series that has never completely been a hit to get a third shot, and stranger still for it to get multiple shots with different studios, mostly because this almost never works. But Crackdown might be the exception; Sumo Digital has made what is easily the best game in the series here, and while it is still flawed, it’s easily the best realization of what Crackdown could be.

"You begin the game with very little in terms of, well, everything. No crazy powers, few guns, and not much insanity at your disposal. That’s natural for a game like this, but the issue is that it initially makes the game a slog."

The game opens with the Agency, the organization of supercops from the first couple games (who have also been heavily implied to be the bad guys in the past) totally destroyed… except for you. See, there was a huge terrorist attack that pretty much wiped out power around the world. The Agency traces it back to New Providence, a city run by Terra Nova, an evil corporation that is essentially an enormous metaphor for late capitalism. The Agency’s first attack goes badly, but you’ve been resurrected by a woman who goes by Echo to take them down. Problem is, the resurrection process has sapped you of your abilities. Time to go get them back.

It’s standard stuff, as is the game’s opening. You’re shuttled through a small opening zone that ends with a fairly ho-hum boss fight, and then dumped into New Providence at large. Your goal is to take down the head of Terra Nova, and to do that, you’ll need to take down her flunkies, which will make their bosses, and finally her, vulnerable. The order in which you waste them is up to you, but you do pretty much the same things either way: break enough of the stuff they’re in charge of, and eventually they’ll get mad enough to fight you one-on-one. Then you murk them. In the meantime, you’ll galivant around the city fighting baddies, completing side missions, leveling your skills, and generally making a ruckus. Sounds pretty good, right?

Well, it doesn’t start that way. You begin the game with very little in terms of, well, everything. No crazy powers, few guns, and not much insanity at your disposal. That’s natural for a game like this, but the issue is that it initially makes the game a slog. Crackdown is all about freedom. In many ways, it’s the ultimate video game power fantasy. The things you do directly make you better at those things. Using a lot of guns makes you better at using guns. Punching stuff increases your strength. Nabbing the agility orbs around the city increases your ability to jump and dash. Making things explode makes your explosives better. And driving… well, you get the idea. But that means you have to actually do those things. If you don’t punch dudes or throw things at them, your strength skill doesn’t increase. You have to go find the agility orbs to get a double jump and air dash. You gotta drive the boring normal cars to get access to the rad, transformable Agency car.

"But then you start to get stuff. You do a couple races and you get that rad agency car. You give a few baddies a knuckle sandwich and you get the superhero landing, and then a charged punch. Fill a bunch of dudes full of lead and you get the option to target individual body parts."

This is Crackdown 3’s core problem. At the beginning, you just don’t have many options, and what you do have isn’t that exciting. The game’s assault rifle isn’t bad, it’s just kinda… boring. Ditto only having one jump, a single three hit punch combo, etc. And you have to use these things to get to the fun. The first three to four hours drag, because you have to track down the agility orbs. You have to force yourself to punch guys it would be easier to shoot. You have to drive around. I don’t want to harp on this too much – it’s a small part of the game and my dissatisfaction with this segment might have something to do with the way I played it (I really should have tracked down more agility orbs sooner) – but it is worth noting that the opening just isn’t as engaging as the rest of the game.

But then you start to get stuff. You do a couple races and you get that rad agency car. You give a few baddies a knuckle sandwich and you get the superhero landing, and then a charged punch. Fill a bunch of dudes full of lead and you get the option to target individual body parts. By level 2 or 3, things really open up in terms of the options you have at any given moment. Toss a grenade into a group of enemies. Bring the shockwave with a superhero landing. Pull off a punch combo. Pull out your beam weapon (which also happens to set people on fire) and left the little guys have it. Target the big ones with your mass driver (a rail gun whose projectiles stick to enemies), and finish of the rest by running them over with your car. Or by throwing a dead body at them. Or using a rifle that bounces lightning bolts between foes. Or a charged, dashing punch. Or. Or. Or.

When the game opens up – when you get enough skills to essentially do whatever you want, whenever you want – Crackdown 3 really comes together. Individually, each of its systems is simple and not many of them have the depth to stand alone. The game would be really boring if you just had its melee combat to work with, even with all the abilities unlocked. But you don’t. And it’s this breadth that makes it fun. Throw in a couple dozen weapons, all of which operate differently, a transformable car, an enormous number of movement options, and a lot of ways to make things go boom, and you have a smorgasbord of tools of clean up New Providence.

"New Providence is divided into several parts, each of which contains its own unique visual style and things to do, often based on the bad guy(s) associated with that area."

A game’s tools are only as good as the sandbox you get to use them in, and Crackdown 3 largely succeeds here, too. New Providence is divided into several parts, each of which contains its own unique visual style and things to do, often based on the bad guy(s) associated with that area. Some of them, like ROXY, the evil AI that controls the city’s monorail system, has her stuff spread out around the city, but Khan, who manages part of Terra Nova’s mining operation, has most of his equipment localized in one area.

Taking control of a monorail station means wiping out its guards and then beating down the mini-boss ROXY summons to defend it, while beating Khan’s mining operation mostly just means breaking his machines. Once you’ve taken out enough stuff, you’ll open up the option to take down that character in a boss fight, which vary according to who that character is. Beating ROXY, for instance, means climbing her tower and shutting off her systems, while fighting Khan means taking him mano a mano after he jumps into Crackdown 3’s version of Aliens’ power loader. Between the story stuff, there are races (both in a vehicle and on foot) to enter, civilians to free, vehicles to blow up, etc. There’s really no shortage of stuff to do, and like the missions you to gain access to Terra Nova’s baddies, most don’t overstay their welcome. After all, you don’t have to do them all. Just enough to get what you want.

But Crackdown 3 isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, and some systems work better than others. The game’s driving is floaty, and cars feel like they’re made of papier mâché. They’ll flip over for no good reason, and running into just about anything, from a raised step on someone’s front door to a tree, will bring you to a dead stop. This is a huge deal when racing, because you’re running against a time limit. The destruction we were promised in much of the game’s marketing makes almost no appearance here. Other side missions, like the propaganda towers you can scale, feel repetitive and occasionally fluky in terms of what works. The game also has a wanted system, much like Grand Theft Auto, that triggers seemingly at random and can be hard to get away from, especially at lower levels, when you lack mobility options. Crackdown’s enemies are relentless even when you haven’t triggered this system, which means the act of simply driving past them on the road to somewhere else can lead to a fight you have no choice but to have.

"Crackdown 3 isn’t a perfect game, but it’s a good one. It could stand to be a bit more consistent, but that’s always been this series’ problem."

Then there’s the game’s presentation. Crackdown 3 features bright colors and vivid environments, and the game’s comic book inspirations are something it’s clearly proud of. There’s a lot of cool visual bits here, from the way your characters grow and change as they level up their stats to the propaganda and jokes scattered around the world. One standout declares that guns are issued free with every police uniform. Even the Agents themselves have a ton of visual variety (and stat bonuses), and everything comes together fairly nicely – except when it doesn’t. For all its color, the game often looks visually flat, and there’s no visual pop that similar games, like Borderlands or Spider-Man, manage to pull off.

The other major problem is the supporting cast. Goodwin, the head of the agency from previous games, returns in 3, offering a lot of comedic relief – “Skills for kills, Agent!” – and is a stand-in for the player’s desires, while Echo works best when she’s going on about the plight of the common man. The thing is, neither of them ever shuts up. They talk about everything – from every optional thing you pass, to story developments, to the stuff you’ve literally just done. And they’re quick to point out something that they think you’re not doing fast enough. Non-stop. Until you do it. As someone who watched me play noted, “it’s like when you don’t solve a puzzle in Uncharted in three seconds.” Well, it wasn’t a good idea then and it isn’t now, either. It’s just irritating. The upside here is that one of the Agents is voiced by the inimitable Terry Crews, who delivers his lines with gusto. Unfortunately, the game almost never lets your characters speak. They mostly just murder stuff while Goodwin and Echo use up all the air in the atmosphere.

We also went hands on with the game’s multiplayer component, the Wrecking Zone, which is powered by Azure cloud servers. Crackdown 3 offers two modes, Agent Hunter and Territories, which are both team-based modes. In Agent Hunter mode, each team must take down the other team’s players; once you take them out, they will drop a badge and you will need to collect them. The first team to acquire the required number of badges within a particular time limit will win the match. In Territories mode, a spot within the map will be selected and each team would either need to defend or capture it. Once you start capturing, points will start to accumulate unless the opposing team contests for that location.

"It seems that the multiplayer modes are still very much in their infancy, but there is no doubt about its potential to grow beyond launch."

Both of these modes feature cloud-based destruction, which is easily one of the highlights of multiplayer. The map is designed in such a way so as to facilitate vertical gameplay along with tons of opportunities to cause destruction. Do you have any enemies swarming beneath the floor below you? Just use your secondary weapon and voila! Ultimate destruction! However, note that not everything is destructible in the game but the majority of the objects can be blown to smithereens. Furthermore, the locked aiming system keeps the action going and there is never a dull moment in Crackdown 3’s multiplayer component. Unfortunately, there is no progression system at this point and only customization options are the loadouts. It seems that the multiplayer modes are still very much in their infancy, but there is no doubt about its potential to grow beyond launch.

Which kind of sums up Crackdown 3 as a whole. When it’s good, it’s really good. When the systems come together, mowing down tons of guys as your supercop of choice is awesome. But the opening is slow. Echo and Goodwin don’t shut up. The driving is inconsistent. It’s visually flat. The long-hyped destruction is almost non-existent in this mode. And, in a personal pet peeve, it doesn’t have local co-op. What a waste. And yet I can’t deny that I had a great time with it, especially the further into it I got. Crackdown 3 isn’t a perfect game, but it’s a good one. It could stand to be a bit more consistent, but that’s always been this series’ problem. And no matter who the developer is, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox One.

Microsoft has gotten serious about its first party over the last few months, with multiple studio acquisitions to try and bolster up their lineup of exclusives. Now, they are giving their new group of first party studios a brand new identity—Microsoft Game Studios has been rebranded into Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft announced during the latest episode of the web-series Inside Xbox, which aired earlier today.

Given the push to make Xbox a platform that is hardware agnostic and available on multiple devices—right now it is on PC and Xbox One, but Microsoft is preparing to bring Xbox services to mobile and Switch soon, while xCloud will bring Xbox games everywhere via streaming—this is a good change, which rallies around the Xbox brand identity, and makes Xbox itself about the games, and not the hardware.

Now hopefully, Xbox Game Studios will start putting out some great content soon. It will probably be a couple of years, but I want to see what they do under Microsoft’s tutelage.

https://youtu.be/EdjmK7AOZwo

We also can’t forget how on the ball they have been with addressing criticism for their games like Sea of Thieves, how they have released one of their best first party exclusives ever with Forza Horizon 4, how they have at last begun to expand on their first party portfolio by acquiring and setting up five new studios, and how, in an attempt to reconnect with fans, they are bringing back things associated with the Xbox brand when it was at its peak again. These things include the marketing tag line “Jump In”, as well as the Inside Xbox name, and, perhaps most significantly, X0, their series of annual Xbox focused conventions that is being brought back this year, and will be held this Saturday in Mexico City.

X0 is especially significant, even more so when you consider that Sony isn’t having its equivalent, the PlayStation Experience, this year. This means that a lot of third party game announcements and reveals, which have traditionally been associated with PlayStation because they are announced at Sony’s event, can now be leveraged by Xbox instead. It’s also important because it means Microsoft gets important mindshare at a time when their competition doesn’t this year, meaning they can technically have a leg up over PlayStation in terms of general awareness.

"X0 is especially significant, even more so when you consider that Sony isn’t having its equivalent, the PlayStation Experience, this year. This means that a lot of third party game announcements and reveals, which have traditionally been associated with PlayStation because they are announced at Sony’s event, can now be leveraged by Xbox instead."

But in the end, X0 will not be about PlayStation versus Xbox versus Nintendo. All three companies have, by now, diverged, and are charting their own course towards whatever they feel the future of gaming as a medium and industry is. For Microsoft, X0 will be their chance to ensure Xbox is primed for long term, and most importantly, sustainable success. After going from being at the top with the Xbox 360 to being outsold and lapped by the competition, they probably want to ensure that such a series of developments is never again repeated.

X0 will be important for this. Microsoft can use this event to announce new games from their newly set up or established studios, even if only with teasers. Microsoft’s first party is paltry, and lacks in variety greatly, mostly comprised just of shooters and racers in various flavours. Maybe Microsoft can attempt to fix that this year—maybe they can show a new action adventure game, or a new RPG, or a new single player prestige title that they put out to try and expand the appeal of Xbox to beyond the kinds of audiences that are typically attracted by the fare Microsoft puts out.

That part is important—a fan of Halo, Gears of War, or Forza is already sold on Xbox, and they will buy in no matter what. They like those games, they will want to play them. Limiting their major output to just those three brands is effectively preaching to the choir. On the other hand, putting out appealing games of other kinds—new genres and styles, probably those that are not too well served by third parties, or are just uniquely appealing on their own—will help Microsoft attract more people into the fold. If someone likes single player adventure games like Zelda or God of War, so far they have nothing on the Xbox to truly compel them to look into picking it up. But if Microsoft were to announce, say, a high budget new Fable game, then there’s no doubt many people would look into possibly getting an Xbox for themselves.

"Microsoft can use this event to announce new games from their newly set up or established studios, even if only with teasers. Microsoft’s first party is paltry, and lacks in variety greatly, mostly comprised just of shooters and racers in various flavours. Maybe Microsoft can attempt to fix that this year—maybe they can show a new action adventure game, or a new RPG, or a new single player prestige title that they put out to try and expand the appeal of Xbox to beyond the kinds of audiences that are typically attracted by the fare Microsoft puts out."

That’s an expansion of their audience. But it’s not about just expanding the audience, it’s also about sustaining that growth. Microsoft probably wants Xbox to have the kind of stable audience PlayStation does, which has always sold over 80 million units with each home console. For that, it is important for them to assure their buyers and customers that they will always be delivering the kind of high content that brought them to Xbox in the first place, and that that content will never be found anywhere else.

Microsoft does this well with Halo, Gears, and Forza—if you like those games, you know that Microsoft will always have a new one out, and so, you’ll get an Xbox. But if you picked up an Xbox 360 (for say, Mass Effect), only for those games to make the jump to PlayStation shortly afterwards, while PlayStation also continued to put out rich, appealing, and unique exclusives you couldn’t get on Xbox—why would you want to buy an Xbox One for any of its appealing exclusives? As long as they aren’t Halo, Gears, or Forza, why wouldn’t you wait for those games to eventually come to PS4? Indeed, we already have reports of PUBG making that jump. So what if Microsoft announces a cool looking exclusive for Xbox One? Why not wait a while for it to hit PlayStation, instead of spending hundreds of dollars on an Xbox One to play it a few months or years early?

And this is where the first party part of the equation comes back into reckoning. If these incredibly appealing looking new games beyond Forza, Gears, and Halo are announced by Microsoft owned studios, you will know that an Xbox will be the only console for you to be able to play them. If Microsoft announces the acquisition of a quality studio, then you will know that going forward, Xbox will be the only console where you will be able to play their high quality and historically well regarded content. In all these cases, Microsoft has not just caught your attention now—they have caught it over the long term, and made a far more convincing case for you to look into investing into an Xbox every generation, as you presumably do with PlayStation and Nintendo, thanks to their rich libraries of exclusives.

"If these incredibly appealing looking new games beyond Forza, Gears, and Halo are announced by Microsoft owned studios, you will know that an Xbox will be the only console for you to be able to play them. If Microsoft announces the acquisition of a quality studio, then you will know that going forward, Xbox will be the only console where you will be able to play their high quality and historically well regarded content. In all these cases, Microsoft has not just caught your attention now—they have caught it over the long term, and made a far more convincing case for you to look into investing into an Xbox every generation."

That’s not all, either. If Microsoft can leverage nostalgia for its brand by using its legacy content (like it has been with the backward compatibility program) and classic games, it also reinforces fan loyalty, and makes it more likely that they will stick with the Xbox brand. Microsoft then has a cushion for Xbox, a buffer, a guaranteed audience, while also opening the way for third parties who make similar games to follow in their wake.

X018 could be an inflection point for the long term fortunes of the Xbox brand. It’s equally likely it’s not, and that it is instead just a cool fan event with some mid-tier announcements. And that’s fine, too—for reasons mentioned previously, it’s still a win for Microsoft in terms of mindshare and brand visibility. But, I hope they come back swinging. They’ve shown us they’re serious about wanting to be competitive—now to actually act on that sentiment, Microsoft.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.