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So let’s take a look at what the demo actually offers.  Player can choose to go it alone or play online co-op.  There are three difficulty levels available, and there is also a good assortment of different character skins so that everyone can look different in co-op mode.   After choosing one of the three agent vehicles, players are set loose on the east side of Pacific City which is dominated by the Los Muertos gang.  The area available to explore is pretty impressive, especially when you realize that you are only being allowed to check out less than 1/3rd of what Pacific City has to offer.  Real Time Worlds uses every square inch of space, too.  The city is densely packed and players are encouraged to explore vertically as well as horizontally.

The demo also features an accelerated skill progression feature that insures we will get a taste of some super human agent abilities before the semi-timed demo ends.  These skills include driving, agility, strength, explosives, and firearms.  These skills can each be individually leveled-up and by doing so they increase your agent’s ability to explore and take the gangs head-on.  Crackdown offers an assortment of ways to gain experience which range from how you kill your enemies, to timed races, to simply collecting hard to reach icons.

Driving in the game is somewhat simplistic and can really change depending on the vehicle you are driving and your driving skill.  As players advance in driving skill vehicles become more responsive and you can even gain more control over the vehicle while airborne.  I also found the driving aspect the least impressive of Crackdown’s features.  It wasn't that the controls are bad (although some vehicles are particularly nasty to drive) it is just that some of the other aspects of the game offer so much more fun to be had.

In particular I found the platforming element of the game quickly consumed most of my time while playing.  As your agent increases his agility he can run faster and jump higher.  Due to the vertical nature of the city, this means there are places to explore that you could not reach previously.  Jumping from building to building trying to reach places that seem impossible proved to be a lot of fun.   The only drawback I found to this was that the camera was sometimes unwilling to cooperate.  Especially in tight places when the camera simply zooms into a first-person view in order to handle the cramped quarters.  Although you can rotate the camera and adjust its angle, I wish Real Time Worlds would give us a little more control over the camera and allow it to be manually zoomed as well.