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The last three skills all deal with offense and include strength, explosives and firearms. Strength allows you to beat your opponents with your bare hands as well as pick up heavier objects and throw them farther.  Throwing stuff is simple enough but not as impressive as it could be if the environments would have had a higher degree of destructibility.  Explosives on the other hand are very satisfying as the damage they do and their blast radius gets larger when you reach higher levels.  Firearms also work pretty well in that Real Time Worlds has thrown in a unique lock-on and target mechanism that allows players to aim at certain parts of their intended targets anatomy.  This is especially fun when you lock on to a vehicle because you have the option of targeting the gas tank which results in a very satisfying explosion.

All of these skills are there to help your agent mow his way through the gang’s ranks until he takes out the gang kingpin.  The demo gives us a small taste of this by allowing us to take on four of the lower bosses on the Los Muertos hierarchy.  Crackdown doesn't restrict you from trying to take on the head honcho right away, but if you take out key players lower down the totem pole you will have an easier time when you do take on the kingpin.  Take out the head of recruitment and there will be fewer bodyguards surrounding the kingpin.  Do away with the gang’s physical trainer and the bodyguards who are there will be weaker and easier to dispatch.

The only issues I have with this part of the game is the fact that the enemy A.I. is certainly below average and the game seems to try and compensate by out-numbering the player.  This is not as big a problem as it may sound however since the game is about making you feel like a super human badass.  It is still challenging because a swarm of 20 thugs can dispatch you just as quickly as a couple of uber enemies from a game with souped up A.I., and believe me, Crackdown has no problem throwing 20 plus thugs at you.

At the end of the day I can say that having played through the Crackdown demo it certainly left me wanting more.  I was interested in the title from the beginning and after having a taste of it I can't wait for a full course meal.  There are a few minor gripes with the camera and enemy A.I. that could possibly be fixed before launch or could be forgotten about.  Hopefully it will be the first option, but either way I think Crackdown is going to make quite an impression when it hits stores February 20th.