When Crackdown 2 was released, I was a little lukewarm on it. The first downloadable content added some spice with the free Key's to the City mode but it didn't really pull me back.

Footage of the new downloadable content--the Deluge DLC pack--has piqued my interest. Why? Because explosions are awesome and the launch trailer for the DLC is made up of mostly explosions. My estimates put it at about 94%--leaving 6% for capturing and editing. Read more »

Crackdown 2 collecting dust on your shelf? Need new content to rope you back in? Ruffian Games has you covered, as the second DLC pack for the game has been dated and priced.

On November 16, the "Deluge" downloadable content pack for Crackdown 2 launches for 560MS Points ($7). Included in the pack are "updates" to the weapons and vehicles in Crackdown 2, a capture the flag variant called "Capture the Orb," and a new mode dubbed "Deluge." In Deluge, up to four players must battle against waves of enemies throughout Pacific City. Read more »

An updated version of the Crackdown 2 downloadable content 'Toy Box' went live over the weekend, fixing the nasty bugs the DLC suffered when it launched on September 2.

"These issues were caused by problems mastering the DLC package," Gaz Liddon, studio head of developer Ruffian Games, reiterated in a forum post on Saturday. "They have now been resolved with a new version of the Toy Box DLC that Microsoft has released today." Read more »

An error with the new Crackdown 2 'Toy Box' downloadable content, which launched yesterday with both free and paid components, has rendered the game unplayable for many.

"The paid part of the DLC was incorrectly configured when mastered," Ruffian Games studio head Gaz Liddon wrote on its forums. This will lead to the game hanging on the title screen for some, while others while be hit by an achievement voice-over repeating constantly until the game slows to a crawl. Read more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

Today's Filter adds new media for a handful of titles. We're got new trailers for F.E.A.R. 3, Inferno, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Duel Transer, an "announcement trailer" for Path of Exile as well as new videos for Bastion and Commander: Conquest of the Americas. Read more »

If you're looking for more reason to wreak havoc on an already decimated Pacific City, we have good news. Previously detailed free and premium "Toy Box" downloadable content for Crackdown 2 is set to launch on September 2.

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[Update] This post was updated to clarify the content available for free versus the content that will be available for purchase.

[Original] Although it was already spoiled by its own Avatar Awards listing and in a recent interview, Microsoft has reveled a full list of features included in the first downloadable content pack for Crackdown 2. Read more »

The NPD Group have released sales date for the month of July, revealing the Xbox 360 has taken over the top spot versus all video game platforms. The last time the Xbox 360 led all platforms was in September 2007, following the release of Halo 3.

Although video game retail sales were slightly lower over July 2009, one major standout was StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty, which sold 721K units during the month. The release was a major contributing factor to the 103% growth the PC category saw versus last year. (The game does not appear on the NPD list, as NPD only tracks console sales.) Read more »

Everybody's been playing Crackdown 2 but from the sounds of it they won't be much longer. San Diego-based comic Christian Spicer adds his voice to the disappointment Garnett, Brian, and Jeff express over the sequel. But it fares better than Deadly Premonition did with Jeff. Not to worry, ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead and DeathSpank help Whatcha Been Playin finish strong. A trio of awesome strategy games perfect for a long summer's playcation fills out this week's Cannata-ford a New Game. Your comments on 3DS pricing and requiring a complete game one save to play White Knight Chronicles 2 kicks off the Warning before getting to topics like what makes an MMO good and the viability of an honor system difficulty mechanic in open world games. Brian brings it home in the Front Page with news including the announcement of Dragon Age 2, four DLC packs coming for Red Dead Redemption, E3 Game Critics Awards winners, and more.

Weekend Confirmed Ep. 16 - 07/09/2010 Read more »

Taking place ten years after the original, Crackdown 2 puts players back in the boots of an Agency clone with super-powers tasked with cleaning up the war-torn streets of Pacific City. Agents will have to contend with The Cell, a guerrilla faction in the city, and a new mutated adversary with an aversion to light, lovingly dubbed "Freaks." Though development duties moved over to Ruffian Games this time around, their effort shares many of the highs and most of the lows of the original developed by Realtime Worlds.

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Two pieces of downloadable content are in the works for Crackdown 2, which was released yesterday for the Xbox 360. In an interview with MTV Multiplayer, Ruffian Games producer James Cope details the packs.

The first pack, titled "Toy Box" will include the "Keys to the City" debug mode, which was added to the first game after release. This mode allows players to spawn game objects and mess around with game-breaking powers and abilities in a true sandbox. The second pack is "Deluge" as is described thusly: Read more »

With Crackdown 2 days from release, Xbox 360 owners who are eagerly anticipating the game are playing through the bonus-infused demo, which has the potential to unlock achievements when the retail game is loaded. Today, Rare announced another bonus for Crackdown 2 fans: An unlockable character for the Perfect Dark XBLA multiplayer mode.

Systems with the full version of Perfect Dark installed, along with a save file from the upcoming sandbox title from Ruffian Games, unlocks Agent 4 -- a familiar "face" for Crackdown franchise fans. Sadly, agility orbs remain a Crackdown exclusive.

It's a holiday weekend in the US and Weekend Confirmed celebrates with a massive show that includes the debut appearance of Shane Bettenhausen. He slips right back into form with Garnett, Brian, and Jeff and they launch into Whatcha Been Playin with a quick catch up on Final Fantasy 13 and few other releases from earlier this year before moving on to current games like Singularity, Crackdown 2, and Puzzle Quest 2. The group tackles the PlayStation Network Plus offering and getting the right pace to creating sequels in the Warning, along with some of your responses to last week's show. And has a full Front Page to close things out with everything from the opening of the WoW: Cataclysm beta to what may be up with Lionhead's Milo project, and a quick Starcraft 2 features round-up. Remember to hit the official show story comments to join the conversation.

Weekend Confirmed Ep. 15 - 07/02/2010 Read more »

The 1GB demo for Crackdown 2 has arrived in the Xbox Live Marketplace, giving a taste of Ruffian's sequel to Realtime Worlds' open-world super-powered crime-buster.

"This demo features accelerated Agent leveling, four player co-op, and the ability to earn Achievements to be awarded once you play the full version of Crackdown 2," Microsoft explains. As ever, the demo is initially exclusive to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Read more »

The second entry in the five-episode animated prequel series to Crackdown 2 has arrived from publisher Microsoft, further detailing the events that transformed Pacific City from a bustling metropolis to a ruined and diseased shell of its former self.