A virus has swept the city

Looks like someone spiked the punch

The city might not have changed much, but its inhabitants certainly have. Gone are the crime factions and kingpins of the original. Instead, a virus has swept the city and turned many of its inhabitants into Freaks: mutants who are at their most dangerous after dark.

In an effort to quell the outbreak, The Agency has constructed a new weapon called Project Sunburst, which will eradicate the contagion with powerful UV light. Complicating matters, however, a terrorist group known as The Cell is hell-bent on sabotaging Project Sunburst for reasons unknown.

That's as much as you need to know about the plot. Indeed, apart from for completionists, for whom explanatory audio files can be collected throughout the city, that's as much exposition as the game offers. After all, Crackdown 2 can be played entirely at your own pace and in your own style.

You could, for example, ignore all the gunfire and car chases at street level in favour of hopping about on the rooftops to collect those agility orbs. Or you could choose to go on a killing spree with guns and grenades, or spend hours hand-braking your car into crowds of innocent bystanders.

You look like this if you don't put the crack-down

Next page: The wide variety of weapons..