Crackdown - superhero breakdown

Comic book superheroes are tailor-made for videogames. Their extraordinary abilities, like superhuman endurance and gravity-defying leaps, perfectly translate into the kind of otherworldly powers we like to see in our gaming avatars. It used to be a sad cliché that all comic book games were garbage, but aswe told youlast year, Spidey and pals are starting to get a fair shake when it comes to videogames.

Then there's a game like Crackdown, where you can seemingly play as a huge chunk of the Marvel and DC universes all at once. It allows you to slowly build up your supercop abilities until you're a building-leaping, bullet-dodging agent of liberty, all while playing in a bustling GTA-style city. There are five base stats you pump up throughout the campaign, but the powers and heroes they represent are off the charts - the Agility skill alone gives you moves that echo Spider-Man, Hulk and Flash. Add in super strength, firearm proficiency, demolitions expertise and superior driving skills and you've got a one man army.

So, after hours with the game, we've tallied up which powers you're going to love using for great justice... or great chaos. It is, after all, your playground, so smashing a truck or two while chasing a perp is no big deal. Just haveDamage Controlcome clean up the mess. Then we put your newly acquired powers to the test by comparing them to the bottom of the comic hero barrel - sure you can run fast, but we're betting that "speedster" Quicksilver still has an edge. Where does a custom-built Crackdown cop rank? Read on for the breakdown.

Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.