Crackdown 2 “Toy Box” DLC Now Available

Written by Connor Beaton, published 2nd September 2010

Microsoft and Ruffian Games today released the first “game add-on” for Crackdown 2, called Toy Box. The add-on contains two content packs; the first pack is free and adds the new Vehicle Tag mode, a Level 6 ability reward and Keys to the City. The second pack, which can be purchased for 560 Microsoft Points, includes 10 new Achievements, Avatar Awards and new vehicles and gadgets.

Keys to the City, which most Crackdown veterans will recall as the ultimate cheat mode from the first Crackdown expansion, puts an even bigger set of tools at your disposal, including God Mode, Infinite Ammo, Fly Cam, spawning of weapons, gadgets and more, the ability to freeze the time of day, and pushing all skills to the maximum to become faster, stronger and more lethal. Additionally, players who reach Level 6 will be rewarded with the new Thruster Ability, which is akin to players having jetpacks on their feet.

The new Vehicle Tag mode sees up to eight Agents competing in six arenas: Speed is the Quay; Industrial Action; Maim Street; Skid Row; Beachhead; and The Sum of Human Knowledge. The mode is exactly what it sounds like: a massive game of tag with vehicles. A number of new vehicles have also been introduced in the premium content pack; if you don’t purchase the premium content, you will only have access to the new vehicles in multiplayer games if a friend who has purchased the content joins.

The new vehicles are the the Agency ATV, a wall-climbing aquatic mini-tank, and the Squad Chopper, which allows four players to jump in and man their own weapon, including the proximity mine launcher, precision rocket launcher, twin machine guns and nose machine gun. There are also five new “toys”: The Mass Driver, a turreted, gravity-bending weapon; Portable Launch Pads, which allows Agents to create their own launch pad jumps; Stickler Grenades, bouncing grenades that set off smaller explosive charges as they bounce; Thrusters, which allow vertical thrust; and Mags on Characters, which allow Mag Grenades to be attached to characters.

The premium content pack also includes two Avatar Awards - the Xbox Green Suit and Green Helmet - and ten new Achievements. There are also eight new colours for your Agent’s in-game armour, which is… nice, but doesn’t exactly add value for money. Still, a neat update for the game, and good news in light of the shutdown of original Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds.