With Crackdown 3 set to debut on Xbox One and PC this February 15, some PS4 fans may be feeling left out. Few games offer the same destructive fun the series prides itself on. There are a couple, however, that do come close to replicating Crackdown‘s outlandish charm. Check out what PS4 titles come to mind below.
PS4 games like Crackdown | Saints Row 4
Just like the Crackdown series, Volition’s Saints Row games don’t take themselves too seriously. Each title allows fans to experience a story mode or play side missions to their heart’s content. The franchise is perhaps craziest in its fourth entry, Saints Row 4, which tasks people with fighting off an alien invasion as the President of the United States.
Superpowers can be used alongside weapons like the Tentacle Bat, the Dildo Bat, the Black Hole Launcher, and the almighty Dubstep Gun. There’s also a demolition-derby mode called Mayhem that gives players an entire city to destroy. Those that enjoy this entry should check out the game’s standalone expansion Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, which is somehow wilder than the main game.
PS4 games like Crackdown | Infamous: Second Son
What makes Infamous: Second Son‘s open world version of Seattle so fun is protagonist Delsin Rowe’s access to a variety of neat superpowers. Smoke, neon, video, and concrete can be manipulated by using materials in Delsin’s immediate vicinity. The colors of a restaurant sign can be absorbed and used as firepower against patrolling enemies, and television screens can teleport players to wherever their circuits may lead. Though buildings aren’t destructible, a lot of the enemy D.U.P. posts can be wrecked without remorse. You can also torment innocent bystanders if that’s your thing. Just don’t let it get to your head.
PS4 games like Crackdown | Just Cause 3 and 4
Just Cause 3 and 4 star a mercenary named Rico Rodriguez who seemingly loves to blow up as much surface area as he possibly can. Both games feature open world environments and give players access to a few novel traversal items like a grappling hook and a wingsuit. Each aids in making environmental destruction fun, as players can ignite a helicopter in midair, then swoop down and explode a building full of goons in a matter of seconds. It helps that weapons like missile launchers and RPGs are scattered everywhere. The icing on the cake is commandeering helicopters and flying them into enemy units with reckless abandon.
PS4 games like Crackdown | Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs may seem like a cerebral game, but Aiden Pearce’s ability to hack Chicago’s infrastructure practically begs that players destroy as many civilian lives as possible. Manipulating traffic lights to create car collisions is exciting when fans first manage to pull it off. A more challenging feat is to get vehicles to run over innocent people that are minding their own business. You can always shoot them if things don’t work out and they survive, though there’s a certain joy to be had to watching harmless NPCs kill other harmless NPCs.
PS4 games like Crackdown | Ratchet and Clank
Ratchet and Clank‘s best aspects lie in the imaginative arsenal players have access to from the start of the duo’s journey together. The Groovitron is a cross between a grenade and a disco ball that makes enemies bust a move despite knowing that they’re about to die. Mr. Zurkon is an adorable floating menace who prides himself on his kill count, going so far as to recruit his entire family to join him on his rampages. Overall, Ratchet and Clank is a good-natured, destruction-filled joyride perfect for arsonists of all ages.
PS4 games like Crackdown | Destroy All Humans!
As its name suggests, Destroy All Humans! tasks players with obliterating all lifeforms that exist within the game’s sandbox environments. Protagonist Cryptosporidium 137 can use his Death Ray to burn people alive or his Abducto Beam to toss civilians across the screen. Those in the mood for heavy devastation can activate the Quantum Deconstructor, which launches radioactive bombs to decimate all lifeforms within its radius.
There are melee weapons for fans of close range torture too, including an Anal Probe that buries deep inside a victim’s rectum to uproot his or her brain. In many ways, Destroy All Humans! is synonymous with the phrase “complete annihilation.” Just be careful. It may be a bit dated by today’s standards.
PS4 games like Crackdown | Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered
Demolition fans may fall in love with Red Faction: Guerilla Re-Mars-tered. Set in a highly destructible, open world version of the red planet, players are encouraged to experiment with the title’s Geomod 2.0 engine to level buildings and send opponents flying to their deaths. Bridges and catwalks can be disintegrated right beneath an enemy’s feet, making for some pretty hilarious moments. Though there are many guns that will get the job done, players can also knock down structures with a nifty sledgehammer. You never know when you might need a little extra push.
PS4 games like Crackdown | Grand Theft Auto 5
It’s hard to explain the allure of Grand Theft Auto 5. It’s not the most imaginative title out there, as it’s mostly based off Los Angeles. Rather than working against it, however, this setting allows audiences to live the thrill of orchestrating a crime or killing a transgressor without having to suffer the consequences one normally has to deal with in real life. If you think a person looks funny or says something you don’t agree with, you can do whatever you want to him or her without any remorse. There’s plenty of physical destruction to enjoy in Grand Theft Auto 5, but the collapse of society at your own discretion is just as fun.
If the titles above aren’t up your alley, you can always pick up a copy of Crackdown 3 when it hits store shelves soon. The original game can also be bought for cheap and played on Xbox 360 or Xbox One via the latter console’s backwards compatibility feature. Whatever you wind up playing this February, remember that blowing things up is only acceptable in the virtual world. For the sake of everyone around you, try not to take too much inspiration from the titles above.
