Crackdown 2 lets you be judge, jury, and executioner for a huge, fully explorable city and takes multiplayer gaming to unprecedented levels for the ultimate co-op and competitive multiplayer experience, providing you and your friends with the complete freedom to explore, destroy, and play your way as you restore justice and peace to Pacific City—by any means necessary.

The sequel is set some ten years after the first installment, placing the player as another genetically-modified agent sent out onto the streets of Pacific City. The once-bustling metropolis has been ravaged by infection and the ongoing struggle for power over the city's inhabitants. The player returns to fight off hordes of Freaks following their accidental release into the populace and regain control of the City from the hands of The Cell - a powerful terrorist organization fighting to overthrow the Agency.

Crackdown 2 features over-the-top action that exemplifies truly freeform gameplay and lets gamers explore and play however they choose. Players return to Pacific City with new abilities, combat capabilities, weaponry and vehicles that all have the unique Crackdown touch that fans have come to love. With four-player cooperative play and multiplayer modes for up to 16 players over Xbox Live, you can take the fight to the streets and rooftops with your friends in explosive style.

Starting today, Microsoft and developer Ruffian Games are giving fans around the world an early chance to bring their personal brand of justice to this summer’s most explosive action title by downloading the public demo on Xbox LIVE before “Crackdown 2” launches.

The demo introduces players to some of the core tenets in “Crackdown 2,” including the single player campaign, 4-player co-op with friends and an inventive sandbox style that lets you play how you want, when you want. You’ll get a taste of power thanks to the demo’s accelerated leveling and if you’re a fan of Achievements, the ones you earn in the “Crackdown 2” demo will be counted and deferred when you purchase and play the retail game.

The fun doesn’t stop there. Log on to www.chucksducks2.com to participate in “Chuck’s Ducks 2,” an interactive Facebook game tied to “Crackdown 2” and Xbox LIVE. This carnival-inspired game allows players to earn and activate a daily supply of explosive Quackers in the retail version of “Crackdown 2” and unlock an extra difficulty level in the “Crackdown 2” demo. Quackers are exploding sticky bombs in the form of rubber ducks that players will need to locate to use in the campaign mode in the retail version. By joining in on the Facebook experience, fans are granted exclusive access to the Quackers they’ve earned for use in the multiplayer mode.

Fans around the world can pre-order “Crackdown 2” today at participating retailers to receive exclusive, in-game bonus armor in four new shades: Gold, Gun Metal, Black and Green.

Features:

• Complete freedom: A spectacular sandbox experience. Crackdown 2 is an explosive tour de force that invites players to explore, experiment and navigate through objectives with complete freedom to do what they want, when they want. With unprecedented levels of open-ended gameplay in combat and story progression, Crackdown 2 redefines the sandbox style of play with a gripping narrative and more ways to engage in the explosive action than ever.
• In a league of its own: Unparalleled cooperative and multiplayer. The sandbox experience gets more exciting! Evolving the way open-world games are played, Crackdown 2 introduces never-before-seen multiplayer features that will take the genre to new heights. With the ultimate four-player co-op mode, 16-player multiplayer experiences and an all-new party system, Crackdown 2 ushers in the most robust open-world experience ever, offering unlimited ways to play and share Pacific City with friends around the world. Players will engage in dynamic competitive and cooperative multiplayer for double the carnage, action and intensity, only made possible on Xbox Live.
• The sky's the limit: Serving justice, by any means necessary. Crackdown 2 continues the over-the-top action with ever-expanding skills, more dangerous enemies and no safe zones. Strategies and tactics will be even more inventive with new weapons and agent skills that grant the abilities to scale buildings, orchestrate massive explosions and engage in bone-crushing combat with obliterating force. Hit the road, take to the sky or explore underground — the experience is limited only by your imagination. Whether you're chasing down enemies on rooftops or dropping from sky-high to ground zero in a matter of seconds, Crackdown 2 is the perfect adrenaline rush for action fanatics.
• Sprawling environment: Pacific City at your disposal. The sprawling metropolis that was once Pacific City is now divided between the Agency, the Cell and the Freaks in a contentious battle between order and anarchy. Divided and expanded with new environments in every direction, the city has never been more perilous. From the rooftops to the sewers, players will utilize their surroundings to the fullest to take back Pacific City.