Last year's X06 event, where Microsoft showed off a host of upcoming Xbox titles, was conclusive proof that 2007 will be a great year to be a 360 owner. Alan Wake, Bioshock and Mass Effect were the highlights of a mightily impressive release schedule. And this was without any showing of Halo 3, easily the most anticipated 360 game (though I'm still far more excited by Alan Wake meself). Far less exciting, however, was Crackdown. A free-roaming action/driving thing - or comicbook GTA to you and me - Crackdown stood out by being blindingly average, despite the ability to throw cars around.
Any post event doubts - is 30 minutes of gin-fuelled playtime at the evening party enough to form an early opinion? - were quashed by the news that Microsoft are allowing Crackdown purchasers free entry to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. Yes, one of the only ways you'll be able to get on the Halo 3 multiplayer beta this spring will be to buy Crackdown when it comes out in February. I'm sure Konami did a similar boost-a-mediocre game ploy in the past, by bundling a Metal Gear Solid 2 demo with some long forgotten release. But there hasn't been anything this cynical for a long time. Let's be thankful there are only a very few games that command the brand loyalty and excitement needed to make these marketing plots work.
