Crack Down

From Sega Retro

n/a

  • System 24
  • Sega Mega Drive
    NTSC-J
  • Sega Mega Drive
    NTSC-U/PAL

CrackDown Title.png

CrackDown MD JP TitleScreen.png

CrackDown MD US TitleScreen.png

Crack Down
System(s): Sega System 24, Sega Mega Drive, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC, ZX Spectrum, Virtual Console, Steam
Publisher:
Arcade (System 24)
Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Sega Mega Drive
Sega Enterprises, Ltd. (EU/JP)
Wii Virtual Console
Sega Corporation
Sega Mega Drive
Sage's Creation (US)
Amiga
Amstrad CPC
Atari ST
Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum
U.S. Gold (UK)
Amstrad CPC
ZX Spectrum
Erbe Software (ES)
Developer:
Distributor:
Sega Mega Drive
Ecofilmes (PT)
Sega Mega Drive
Hent Gruppen (SE rental)
Sega Mega Drive
Tec Toy (BR)
Genre: Action[3][4]

















Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code
Arcade (System 24)
JP		 ¥? ?
Arcade (System 24)
US		 $? ?
Arcade (Mega-Tech System)
UK		 £? ?

























Sega Mega Drive
JP 		¥6,0006,000 G-4024
Sega Mega Drive
US 		$49.9549.95[6] 47046
Sega Mega Drive
US ▼
(Sega Channel) 		SUBsub
Sega Mega Drive
EU 		1111
Sega Mega Drive
PT 		MDJ1111
Sega Mega Drive
UK 		£34.9934.99[7][8] 1111
Sega Mega Drive
SE
(Rental)
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
BR
Amiga
FR
Amiga
UK 		£24.9924.99[7]
Amiga
UK
(Kixx)
Atari ST
FR
Atari ST
UK 		£24.9924.99[7]
Amstrad CPC
ES
(Cassette)
Amstrad CPC
UK
(Cassette)
Amstrad CPC
UK
(Kixx)
Commodore 64
US
(Disk) 		$34.9534.95[11]
Commodore 64
UK
(Cassette) 		£10.9910.99[12]
Commodore 64
UK
(Disk) 		£14.9914.99
Commodore 64
UK
(Kixx) 		£3.993.99[13]
ZX Spectrum
ES
(Cassette)
ZX Spectrum
ES
(Especial 8 Bits)
ZX Spectrum
UK
(Cassette)
ZX Spectrum
UK
(Kixx)
IBM PC compatibles
US
Wii Virtual Console
JP ▼ 		600pts600[17]
CERO: A
Wii Virtual Console
EU ▼ 		800pts800[14]
PEGI: 7+
Wii Virtual Console
AU ▼ 		800pts800[18]
OFLC: Parental Guidance (PG)
Steam
US ▼ 		$2.992.99[20] 34273
ESRB: Everyone
Steam
EU ▼ 		€2.492.49[20] 34273
PEGI: 7+
Steam
DE ▼ 		€2.492.49[20] 34273
USK: 6
Steam
UK ▼ 		£1.991.99[20] 34273
PEGI: 7+
Steam
AU ▼ 		$3.493.49[20] 34273
OFLC: Parental Guidance (PG)
Steam Linux
US ▼ 		$0.990.99[22] 34273
ESRB: Everyone
Steam Linux
EU ▼ 		€0.990.99[22] 34273
PEGI: 7+
Steam Linux
DE ▼ 		€0.990.99[22] 34273
USK: 6
Steam Linux
UK ▼ 		£0.790.79[22] 34273
PEGI: 7+
Steam Linux
AU ▼ 		$1.351.35[22] 34273
OFLC: Parental Guidance (PG)
Steam OS X
US ▼ 		$0.990.99[22] 34273
ESRB: Everyone
Steam OS X
EU ▼ 		€0.990.99[22] 34273
PEGI: 7+
Steam OS X
DE ▼ 		€0.990.99[22] 34273
USK: 6
Steam OS X
UK ▼ 		£0.790.79[22] 34273
PEGI: 7+
Steam OS X
AU ▼ 		$1.351.35[22] 34273
OFLC: Parental Guidance (PG)

Crack Down (クラックダウン) is a top-down arcade shoot-'em-up title developed by Sega AM1 for the Sega System 24 arcade board.

Gameplay

The game features two heroes, Ben Breaker and Andy Attacker, who have to get through a series of levels as quickly as possible by placing bombs on marked X spots scattered around the levels. The levels are heavily defended, but the player has an array of weaponry including a cannon, machine gun, and superbombs at their disposal in order to stay alive. The gameplay was designed by Yutaka Sugano, who had previously designed Shinobi, and it has been described as "Shinobi but top-down".[23][24][25][26]

Crack Down is unusual in that its System 24 roots mean that the screen is always split into two. As a result, one of the main complaints for weaker systems (with lower screen resolutions) is that the majority of the screen is not used when playing a one-player game.

History

Legacy

Crack Down' has subsequently been ported to a variety of systems, including the Sega Mega Drive, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS and ZX Spectrum. The Mega Drive version is a common choice for compilations, and has therefore seen several re-releases among other early Mega Drive titles. It has also been brought to the Wii's Virtual Console service.

For whatever reason, Sega had Sage's Creation publish the Mega Drive port in North America (it may have had to do with HOT-B making the port).

Versions

Amiga and Atari ST versions

The Amiga and Atari ST versions were created simultaneously by Arc Developments, following their home computer conversions of Forgotten Worlds.

While an arcade machine was obtained to help with the conversions, the lack of any sort of pause button or tile viewer on the unit meant initially the team were forced to copy the graphics by eye in Deluxe Paint III[27]. Attempts were made to reverse engineer the System 24 hardware (or more specifically the internal floppy disk format)[27], but this proved unsuccessful and Sega of Japan refused to give the team any technical details[28]. Sega did provide a black and white copy of some of the game's graphics, however[28].

Graphics were drawn on Amigas, before being transferred over to IBM PC compatibles (using the Amiga-to-IBM file utility Dos2Dos) for the main development of the game[28]. Once on the PC, a bespoke program would be run to strip the graphics files of unnecessary data prior to use. During development the graphics spanned at least 36 floppy disks[28].

The Amiga and Atari ST versions omit the intermission screens to save space.

There is a known glitch in the Amiga version of the game which causes the final level to crash. While more recent patches by fans have fixed the problem, it was never addressed during the game's original production run.

Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum versions

The Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum versions were also created by Arc Developments, and also used a similar system of drawing the graphics on an Amiga with Deluxe Paint III, while writing the code on an IBM PC[29]. Two weeks were spent bringing the game to the Amstrad CPC[30], after which a further two weeks were spent converting the CPC code to the Spectrum[30].

Using a technique developed in the Spectrum ports of Forgotten Worlds and X-Out, graphics scroll two pixels at a time[30]. This technique does not affect the way the Spectrum draws graphics on-screen however, so in order to overcome colour clash all in-game graphics share the same two colours[30].

Production credits

Main article: Crack Down/Production credits.

Digital manuals

  • Steam manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Crack Down/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Crack Down/Promotional material.

Artwork

  • CrackDown MD Art 01.jpg

Physical scans

System 24 version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(UK)
75
[31]
(DE)
70
[32]
Arcade (System 24)
 73
Based on
2 reviews

Crack Down

System 24, US
System 24, JP
Notavailable.svgNotavailable.svg
Instuction card(s)

Mega-Tech version

Mega-Tech,
CrackDown MT cover.jpg
Cover

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
65 [33]
Sega Mega Drive
 65
Based on
1 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(RU)
40
[34]
(BR)
75
[35]
(JP) NTSC-J
63
[36]
(UK)
83
[37]
(UK) PAL
82
[38]
(UK)
73
[39]
(JP) NTSC-J
58
[40]
(US) NTSC-U
72
[6]
(UK) PAL
60
[41]
(FR)
71
[42]
(JP) NTSC-J
60
[43]
(FR) NTSC-J
82
[44]
(UK) PAL
72
[45]
(JP) NTSC-J
67
[46]
(UK)
72
[47]
(UK)
65
[48]
(ES)
70
[49]
(UK)
84
[50]
(UK)
65
[51]
(FR)
83
[52]
(DE)
65
[53]
(UK) PAL
78
[7]
(UK) PAL
60
[8]
(UK) PAL
75
[54]
(UK)
88
[55]
(UK) PAL
82
[56]
(JP) NTSC-J
59
[57]
(FR)
75
[58]
(RU)
57
[59]
(GR) PAL
86
[60]
(US)
50
[61]
(DE)
57
[62]
Sega Mega Drive
 70
Based on
32 reviews

Crack Down

Mega Drive, JP
CrackDown MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
CrackDown MD JP CartTop.jpg
CrackDown MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Crackdown md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
CrackDown MD US Box.jpg
Cover
CrackDown MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
CrackDown MD US manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
CrackDown MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
CrackDown MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Crackdown MD EU Manual.jpg
Manual
CrackDown MD EU pcb.jpg
PCB
Mega Drive, PT
CrackDown MD PT Box Back.jpgNospine.pngCrackDown MD PT Box.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, SE (rental; Hent; black)
CrackDown MD SE rental cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, AU
CrackDown MD AU back.jpgNospine.pngCrackDown MD AU cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, BR
CrackDown MD BR Box.jpg
Cover

Amiga version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(AU)
80
[63]
(DE)
68
[64]
(DE)
70
[65]
(UK)
85
[66]
(FR)
76
[67]
(DE)
67
[68]
(GR)
80
[69]
(UK)
90
[70]
Amiga
 77
Based on
8 reviews

Crack Down

Amiga, UK

Amiga, UK (Kixx)
CrackDown Amiga EU Box Front Kixx.jpg
Cover

Amstrad CPC version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(DE)
57
[71]
(UK)
72
[72]
(FR)
80
[67]
(IT)
90
[73]
Amstrad CPC
 75
Based on
4 reviews

Crack Down

Amstrad CPC, UK (cassette)

Amstrad CPC, UK (disk)

CrackDown CPC EU Disk Back.jpgCrackDown CPC EU Disk Front.jpg
Disk
Amstrad CPC, UK (Kixx)
CrackDown CPC UK Box Kixx.jpg
Cover
Amstrad CPC, ES (cassette)
CrackDown CPC ES Box Cassette Erbe.jpg
Cover
CrackDown CPC ES Cassette Erbe.jpg
Cassette

Atari ST version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(DE)
68
[71]
(UK)
90
[74]
(FR)
92
[75]
(FR)
76
[76]
(DE)
67
[68]
(UK)
74
[77]
Atari ST
 78
Based on
6 reviews

Crack Down

Atari ST, UK

Atari ST, UK (Kixx)

Commodore 64 version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(DE)
58
[71]
(FI)
79
[78]
(UK)
71
[13]
(UK)
91
[79]
(UK)
87
[80]
(DE)
54
[81]
(YU)
60
[82]
(UK)
75
[83]
(UK)
88
[70]
(UK)
90
[84]
(IT)
83
[73]
Commodore 64
 76
Based on
11 reviews

Crack Down

Commodore 64, US
CrackDown C64 US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngCrackDown C64 US Box Front.jpg
Cover
Commodore 64, UK

Commodore 64, UK (Kixx)
CrackDown C64 UK Box Kixx.jpg
Cover
CrackDown C64 UK Cassette Kixx.jpg
Cassette
Commodore 64, ES

IBM PC version

IBM PC, US
CrackDown DOS US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngCrackDown DOS US Box Front.jpg
Cover
CrackDown DOS US Disk.jpg
Disk

ZX Spectrum version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(UK)
88
[80]
(ES)
60
[85]
(UK)
68
[86]
ZX Spectrum
 72
Based on
3 reviews

Crack Down

ZX Spectrum, UK

ZX Spectrum, UK (Kixx)
CrackDown Spectrum EU Box Kixx.jpg
Cover
ZX Spectrum, ES
CrackDown Spectrum EU Erbe Box.jpg
Cover
ZX Spectrum, ES (Especial 8 Bits)
CrackDown Spectrum ES Box Especial.jpg
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Crack Down/Technical information.

External links

References

  1. ↑ @tsurumy on Twitter (Wayback Machine: 2020-09-04 15:45)
  2. ↑ http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Interview:Kimihiro_Endou
  3. ↑ File:CrackDown MD JP Box.jpg
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
  5. ↑ Game Machine Daikenkyuu (JP; 1989-10-15), page 80
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 GamePro, "May 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 38
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Raze, "August 1991" (UK; 1991-06-27), page 51
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Sega Power, "June 1991" (UK; 1991-05-02), page 12
  9. ↑ Supergame, "Janeiro 1992" (BR; 1992-01-xx), page 38
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Génération 4, "Avril 1990" (FR; 1990-0x-xx), page 11
  11. ↑ File:CGW US 080.pdf, page 8
  12. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "April 1990" (UK; 1990-03-16), page 8
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Commodore Format, "July 1992" (UK; 1992-06-18), page 48
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/crack_down (Wayback Machine: 2017-06-13 19:14)
  15. ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Crack-Down--276753.html (archive.today)
  16. ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/04.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-05 23:40)
  17. ↑ http://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_crackdown/ (Wayback Machine: 2007-08-13 07:59)
  18. ↑ http://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=catalogue&prodcat_id=41&prod_id=19733&pageID=4 (Wayback Machine: 2012-04-03 03:13)
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 https://steamdb.info/app/34273/ (Wayback Machine: 2016-07-30 05:19)
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 http://steamdb.info/app/34273/ (Wayback Machine: 2013-05-22 19:33)
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 21.8 21.9 https://steamdb.info/app/34273/history/?changeid=5755312
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 22.7 22.8 22.9 http://steamdb.info/app/34273/ (Wayback Machine: 2019-09-08 00:06)
  23. ↑ @okunari on Twitter (Wayback Machine: 2021-02-12 02:50)
  24. ↑ @okunari on Twitter (Wayback Machine: 2023-10-25 08:31)
  25. ↑ @gosokkyu on Twitter (Wayback Machine: 2019-10-29 23:45)
  26. ↑ https://www.hardcoregaming101.net/crack-down/
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 The One, "December 1989" (UK; 1989-11-xx), page 51
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 The One, "December 1989" (UK; 1989-11-xx), page 52
  29. ↑ Sinclair User, "January 1990" (UK; 1989-12-18), page 64
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Sinclair User, "January 1990" (UK; 1989-12-18), page 65
  31. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "June 1989" (UK; 1989-05-16), page 78
  32. ↑ Power Play, "2/90" (DE; 1990-01-25), page 69
  33. ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Marzo 1992" (ES; 1992-0x-xx), page 29
  34. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 52
  35. ↑ Ação Games, "Junho 1991" (BR; 1991-06-19), page 31
  36. ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-08), page 35
  37. ↑ The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 110
  38. ↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 128
  39. ↑ Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 34
  40. ↑ Famitsu, "" (JP; 1990-1x-xx), page 1
  41. ↑ Games-X, "14th-20th June 1991" (UK; 1991-06-14), page 20
  42. ↑ Génération 4, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 102
  43. ↑ Hippon Super, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-04), page 42
  44. ↑ Joystick, "Mars 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 118
  45. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 91
  46. ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "March 1991" (JP; 1991-02-08), page 99
  47. ↑ Mega, "August 1994" (UK; 1994-07-21), page 79
  48. ↑ MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 77
  49. ↑ Micromanía (segunda época), "Agosto 1991" (ES; 1991-0x-xx), page 37
  50. ↑ Mean Machines, "February 1991" (UK; 1991-02-01), page 66
  51. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 138
  52. ↑ Player One, "Juin 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 37
  53. ↑ Power Play, "4/91" (DE; 1991-03-15), page 135
  54. ↑ Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 53
  55. ↑ Sega Pro, "December 1991" (UK; 1991-11-21), page 21
  56. ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 64
  57. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
  58. ↑ Tilt, "Mai 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 80
  59. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 11
  60. ↑ User, "Ioúnios 1991" (GR; 1991-0x-xx), page 66
  61. ↑ VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "March 1991" (US; 1991-0x-xx), page 40
  62. ↑ Video Games, "1/91" (DE; 1991-03-27), page 79
  63. ↑ The Australian Commodore Review, "Vol. 7 No. 9: September 1990" (AU; 1990-0x-xx), page 79
  64. ↑ Amiga Joker, "Juni/Juli '90" (DE; 1990-05-25), page 52
  65. ↑ Aktueller Software Markt, "August/September 1990" (DE; 1990-07-27), page 69
  66. ↑ CU Amiga, "April 1990" (UK; 1990-03-26), page 33
  67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 Joystick, "Juin 1990" (FR; 1990-05-xx), page 128
  68. ↑ 68.0 68.1 Power Play, "5/90" (DE; 1990-04-12), page 40
  69. ↑ User, "Ioúlios-Ávgoustos 1990" (GR; 1990-0x-xx), page 52
  70. ↑ 70.0 70.1 Zzap!64, "April 1990" (UK; 1990-03-15), page 10
  71. ↑ 71.0 71.1 71.2 Aktueller Software Markt, "Juni/Juli 1990" (DE; 1990-05-25), page 18
  72. ↑ CPC Attack!, "August 1992" (UK; 1992-07-04), page 30
  73. ↑ 73.0 73.1 Zzap!, "Giugno 1990" (IT; 1990-xx-xx), page 32
  74. ↑ The Games Machine, "April 1990" (UK; 1990-03-15), page 43
  75. ↑ Génération 4, "Avril 1990" (FR; 1990-0x-xx), page 10
  76. ↑ Joystick, "Avril 1990" (FR; 1990-03-20), page 116
  77. ↑ ST Action, "April 1990" (UK; 1990-0x-xx), page 36
  78. ↑ C-Lehti, "4/90" (FI; 1990-09-13), page 61
  79. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "March 1990" (UK; 1990-02-16), page 72
  80. ↑ 80.0 80.1 The Games Machine, "May 1990" (UK; 1990-04-05), page 61
  81. ↑ Power Play, "7/90" (DE; 1990-06-15), page 116
  82. ↑ Svet Kompjutera, "Oktobar 1990" (YU; 1990-xx-xx), page 58
  83. ↑ Your Commodore, "May 1990" (UK; 1990-04-06), page 17
  84. ↑ Zzap!64, "August 1992" (UK; 1992-07-xx), page 44
  85. ↑ Micromanía (segunda época), "Junio 1990" (ES; 1990-0x-xx), page 24
  86. ↑ Sinclair User, "July 1992" (UK; 1992-06-18), page 42


Crack Down

CrackDown Title.png

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