Revealed at E3 last month, with a fast-cut trailer that didn't linger for too long on any bit of gameplay, the main takeaway from most people about Crackdown 3 was that it looked like Crackdown. But also, did nothing to impress. Launching the same day as Microsoft's Xbox One X console, and as the only big same-day Microsoft Games Studios title for the system, the recently released uncut B-Roll footage from the E3 trailer has us a little worried.

In that, well, it looks dated. And not in a good way, but in a sequel to the original Crackdown that we would have got excited about 6 or 7 years ago kind of way. The footage, which you can see below, was provided to YouTuber theRadBrad by Microsoft. Aside from all the "sick" and "woah" commentary, the main takeaway is that Crackdown 3's city and action look like they're taking place in two separate worlds. And that a lot of it looks, well, bland.



When Crackdown 3 made its debut a few years ago Microsoft were touting the game's citywide destruction. A cloud-powered feature that we've been told since, is limited to the multiplayer side of the game. Which is a shame because even localised destruction would add a considerable amount of weight to the action. Surely this could even be an Xbox One X exclusive feature? Where a side by side comparison of the two versions would show a more lively rendition on the Xbox One X. Instead what we get here is Crackdown as it always has been, a no doubt fun game (we loved the original by the way), but nothing that sells the idea of a truly impressive console exclusive.

Think of it this way, the last Microsoft Games Studios title of this nature was the underrated Sunset Overdrive - which running on a launch day Xbox One, looks way more impressive than Crackdown 3 running on what we presume is an Xbox One X. Add in the fact that Crackdown 3 is by all accounts a AAA launch exclusive for the super-powered Xbox One X, that's worrying. And that's long before you start comparing it to the visually impressive exclusives being developed and enhanced for the PlayStation 4 Pro.