Availability and pricing in your country of choice may vary, but with Crackdown a mere $19.99 USD, I may finally take the plunge. Wait. Nevermind. I have a bout 3,000 games to play before I start downloading Crackdown—and Beautiful Katamari isn't one of them—but maybe your impressive internet connection is up to the task.

Crackdown & Beautiful Katamari [Xbox Marketplace]

Zombies, cops, weapons, cars, proper screenshots, it's all here. Knock yourselves out. Might want to grab a cup of tea first though.

In other words, it's China Crackdown time, which is also known as "Tuesday" to the rest of the world. The country's already swatted World of Warcraft (or one of its expansions, anyway), and more than 200 online games were smashed as part of a national birthday celebration back in October. This time, the country's Ministry of Culture wants a content cleanup to make sure the games properly support approved political and cultural themes.

The ministry's memo said violent games "have adversely influenced consumers and especially the physical and mental health of minors." It also ordered game companies to knock off the killin', both of humans and nonhumans. In particular they want them to refrain from "low-brow cultural content that is having a negative effect on the healthy development of the industry."

Low-brow content that retards game development? Such as those fake Donkey Kong machines y'all sent us a while back?

China in Violent Content Crackdown [Develop]

While the basic layout of the city remains the same as that of the first game, things this time are a little different. There's still a crime war going on, but you'll notice that some buildings have changed, and others are gone completely, destroyed in battle.

As for characters and enemies, in addition to the cops and criminal factions there's also a mutating virus ravaging the city, meaning you now have to shoot at criminals and zombies.

The article also reveals some new vehicles, including helicopters, more variety in your melee attacks, and the fact you can now buy supplies in the field or have them flown in by the cops.

Crackdown 2 info explosion [CVG]

"With Crackdown we sold about 1.5 million copies, but even at that we pretty much only managed to break even," says Dave Jones, boss of developers Realtime Worlds. "It was due to the amount of factors that were out of our control as the developer, influences such as GameStop's amazing used-game sales; we know 1.5 million new copies were sold, but it's likely there were 2.5, three million sold when you include used."

And you wonder why developers and publishers hate GameStop?

Crackdown Only Broke Even, says Dave Jones [IndustryGamers]

Not on the strength of the short teaser trailer, which really showed nothing. Not on the strength of details, because, well, we didn't get any. Just because it was Crackdown. Only more of it.

That lack of details was only going to last so long, though, and having spoken with developers Ruffian, Edge have given us our first info on the sequel to one of the 360's most beloved original titles.

For starters, while the game will still be set in iconic Pacific City, it's set farther in the future than the first game, resulting in an environment Ruffian say "you probably would look at it as being an entirely new map".

Also revealed is that while the game is being worked on by a new studio, it's not necessarily being worked on by new people, as "close to half of [the] team worked on the original game", and have been hired "from every discipline who worked on it". Artists, designers, programmers, the works.

For a few more tidbits, like the team's thoughts on the game's technology and how the genre shapes up these days, hit the link below.

Interview: Ruffian Games [Edge]

Realtime Worlds isn't going to let their disappointment with Microsoft keep them down. The Dunde-based developer has picked up some new office space, and is looking to increase its talent pool by a good 40 employees by the beginning of 2010, when APD is up and running. While their current staff numbers more than 250, Realtime CEO Gary Dale explains that their games are just plain bigger than that.

"The calibre and potential of games we are creating requires staff of the highest calibre and we're proud to have found 250 immensely talented and creative individuals so far, and look forward to finding more like-minded people to join the family. We're coming off the back of a very successful E3, with APB winning countless plaudits, which increases the level of excitement over the coming months as we ramp up to launch."

Nothing generates job openings quite like pluadits, and there are more than 40 new openings listed right now at the Realtime Worlds website. Be sure to tell them Kotaku sent you. That won't necessarily help, but it will definitely give us the warm fuzzies, and isn't that what really matters?

CEO David Jones has told GI.biz that he's both surprised and "miffed" at...something.

The bottom line is that what we thought would happen is that a sequel would be done by a studio somewhere... maybe one of the internal studios, or others that they've worked with, and that would be the way it went forward.

I think it was unfortunate that it had to be with a start-up in Dundee... it is challenging to get enough developers in one region as it is, so that was the only little big of negativity to the story.

It's just one of those awkward moments. In terms of the franchise, as always - as with anything we've created - we're always keen to see it do great things. This is like a bump in the road... was there really no way it could have been done by one of the studios Microsoft shut down...?

I was a bit miffed at Microsoft that it happened that way, but you live and learn.

Is he...jealous? Disappointed? Maybe neither. Maybe both!

David Jones "miffed" at Microsoft's Ruffian decision [GI.biz]

Microsoft's press release for new games coming up for Xbox 360 included some surprises regarding Ruffian Games' Crackdown 2. The company announced that it will enable both cooperative and competitive gameplay modes and what seems to be a harder edge. The press release states that the game will allow "you and your friends with the complete freedom to explore, destroy and play as you return to restore justice and peace to Pacific City - by any means necessary."

Microsoft released artwork and a trailer for Crackdown 2, but as of yet, no official screenshots.

But with Realtime Worlds well into development of APB, and the original Crackdown under their belt you can't help but wonder, are they hard at work on Crackdown 2?

The recent interest stems from a digital resume someone posted on LinkedIn and pointed out by Superannuation. The resume, said to be for Ross Nicoll, breaks down the current audio design lead at Ruffian Games' experience.

Here's the summary:

Started out At VIS Entertainment in 2003. Moved to Realtime Worlds in 2005. Member of the Crackdown audio team that won the 2007 "Best Use of Audio" BAFTA award. After Crackdown, I worked on APB, and another unannounced project. Left Realtime in Feb 2009 to take on the role of Audio Design Lead at Ruffian Games - www.ruffiangames.com

Credited on the following titles:

Crackdown - Xbox 360
Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer - PS2
The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage - Nintendo Game Cube
Tom and Jerry: War of the Whiskers - Xbox

Another interesting point: Rumors have been floating about that Ruffian Games was formed to work on Crackdown 2.

Ross Nicoll [Via Superannuation]

It'll be available for download tomorrow, and will cost you 240 MS Points (USD$3). A ridiculous price for a theme, yes, but hey, some people really like Crackdown. A lot.

Crackdown Premium Theme [Microsoft]

The "form a new studio" bit, that's legit. They're called Ruffian Games, and are based in Dundee, Scotland. But the Crackdown bit?

Gamasutra only state that there are "unconfirmed reports" that the studio are working on it at the moment. Though it's certainly possible, what with the composition of this team, the fact they're not at Realtime (who developed Crackdown) working on APB and the fact Microsoft got awful coy the other day about the possibility of a second Crackdown.

Report: Scottish Developer Ruffian Formed - Crackdown 2 A Possibility? [Gamasutra]

In a recent Major Nelson podcast, Xbox Live’s director of programming, Larry Hryb said, "I'm here to tell you on behalf of the community, I want — we need — another Crackdown... That’s all I'm going to say, so you don’t have to confirm for deny anything. I'm just saying we want it."

To which Microsoft Game Studios boss Phil Spencer replied, "Yes, Crackdown's one of my favorites. I'll leave it at that.”

Does this really surprise anyone? Does it? It shouldn't.

Show #301: Phil Spencer, Keiichi Yano, Jerry Johnson and Seth Killian [Major Nelson via VG247]

Calling the choice to not immediately begin work on a sequel "a horrible, horrible decision that we still dwell on," Macdonald tells VG247 that "I don’t think the door’s closed" on a sequel. Sounds like RTW is still willing, and able, to take another crack at Crackdown, should Microsoft call upon them. And they may, one day.

Crackdown 2: “The door’s not closed,” says Realtime Worlds [VG247]

Realtime downplays GTA Online talk [Eurogamer]

Crackdown wasn't that long ago and our development budget was something like USD 50 million, and even that to me now, I don't know if I could do anything for much less than that.

The biggest difference between the two games is that Assassin's Creed allows the users to do just about anything, moving up and over the whole sandbox environment using Parkour-style moves, but doesn't reward players for the fluidity and beauty that authentic Parkour demands. On the other side, Crackdown has specific Xbox Achievements that encourage players to be more fluid and artistic with their movements, but permits fewer grab points and forces the player into a more linear, less free and experimental path. What Robertson doesn't refer to is the upcoming game Mirror's Edge, based solely around the art of Parkour. If these two elements are married in Mirror's Edge, it could be a big Free Running hit. Then again, if it's only those elements, I can't imagine long-term play possibilities for the game.

Game Culture Vultures: Parkour

APB does have persistence and progression, if done a bit non-traditionally. But customization is one feature that APB has in spades.

Jones kicked off the early look at APB with a preview of character customization. One of the design goals for APB was to "let the player make their own action figure", putting character generation in the hands of the user and giving them the ability to make their avatars look totally unique. While deep character customization has become a staple of the MMO, APB's version may feature the broadest set of tools yet.

Jones walked us through a sped up version of the creation process, outfitting his avatar with unique identifiers—facials scars, veins, freckles, tattoos, realistic looking hair, a massive wardrobe. Using a system that might look familiar to serious Forza Motorsport 2 players, APB looks to one-up what Turn 10 Studios has done, with a decal system that has some stunning customization chops. Not only can users manipulate primitive vector shapes, they can apply shaders, textures and pre-made hi-res images to their designs, making for extremely realistic decals. These decals can be applied to anything the player wears, even to his skin, with a realistic tattoo look applied to the player generated content.

Clothing is also fully customizable, with attention paid to fit, layering and even things like tucking or untucking one's shirt.

That unique identity extends not just to your own character, but to your clan and your car as well. Car customization works just like avatar customization, so the decals a player has emblazoned on his jacket can also be applied to your ride.

Jones showed footage from the game, featuring characters fresh to the world—one thug was on an early mission, stealing a TV set in the default noob outfit of white t-shirt and jeans—and characters who were longtime APB vets. The MMO features "dynamic matchmaking" as Jones called it, essentially setting up player versus player missions on the fly. A three-player group of Gangsters were tasked with scoring some loot, then driving it to a safe point to complete their mission, a standard Grand Theft Auto-style mission set up. The moment the Gangsters crossed the line and broke the law, an APB was sent out to the game's Enforcers, the cops to their robbers.

What followed was essentially the MMO version of a Counter-Strike round, with players either driving their respective vehicles or engaging in a third-person firefight. The pair of Enforcers, two player pairs, responding to the all points bulletin eventually tracked down the bad guys, blocking them into an alleyway.

Jones said that these dynamic matchmaking battles in APB wouldn't necessarily pit players of the same level against each other. He showed a clip of a group of new players, with just a single pistol between the four of them, being matched with a very high level Enforcer. He quickly took them down, but not before destroying their low level car with a rocket launcher. Who doesn't like rocket launchers?

What we saw of APB was really exciting stuff. The team looks like they may have something special that appeals to gamers who would traditionally scoff and MMOs, but something that isn't just Crackdown Online or EverQuest In The Bad Part Of Town.

The final feature that Jones showed, was APB's ability to generate great machinima. With a group of wildly customized characters that looked like Cloud and Barret from Final Fantasy VII taking on a Cactuar and something impish, but not immediately recognizable to this FF noob. A turn based battle ensued, which quickly ended when "Cloud" summoned a decked out flaming car, done, of course, to hilarious effect.

We have dozens of screens of the game in motion at GDC, including the mock Final Fantasy VII cinema, in the gallery below. Be sure to check them out.

Internet cafes have been repeatedly targeted for breeding juvenile crime and promoting truancy, despite widely ignored rules barring anyone under 18 from admission. Located in towns and small cities throughout China, internet cafes mainly offer online games that are popular among young people. Authorities have blamed the cafes for Internet addiction and for encouraging juvenile crime as a way to earn money to play online games.

First the problem was that kids were so busy playing WoW and other MMORPGs that they didn't have time for anything else; now the problem is that WoW's keeping them too busy ... with crime? Does this mean we'll see a related drop off in suspect addiction 'treatment' methods?

China Targets Internet in Crime Sweep [AP]