As if your Crackdown disc didn’t already have enough worth – it’s your key into the Halo 3 beta, after all – Microsoft and developer Real Time Worlds are planning on releasing nothing short of a mammoth load of content for the game. Through a combination of a title update and two content packs – one free, and one premium – there will be plenty of reasons to keep Crackdown in your 360 drive long after the Halo 3 beta ends.

Before getting into this laundry list of content, one nifty feature that has been implemented is basically a “try before you buy” system. Join up in a co-op game with someone that owns the “Getting’ Busy Bonus Pack” (the name of the 800 Microsoft Point premium content pack) and you’ll temporarily be given full access to everything included in the pack.

Among the content included in the premium package are four new game types, five new pieces of equipment (including a harpoon!), and new vehicles. The Free-For-All Pack, which is, naturally, free, includes a new cheat mode that disables the ability to gain achievements or get on the leaderboards. But, you will be able to spawn vehicles, have infinite ammo and cause destruction like you never thought possible.

The title update will enable you the ability to reset gangs – a feature that was stupidly not included in the game’s original release. Upon completing the game, there was no way – short of deleting your save – to go back into the game and fight the bosses again. Other tweaks have been included, such as an improved method for finding those pesky hidden orbs (the audio ping range has been increased) and you’ll now be able to shoot over ledges (wow!). For some reason, when attempting to shoot over a ledge in Crackdown, you would instead swing you weapon as if trying to melee an enemy that was standing a foot away… even if you were targeting an enemy that was hundreds of yards away.

All in all, it sounds like a solid update. This is the way to do downloadable content – offer plenty of fun stuff, including some freebies, and the ability to try before you buy. Four videos can be found on YouTube, showcasing the new content:

New Equipment
Street Racing Modes
New Game types
Keys to the City mode