This is how I will describe the Crackdown series to people unfamiliar with it.

I do the things that I’m designed to do: Punch dudes, shoot dudes, squash dudes, explode dudes, run dudes over in my car, throw dudes off high ledges. Each time an enemy dies, he renders up pretty, colorful bubbles that flutter pleasingly toward me. These are upgrade points that level up my various skills. So I become better at punching, shooting, and squashing at a rate that is comparable to the increasing menace of my opponents.

Polygon Crackdown 3 review