Today will go down in history as the day DLC on the Xbox 360 stopped sucking. While we’ve seen some reasonably good downloads before, most received a lot of flak for being overpriced and underdelivering. Realtime Worlds now shows how it must be done with an immense pile of mostly free content for Crackdown heading to the Marketplace.

Update: The content is going to be available next week and the premium DLC will be available for a seemingly reasonable price of 800MSP. Via Major Nelson.

Update #2: ‘Agent X’, who supposedly is a Real Time Worlds employee, says the DLC is coming today on the official Crackdown forum. Expect a third update as soon as we find out more.

Update #3: Agent X wasn’t lying, Microsoft press release confirmed it’s coming today. We’ll let you know when it’s up.

Possibly trying to revive interest in the game building up to next week’s release of some beta that was bundled with the game, the good-but-not-excellent game gets some major improvements for free, including the much-missed ‘Reset Gangs’ option. Read and weep at this list of ‘Title Update’ features:

Title Update Items:

Reset Gangs: In place of the current option to reset the city’s crime (unlocked by defeating all 21 bosses), the gangs can now be completely reset in the main campaign.

Easier Orb Hunting: Imagine how great it would be if when searching for the last remaining hidden agility orbs the audio range on each of them got wider as fewer remained; well imagine no longer. Audio ”ping” range is now gradually increased when searching for the last 50 percent of hidden orbs, and 20 percent of agility orbs.

Ground Strike: Available to a four star strength agent only, it is now possible to slam downwards while airborne by holding the attack button. The resulting strike is deadly to anything it hits, with an additional shockwave stunning nearby enemies.

Improved firing over low walls: Agents can now fire downwards at a greater angle while taking partial cover behind a low wall.

Targeting enhancements: Improved target lock prioritization of enemies behind vehicles as well as live enemies over corpses.

Those damn fire hydrants!: The fire hydrants were near indestructible but were also hard to spot. Now, though still best avoided, they can be smashed over for a far less unreasonable penalty.

Stunt Ring Visibility: Stunt Rings are now much easier to locate.

No “Lefty Flip” on vehicle control: Removal of the lefty flip on vehicle control so that left-handed players can aim with the left stick, but still steer with the right stick.

Persisting Charges & Mines: Limpet Charges (and the new Proximity Mines) will persist at all times within the game world and not just when within a certain range of the player.

Distant Explosions: No matter where the explosion(s), players will be able to see them provided they have a line of sight… it’s always a clear day in Pacific City!

Ramp Truck Issues: Some vehicles didn’t seem to get on well with the ramp truck, but we never intended this to be a SUV-only toy. Now none of them can get enough of it!

Camera Enhancements: Better camera for performing vehicle stunts or driving on near vertical surfaces (particularly with Top Level Agency SUV or new Peacekeeper Buggy). Also vertigo-inducing tweaks for those long leaps of faith.

Player to player precision shots: We’ve dropped the PvP lock-on but now another agent can be hit with a head or leg shot using normal targeting.

Apart from the Title Update, there’s also the “Free-For-All Pack” coming up, literally free for all on the Marketplace. Check the trailer above demonstrating the new free content listed below:

“Free-For-All Pack” Free Downloadable Content:

Keys to the City: The ultimate Cheat Mode! Enter this mirror of the main Campaign for a clean-slate game that can be fully exploited and customized for a single play session.

(Note: Achievements and leaderboards will be disabled in this mode)

• Build a pile of 100 explosive drums at the top of the Agency Tower – then let it rip!
• Spawn a ramp truck anywhere, and it’ll stay there
• Create an agency vehicle or one of the new Peacekeeper vehicles any time, any place
• Players can set character skills however they want them, or just activate the accelerated skill leveling feature (“Crackdown” demo anyone?)
• Check out “Super Agent Agility” to jump ridiculous distances, swim faster than a torpedo and sprint faster than a speeding bullet (almost)
• Try the “Super Agent Strength” to toss a truck with deadly accuracy further than ever dreamt. Boot enemies into the stratosphere!
• Get the most out of the exciting selection of new weaponry by activating infinite ammo. Max out the selection at each supply point too!
• Do all of this without skipping a beat of the action – the pop-up cheat menu is always available during play without pausing the game

Vehicle Impounding: The Agency Garage has been given an overhaul; this was partly to accommodate the brand new Peacekeeper Vehicles, but also to allow Agents to impound their favorites so that they’re always available…in their preferred color.

• Impounding is simple: commandeer the vehicle and return it to the garage
• Vehicles that aren’t yet impounded are displayed as feint images, so players can see at a glance what’s missing from their collection
• The “Confiscator” achievement awaits those who simply had to catch ‘em all

Co-op Trophy sequences: A trophy emblazoned with my gamertag that is displayed for me and my opponent every time I win at the existing game types!? Yes please!
Psychotic Mission Trials

• A record is now kept of Time Trials completed at “Psychotic” difficulty
• Scoring the maximum 21/21 isn’t just the ultimate challenge that every true Agent of Justice should have the stones to take on, but it’s also the only way to unlock the highly coveted “Psych Out” Achievement

Not enough yet? Then pull out the wallet, since that’ll buy you even more new stuff for the game. The trailer above demonstrates the features being added in the “Getting’ Busy Bonus Pack”, being:

“Getting’ Busy Bonus Pack” Premium Downloadable Content:

New Vehicles:

Agency Patrol Buggy:

• Double wishbone suspension absorbs the bumps in spectacular fashion
• Rides over anything – even when scaling near vertical surfaces
• Insane air control
• Roof mounted, independently aiming mini-gun activated with either “B” or “Left Bumper”

Agency Pursuit Vehicle:

• Ridiculously powerful mono-cockpit race car
• Acceleration that blows away everything else in the city
• Incredible grip and top speed
• Those road race leaderboard times are set to tumble!

Agency Armored Vehicle:

• Like the Agency Truck, the AAV can smash through barricades with ease
• Tank-like in design, occupants are completely protected from assault
• Surprisingly fast and agile for its size
• Rockets fired from independently aiming main turret with either “B” or “Left Bumper”

Street Racing: Pacific City is finally free from crime. Agency activity is once again concealed behind closed doors. The remaining peacekeepers, having very little to do, quickly grew restless. To satisfy their lingering lust for danger, high risk Street Racing tournaments have been established across the city.

• Compete in six different on and off road races across the city
• 6 radically different vehicle options per circuit
• Race against up to 11 other “do or die” opponents, including another player over XBL
• Compare fastest race times as well as race wins for that session with your co-op “buddy”
• Players can post their fastest time per circuit to the online leaderboards
• Take advantage of the world of “Crackdown” to win by any means necessary: create road blocks, hit gas tanks, or simply slam opponents into submission

New Equipment

MSK Lobber

• Mini rockets are thrown out from the rotating muzzle section before their boosters ignite and swarm towards their target.
• The homing mini-rockets are incredibly agile making this the ultimate fire-and-forget weapon

EX1 “Proximity Charge”

• Similar to the standard issue “Limpet Charge,” these can be attached to any surface.
• A visible local field is generated when the charge is set. Enemy penetration of this field will result in detonation
• In a bid to reduce the extensive civilian casualties lying in the wake of any crime fighting Agent, intelligent threat-sensing technology prevents the charge from detonating when a firearm is not detected
• Unfortunately the technology isn’t quite intelligent enough to prevent detonation due to field penetration by another Agent

HRX “Harpoon”

• A powerful gas powered mechanism capable of launching a deadly, razor-sharp spear over large distances with incredible accuracy
• Can be used to ensure enemies “stick around” when players need them to, or to attach perps to their vehicle if they need to take them downtown…or around town

MZ360 “Mini-Gun”

• The ultimate fast-firing projectile weapon
• “Spin-up” to full fire rate takes some time, but the devastation is incredible
• Comes with a bountiful supply of high-caliber ammunition

VS1 “Cloaking Device”

• The perfect device for the Agent that likes his action served psychotic, or for anyone that just needs to get under the radar from time to time
• Renders the player barely visible and off radar
• The VS1 is fuelled by Agency suit armor; when depleted an Agent can find themselves distressingly vulnerable

New Game Types

Max-Agility Rooftop Races

• Compete solo or with two players in races across the city rooftops
• Nine new races in total, each with its own solo & co-op leaderboards
• Four are with Los Muertos, three with The Volk, and The Shai-Gen play host to the remaining two
• And no, gamers won’t need to complete these too for the existing “Over Our Heads” Achievement!

Stockpile

• Each district (including Agency Island) hosts a Stockpile game – clearly identified with its unique beacon
• Stockpile can be played solo or in co-op
• The aim is to collect all the game specific orbs (also marked on the tracker) in the fastest time
• Best times are uploaded to the online leaderboards
• Two players can work co-operatively to find all the orbs in the fastest possible time, or simply compete for the highest score when the time runs out
• In the case of competitive play, it doesn’t always pay to do the grunt work of collection; when an Agent is killed he drops a third of his spoils

Checkpoint Chase

• A highly addictive two-player competitive game that makes the very most of the world of “Crackdown”
• The game can only be initiated in one place – the Agency Garage
• A random target destination is identified somewhere on the city, but is only marked on the tracker (not the map)
• The first person to reach the destination gains a point and activates the next checkpoint
• The winner is the first to 10 points
• Other than that, Checkpoint Chase has no rules!

Rocket Tag

 The ultimate competitive combat event!
 Each of the 21 gang boss lairs now also plays host to a game of Rocket Tag
 When the game is activated the players are randomly assigned as “hunter” and “hunted”
 The hunter has a straight-shootin’ “Hotshot” rocket launcher…and more ammo than he could ever need!
 The hunted has…a pistol
 To win, the hunted player must avoid being caught in the blast of the rocket launcher for 60 seconds. Simple!

NOTE: Gamers can essentially “try before you buy” by partnering cooperatively with another player that has purchased the “Getting’ Busy Bonus Pack”. This will give both players full access to pack’s goodies, for that session. Trust us when we say that once you sample the fun of this pack, you’ll want to “Get Busy” every time!

As if all of this wasn’t enough yet, the new DLC includes a bunch of new Achievements too. The Free content adds 140 new gamerpoints worth of achievements, and the premium DLC adds in another 210, bringing the grand total of the game plus DLC at 1250 gamerpoints. The 7 new achievements are spread evenly throughout the new game modes so you’ll actually have extra reason to try them out.

The bad news? Well not much, just that we don’t know a release date for any of this, nor a price for the premium DLC. The rumor mill has it that it should all be out this week though, which makes an awful lot of sense given the Halo 3 Beta next week. And with the quality of all this content, one might wonder why the Crackdown disc should ever leave your drive the coming 3 weeks as you alternate between the beta blastfest and the sheer fun of Crackdown. Meanwhile you can check TeamXbox for more screenshots and their hands-on preview.