Project Sunburst, officially the "Sunburst Defense System", is the Agency's initiative to rid Pacific City of the Freak infestation created by Catalina Thorne's virus. Implementation of Project Sunburst involves three stages: first collecting solar energy with Absorption Units, then releasing that concentrated energy from Beacons strategically placed at the heart of Freak lairs. The third stage requires all Beacons to be activated so that their combined energy can be gathered at Agency Tower to charge the much more powerful Beacon rising from the Tower's heart.
Absorption Units[]
- Main article: Absorption Units
Scattered on rooftops across Pacific City, Absorption Units are large solar energy collectors. In Crackdown 2, the Cell terrorists have deactivated all of the Absorption Units and driven away Peacekeepers. The player must reactivate a set number of Units in order to gather enough power for a Beacon to be deployed against the Freaks.
Absorption Units are lightly guarded by Cell fighters, usually only squads of four. After killing the guards, the player must stand on one of the Unit's four activation pads while the Unit turns on. Once activated, a beam of blue energy is projected over the site of a Freak lair.
Beacons[]
- Main article: Beacons
Beacons are the Agency's main tool in the fight against the Freaks; once charged with the solar energy collected by the Absorption Units, the Beacons will discharge that energy in a powerful blast that leaves humans unaffected but which obliterates any Freaks within a sizable radius.
When the nearby Absorption Units have been activated, the player is directed into the nearest Freak lair to call for a Helicopter to drop a Beacon. There, the player must initiate the Beacon's charging process and defend it until fully charged. At that point, a wave of light is released, purging the lair of any Freaks. The area of Pacific City immediately surrounding the lair will then have a greatly reduced Freak presence at night. Closing nearby Freak Breaches appears to cleanse areas of Freaks completely.