The new and improved co-op and multiplayer coming in Crackdown 2 are two of it's most touted features.  A lot of people enjoy playing couch co-op, aka. split-screen co-op, and this would definitely be a game where that could be a lot of fun.

Unfortunately though, neither split-screen nor system link will be included in Crackdown 2.

Split-screen was not a feature of the original game, so this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, but the lack of system link has the potential to disappoint a select number of people.

Microsoft's Peter Connelly had this to say about the feature being cut:

"It would've taken a half-day of work," he said. "For something that only a tiny percentage of gamers will ever use."

While a half-day of work seems like a simple task to satisfy a small audience, he noted that including system link would add extra certification time to make sure that the feature is solid and ready to ship.

That leaves gamers with one option for co-op and multiplayer - Xbox Live, and multiple copies of the game.

While this may upset a small audience of people, I don't think it's that big of a deal in the long run.  I would venture to guess that most of us, including me, have never once played an Xbox 360 game over system link.

If you aren't part of that majority, and were looking forward to some Crackdown 2 system link goodness, let us know in the comments.

Crackdown 2 jumps onto store shelves July 6th, exclusively on Xbox 360.

Source - MTV Multiplayer