The first Crew game was very interesting as Ubisoft took its first steps into a full racing experience title. Like Forza Horizon, The Crew was focused on a more arcade experience with an open world feel with an assortment of race types, cars and challenges to entertain. But it had its fair share of problems which for me all centred on the online elements which never really came together to match the potential it had but it was a solid foundation for Ubisoft to build on. Now we have the sequel and it has certainly taken its arcade action to the next level.
The Crew 2 is all about having fun and the freedom to find that fun anyway the player chooses. Using the Continental US as its massive playground, this time the action isn’t simply limited to driving amazing cars but instead now also includes air and sea vehicles. The scale of what players can do has really doubled up since the first game with gameplay very much building on what worked and adding to it with the option to now race planes and boats. By broadening the vehicles you can now race in and drive it immediately takes it out of the “just another racer” tag and sets it apart from its nearest competition.
One of my criticisms of the first game was the story campaign and objective races that could either boost or slow progression depending on how you found them. This time around however it is left open for the player to decide how they wish to advance and play the game. You begin as a rookie street racer looking to gain fame and reputation by winning races. Progression is marked by how many followers you have on social media, which increases each time you perform well or win in a race and completing some of the side activities dotted around the map. There are five levels you can reach: Rookie, Popular, Famous, Star and Icon. By achieving a new level you will unlock new event types and each of the four big racing families have their own specialised event with each type of vehicle catered for. There really is an abundance of things to do which is based on how much time you put into the game but you also have the freedom to just be in the world which adds a diversity the original missed.
Now if you are going to feature vehicles for land, sea and air then you need to make sure you have a massive map in order to allow all three to shine and The Crew 2 simply makes virtually the entire US your playground. Now the fast travel to events and garages from the original is still present but honestly having the ability to instantly morph into any of the vehicle types at will makes traversing the map in free roam far too satisfying to just cheat and use the fast travel system. Visuals are just stunning as well making using any vehicle a joy to just take in the surroundings when you free roam around with so many iconic US landmarks and locations including in the game to go and visit. Vehicle use has also been refined and the driving especially feels really fluid this time around and though vehicle damage really fails to play a part due to the arcade style of gameplay, it is still satisfying to hit top speed and just burn rubber down the road.
Customisation also plays a large part in the game with the ability to change body parts on cars and apply new colours and vinyl designs. Vehicle performance can be enhanced as well by the victory items you get from winning races which can be used to upgrade components which differing degrees of performance boosting. A great tip is to make the time to keep all your vehicles upgraded as high as you can especially the event specific ones so you are always good to go. The rewards for just playing the game make this readily playable for players of all skill types making it one of the more accessible racers you can pick up right now.
You can even form your own crew with three other players to enter events and up to eight players can free roam together in the world to get a boost to the number of followers you can collect. However at the moment there is no direct PvP races available, something Ubisoft has said will follow in the months to come. This is a little disappointing but as someone who never managed to enjoy the online elements on the original game due to its many issues, having a stripped back online element for now is not a game breaking thing for me though it is something that is noticeably missing.
Right now The Crew 2 is a fun arcade racing game that has built upon the foundation lay down by the original and enhanced the experience by adding new vehicle types and the focus on a more arcade experience based on freedom. The only real competition it will have will come in the form of Forza Horizon 4 but as that is an Xbox exclusive, for a multi platform release, The Crew 2 has followed the now highly praised Ubisoft formula of building on past mistakes to evolve the concept further. The game opens up and rewards players the more time they invest in the game and thankfully doesn’t have any micro-transactions in loot boxes to hinder that progression and enjoyment.
I was not sure what to expect from The Crew 2 after the first one, to be honest I had not expected a sequel at all but Ubisoft are clearly willing to and have invested efforts to continue the franchise and so far its ticking a lot of boxes for me after being heavily disappointed by other game titles in racing in the last year. It will be interesting to see how The Crew 2 is handled going forward with new content and community activities and especially when the true PvP element is added to the game. But for now there is a lot of value in the game just as it is.
Definitely a racer worthy of checking out and to just enjoy multi vehicle racing that invites players in and gives them the tools needed to just go and have fun.
