The Crew 2 – Review

Illegal street racing has been a favorite theme for racing games for decades. While some franchises go full Midnight Club, others take a very nice turn to legal circuits such as Forza Horizon. The Crew makes us remember the glory days of Test Drive with its free roaming across great distances. When the first title came out of this series it amazed us that the game took place across the whole USA. It did have some limitations because well, a one-to-one scale would be pretty much impossible or too time-consuming (you wouldn’t want to drive eight hours to the next event In Real Life). While the first game did have less content, this new version blew away gamers with the wide range of vehicles that is available to the player.

Story

So the story begins with a newbie driver that wants to be the hotshot in the racing world. After some failed attempts to get views, an opportunity arrives to finally make it into the big leagues. The race is won and you may start your career in the many divisions of motorsport but while the gates are opened the trials are just beginning. Each sector has an initiation race which, when completed, grants you a first beginner vehicle. The goal is to beat each boss and become an icon to all other aspiring drivers. Story progression is as fast as you play it, but don’t expect the same scripted storyline as the first one. Here you are a free bird to go wherever you wish, it is not mandatory to follow the pre-created path. This is positive for those who want to do their own thing, while others will miss a cohesive storyline.

Graphics

If you’d ask the question how to best describe the graphics of The Crew 2 it would be done with one word, mind-blowing. Everything just looks so lively and realistic, at first you think the intro movie is Live Action, but upon closer inspection this is fully computer generated. When playing, everything looks flush and smooth, from the astonishing scenery and each carefully hand-crafted vehicle to the amazing attention to details. This game is a Picasso painting and even on older hardware (the generation before the 4K HD) it looks like a work of art.

Sound

To go hand in hand with the great graphics there is the same amount of attention spent in the creation of the soundtrack. A handful of radio stations play different kinds of genres to cater to a wide variety of gamers. Sound effects make the overall gameplay feel very crisp with engines roaring, tires screeching and exhausts popping flames. On the downside, in the voice acting department there is decent narration from the characters but sometimes they feel a bit generic, like the characters lack a bit of depth.

Gameplay

The Crew 2 is a racing game that mixes arcade and simulator elements into a unique experience. This combination has been getting more and more popular and sometimes it works great, but sometimes it can cause unnecessary frustrations. If you have read our preview about this game you will know that we talked about how the cars sometimes feel disconnected, now the game has been fine-tuned and vehicles feel better but at moments handling becomes worse when putting new parts into the ride. Talking about these modifications, what’s better than the old fashion shop? Lootboxes! Well this isn’t anything new, as in the first installment you also had to win new performance parts. Other customizations are visual modifications that include bumpers, spoilers, interior and much more. Deck out your car with some fresh paint or liveries that shows your creativity. New to the game is also the ability to clothe your avatar. In the beginning of the game you choose a character and when you unlock the house, feel free to dress him or her however you see fit.

As mentioned earlier this game looks back at arcade times, this is immediately noticed with the addition of nitro in vehicles. How long has it been since you saw nitrous in a triple A title? With many games turning into simulators this little feature has been limited. Another great setting is that each vehicle is easy to adapt to as planes and boats aren’t too intense. However with the fun features of an arcade game, there are often a few bad ones as well. One, which is the most noticeable, is the extreme rubber banding. You’ll notice that other slower cars will easily gain up on you, even if it doesn’t make sense. Of course, this can also work in your advantage if you’re a wonky driver and crash constantly, as it makes it easier for you to catch up to your opponents.

In the beta we already saw that there was a large car list, but now it is just mindboggling that in such a huge title there are so many vehicles to decide from. The large list goes from muscle cars to tuners, exotics and classics, sports bikes, choppers, dirt bikes, planes and boats. In the Gold Edition there is content included from the season pass and pre-order bonuses. With these bonuses and extra content you have some fun vehicles at your disposal right from the start. Does this give you an unfair advantage? No, since the game’s arcade characteristics you will not obliterate every opponent from the beginning.

Conclusion

The Crew 2 has been improved since its beta as car handling has become better but some modifications can ruin the overall experience. Graphics are mouthwatering from start to finish, cars look beautiful and realistic and the modifications to the visuals of vehicles make your ride stand out from the rest. Sound and music is firm and there’s content to keep you playing for ages. The vehicle list is long and strong with rides for each player to enjoy and customize to their heart’s content.

MC_JP

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Never give up on a dream. It might be a long nightmare, but one day it will change into a beautiful reality - MC_JP 2014

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