Review in Progress - Burning Rubber to Stores Near You
The Crew 2 is coming out of the gates with its engines going full blast. Weather it's with tires squealing as you drift through turns or the roar of your boat as you gun it down waterways or the sound of your propeller as you turn and do barrel rolls through the sky in your plane, the game seeks to deliver a fun and unique gaming experience to you the player. But is it delivering on everything it promises? We'll dig a little deeper on a few areas in this review in progress of The Crew 2.
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There are many topics that could be discussed about The Crew 2 full release. Let's first talk about multiplayer, since that is something in a game like this most people want. After having played for the last several days in prerelease, multiplayer is something that now The Crew 2 falls short. In a game that is supposed to be about an open world with multiple races for various types of vehicles, you would expect to see more than just AI in races. While you occasionally may see the ghosts of other players around you, that's all they are.
The best way to experience multiplayer of any kind is in forming a Crew (group) with some friends. Overall the multiplayer in its current state doesn't feel very intuitive and in general leaves just feels like something that’s just there. Making the game feel more like a single player game with multiplayer as an afterthought. If this were the case, then one would think that the story would be more driven like the last game, but instead you get a fairly lack luster feeling story that just seems to be there just to give a bare bones explanation of why there are races and why you’re doing them.
The first Crew had a multiplayer element that felt a bit more intuitive than what we have now in its current state. It should be said that there is supposed to be a PvP mode coming in the free update around December. But what that will entail or how well that may address some of the current issues is anybody's guess. Of course, it should be noted that with more players rolling into the game with the official release some of these things may change. We'll more into this with the official review later.
So far, The Crew 2 runs well and plays well. It's of course more of an arcade type of racer, so it may not be for every racing game fan. Although you do have several options in regard to customizing not only the look of your ride, but also internal gear to increase stats as well as slider bars you can mess with to adjust some things like ABS, etc. It should be noted that in regard to the "gear" you can get to up your vehicles rating, speed, etc. Is at the moment only obtainable by finishing in the top three in races or in live loot boxes which you can randomly find throughout the map whenever your radar starts pining to let you know that one is nearby. My biggest concern with these parts is they are all RNG based.
Some races you could get two green items drop for you vehicle class, others you may get a green and two pinks. These are all random parts with stats and everything above green gives bonus perks like faster nitro recharge. While most racing games have things like these obtainable via an unlock system with level and buying with in game money, the way The Crew 2 has it set up feels like something meant to be in a loot box. That isn't the case thankfully, but it still makes upgrading your ride a grindfest at times. It’s also worth noting that the Crew 2’s cash shop is extremely fair, and that all DLC will be free to all players.
Overall The Crew 2 feels good and fun, but it has a few quirks and oddities. Come back next week for the full review as we go more in depth.
A copy was given for review purposes by Ubisoft PR.
