The Crew 2 review: Where more actually means less

The Crew was always a good idea poorly executed. I of the biggest issues with that first game was the storyline. Office GTA, role Need for Speed, all dire. The good parts of the game were rapidly swallowed up past the bits that made yous desire to stick pins your eyes.

To some, it might seem surprising that The Crew 2 even exists. But it does, and Ubisoft is taking another stab at the open-world racer. This fourth dimension around things are very different. The Crew 2 is brimming with ambition and a few crazy ideas that could brand or interruption it.

And so, is it second time lucky for Ubisoft? Almost. Here's why.

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The Crew 2: Welcome to the Motornation

Equally in the kickoff outing, The Coiffure two is set entirely in the United states and the game earth encompasses the whole affair. Obviously, a much-reduced footprint, only all the major cities are in play, landmarks like Mount Rushmore, the M Canyon, Monument Valley and the Golden Gate Bridge all stand tall and stand proud.

Only in The Crew 2, y'all're non involved in any gritty tales of revenge or underworld activities. In The Crew 2, you're trying to gain equally many followers as possible and work your mode up the ladder to take on the best racers in the land.

For the better, Ubisoft took The Crew ii more than towards Forza Horizon than it did Need for Speed. The fundamental premise is pure silliness, the vocalism acting tremendously cheesy. Only information technology's a game that doesn't accept itself too seriously, and that's fine. Sometimes a bit of calorie-free-hearted fun is all you need. It'due south not like Forza Horizon is winning awards for information technology's plot writing, either.

As yous level upward the map becomes more than and more congested, with new vehicle and event types. It becomes difficult to immediately place new things over things you already did, though, because everything stays on the map in the same color, even later on the event is consummate. Merely you're never brusk of something to do.

Motornation isn't only almost 4-wheeled shenanigans, though. Boats, bikes, planes are all present, alongside some of the nigh impressive vehicles in the game. The Crew ii allows you to drive a Red Balderdash F1 car across the state. It lets you bulldoze around downtown Miami in a monster truck. Or striking 300mph down the Las Vegas Strip.

Ubisoft has put much into making the game earth feel as busy as possible, and information technology succeeds to some extent. Despite existence online and open up world, you rarely see other players, and yous can't enter into whatsoever PvP action confronting them either. Y'all can coiffure up with your friends, the clue is in the game's name, but and then far that's all yous can exercise. PvP is slated to go far in a free update in tardily 2022, but information technology feels similar a glaring omission.

It'south also important to remember that this is 100 percentage an arcade racer, for better or worse. You tin can employ a racing wheel, though information technology's difficult to say you'll benefit. In The Coiffure two your best chance at winning is existence able to drift around corners at loftier speed and take shortcuts.

Only if you lot're expecting any form of lifelike physics you'll be disappointed. That's not really a knock on the game, it never pretends to be a serious sim, simply at times the arcade styling falls flat on its face. Bikes are really bad to play with, and it'southward also easy to make a tiny mistake that leads to a catastrophic autumn down the order. You don't know how much you lot miss Forza's rewind system until y'all don't have information technology.

Progress is at least fairly simple to understand, likewise upgrading your vehicles. If you consummate challenges, you earn boodle. Boodle upgrades your cars, and information technology'due south the operation level which dictates whether your car is proficient enough for each race. It'll be too simplistic for some, only it's very accessible to more casual players, and the fact you can race a Mini against a Lamborghini without getting smoked is fun.

The Crew 2: Breathtaking scenery

Each dissimilar area of the game's massive map adequately accurately recreates the existent-life areas of the Usa. If yous wait closely, particularly at the cities, you'll discover things to critique, only as, they're all just i pocket-sized part of one big game.

The backdrop in whatever racing game is commonly passed at speed, and Las Vegas is a bang-up example. If you end and expect closely, you might chuckle, but as you're hooning down the strip yous'll pass lifelike representations of the famous hotels. The "Win Palace" is conspicuously the Wynn/Encore hotel pairing, the Eiffel Tower replica at Paris stands tall, and you can drag race downwardly Fremont Street.

It'due south peradventure in the open spaces where The Coiffure ii impresses the most. On the Xbox 1 X the game hits 1800p and looks very pleasing to the eye. The scenery and open h2o is superb, the cars both external and internal are well rendered, and the rolling 24-hour interval/night bike adds atmosphere. It'southward pretty satisfying just smashing most things out of your way, too, though larger objects bring a nearly abrupt finish.

The Crew 2 as well features child-bearing weather, simply it'south a picayune abrupt in how it comes about and hopefully something Ubisoft will patch. The weather condition effects plough on and off like a tap. One 2d it'south dainty and sunny, the next a torrential downpour. At that place's a race in the touring motorcar class that takes place in the snow, but as shortly every bit the race ends the snowfall magically vanishes. It'south hilarious.

The open world racing has its pros and cons, too. On the 1 hand, there's generally no confines, as long equally you hitting the checkpoints you lot tin accept whatever route you similar. This is best shown off in the Rally Raid challenges which are truly epic treks through the wilderness. Only if you don't go along checking your sat nav, information technology'southward easy to get lost or just misjudge a turn completely and slam into a wall.

The Crew 2: There's as well much going on

How the hell did I cease up here?

While The Coiffure 2 is fun to play, for the about function, it'southward non all sunshine and roses. There'south fashion as well much going on in this game and it suffers every bit a consequence. Annihilation involving cars, off-route racing or the monster trucks is a hoot, but the balance is woolly and could easily accept been cutting without making the game worse.

On i mitt, credit for showing some ambition and tossing in something new. We don't usually see powerboats or aerobatic planes, so at kickoff glance, it's exciting and new. But, eventually it becomes tiring and slow, and anything involving a motorcycle is only bad.

This is where some more channelled focus would have made it a better feel for everyone. The novelty of motocross races dies away the minute you try and turn a corner and either crash or have to violently plough the other mode to even it out. The lack of proper physics hurts the bike sections the most, and most of the time your character is flopping around

It's non all bad, though. The variety is overnice to meet, for 1. Powerboat racing is probably the best of the bunch, though a slightly awkward control organization of property the left stick pointing downwards to go faster adds to the challenge. Simply after a while, the flying feels too samey, and the smaller boats are a nightmare.

Ultimately you tin can't knock Ubisoft for trying something new, but doing less at a higher standard would e'er go my vote.

The Coiffure 2: Lesser line

At that place'southward a proverb that'due south probably going to exist thrown around a fair flake at The Crew 2: Jack of all trades, master of none. Ubisoft should be rewarded for its appetite, merely ultimately appetite has translated into an overly decorated experience that's got a little too much going on.

The cadre elements, that is, the bits that accept place on four wheels, are very good. Entirely arcade-y, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately beautiful to look at and fun to play.

Pros:

• Looks great on Xbox One X.
• Fun to play arcade racer with a smorgasbord of real-life vehicles.
• Epic map size and open game world.
• Straightforward progression model that's attainable and free of a tired storyline.

Cons:

• Add-on of bikes, planes, and boats takes the focus abroad from the core elements.
• Bikes are rubbish.
• No PvP elements until belatedly 2022.

But when you motility away from this, things are a bit messier. The flying sections are OK and by and large, the powerboat racing isn't too bad. But the motorbike parts are pretty rubbish and the jet sprint boats add zero but frustration. Ubisoft could have cut all this from the game, full-bodied on the four-wheeled racing aspects and come out with a very good game.

As it stands the busyness is what drags it back. Racing coast to coast in a hypercar is epic, but having to jump onto a motocross bike or into a gunkhole feels boring. It'southward rare to criticise a game for having besides much to practice, merely here we are.

Nevertheless, this is a notable improvement on the get-go game and most of the time a lot of fun to play. Ubisoft has also been infrequent at supporting its games long term, so who knows where The Crew 2 might exist a year or two from now.

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This review was conducted on the Xbox One X with a copy provided by the publisher.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/crew-2-review

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