The Crew 2 is at the starting line
Crewsin’ for a twosin’ – Ubisoft’s racer readies for release
INSTANT VEHICLE SWITCHING IS PARTICULARLY EXHILARATING.
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Confused by the web of New York City streets, we push and select the option to transform instantly into a plane. Taking to the skies we soar over the skyscrapers that stand between us and the Hudson river. Miles above the water we transform instantly again, into a boat, and come crashing down into the water below.
“Reality sometimes is a bit boring, to be honest,” Stéphane Beley, The Crew 2’s creative director, tells us. We are, of course, talking about the colour and vibrancy that pulsates throughout the game’s world. The setting is the same as the first game: the entirety of the USA.
“It was a tough decision to say, ‘let’s stay in the USA’,” says Beley. But while the setting might be the same, nothing else could be more different. Not only has the game’s tone and vibe shifted from dark and gritty to a social media buzzfest, but everything has been reworked. “If we keep the USA, it should be different, and have a different flavour. It should have the flavour of motorsports. And you discover it from different perspectives – with your plane, boat, car, or bike.”
It’s this mix of perspectives that impresses, and sets The Crew 2 apart from the rest of the racing crowd. The map takes on a whole new meaning when you’re not just confined to streets, and can soar above it in the skies, or explore the swamps of the American South on zippy little boats.
TRIP OF A LIFETIME
The Crew 2’s rendition of the US is as huge as you’d expect. During our hands-on, we try to squirrel our way all the way from Niagara Falls to sunny LA, and it turns into a road trip of truly epic proportions, with little events and challenges along the way. Eventually, after passing many farms, temptation gives out and we click in the stick to morph into a plane, soaring over the traffic. It’s still surreal that you can even do that in a game like this, but it makes us wish we could do it on the way into work in the morning. That’s the dream.
Friends in your ‘crew’ can hop into an event seamlessly, prompted to jump into your race as you start by a prompt that lets them know you’re about to kick off. The only events where you can’t do this are the bombastic single-player Live Extreme events, which see you taking part in a long race where you’ll hop between different styles of motorsports mid-race. “We’re creating a crazy world full of crazy things,” Stéphane smiles.
STREET LIVE
The different disciplines of motorsports are spread out within four main branches – Street Racing, Freestyle, Offroad, and Pro Racing. Each of those has its own story you’ll follow through the events, and a whole group of different disciplines. Street Racing, for example, also encompasses Drift; and Offroad includes both buggies and motocross.
It’s all about getting granular with the different motorsports events represented, but in a way that feels intuitive to just pick up and play. Of course offroad buggy races would be lax on the checkpointing, with the challenge lying in finding the best routes between each one; and boats aren’t just boats, but are split into powerboats for big open spaces and jetsprint for zipping around tighter waterways.
Joy reverberates through The Crew 2. It’s a big change to embrace the craziness of not just motorsports, but videogames too – with the instant vehicle switching being particularly exhilarating. Ever wanted to land a plane on a skyscraper and then turn into a boat? Well, now you can. You’re always exploring what you’re interested in pursuing, and finding something new to push you forwards, to explore this colourful new US how you want with your friends. What does Stéphane want players to get from the game? “Show to the world that you are just happy. Makes sense for me.” The Crew 2 releases this month, 29 June. Will you be taking it for a spin?