What is certain, therefore, is that despite efforts on the aesthetic (there are some beautiful landscapes, filled with variety and topped with next-gen lighting effects), The Crew doesn’t give this instant gratification to players who have paid for next-generation console and waiting to take full advantage of it.ĭespite this string of small disappointments, I must nevertheless admit I had a good time with The Crew as it brings many good things to the little world of racing games. Jagging aliasing and a modeling render that is rather basic, but at least no slowdowns that penalize gameplay. Specifically, it suffers from random popping elements the horizon. In short, between that and driving without the feel of speed, it is the physic engine of The Crew that disappoints the most.Īnother rather annoying element is the artificial intelligence of the opponents, who – if I may say – cheat during the races via the famous “elastic AI concept”: first they slow down, then their speed double during the last run… A principle that is also completely hallucinating with police cars, which take you sometimes ages to get rid of, fueled by some sort of atomic-powered rockets from the future.įinally, if Ivory Tower has managed a feat to achieve a playing field so wide and varied, it also seems to have been at the expense of the graphics… Well, that is a bit harsh, but the game is not “ugly”, but fail to feel next generation level. They are unrealistic and often exaggerated or completely incomprehensible. Other gameplay elements linked to tarnishing the gaming experience is the bizarre collision engine, whether with the environment or other vehicles. Things certainly improve when you up the range in vehicles, but concretely vehicles give an unpleasant feeling to pilot something crudely put on a four axis, especially in exactly the same way regardless of the vehicle … Not really worthy of a game in 2014. Compared to Forza Horizon 2 (another open world title which I reviewed), the sensations are mundane: nothing in the physics engine makes it possible to actually feel the speed and rush while driving. But the game suffers from a deficit in terms of driving, which is the soul of such a type of title. The Crew remains primarily a racing game with interesting gameplay. But is this plethora of content in itself a guarantee of quality for the whole game? I’m not sure on that point… So when you go from a one mission to another for the first time, you end up banging you head at the tons of challenges listed, such as slaloms, speed challenges, making your roadtrip a more playful journey, and literally engulf your playing time. Especially since the variety is there, necessarily, but above that, the developers have placed a lot of surprising elements here and there, with beautiful views, and of course tons of challenges. Virtually, it will easily take an hour to cross the map from East to West, which in itself is a challenge. This is obviously not a perfect 1:1 reproduction of the United States, but you get to visit much of North American regions and their diversity (Rocky Mountains, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Miami), giving the impression of traveling throughout coast when you go from one city to another. The developers of Ivory Tower offer players kilometers upon kilometers of roads across the US, from the Northern states to the Southern passing by the East and West Coast. Never had an open world universe been so great in a racing game. Talking about The Crew is almost impossible without mentioning its gigantic playground. Prolific in the end of year, Ubisoft delivers its last hurrah of 2014 with The Crew, their ambitious MMO themed racing game, with an impressive open world environment… but what about rest? Editor’s Note: A year after the game’s release, this review has been updated following the release of The Crew: Wild Run expansion, which reflects on the overall score, and final verdict.