The Crew Reviews
The Crew is a fantastic tribute to American car culture, but not a fantastic racing game.
More ups and downs than a Pike's Peak speed run
When the great void of the map greeted me for that final time, I just shrugged my shoulders and mouthed "why," before turning the console off. I've never been so happy to be able to move onto something else in my life.
For the short time that I have had with The Crew, I have had a lot of ups and downs. I certainly see the promise in this game, but I don't have the patience or the social circle to really take advantage of it. Nonetheless, I just keep playing, interested in seeing what I can unlock next. Personally, I'd recommend The Crew to anyone who has a dedicated circle of friends who would play with them, who all have great internet connections. If you do, this game is pretty awesome, and possibly even a better format than a lot of other driving games out there. If you don't, the game can get frustrating at times. This is a "your mileage may vary" sort of game, good, but really only appealing to a very specific type of gamer. I'll let you know if my opinion changes with more time... and more friends.
It's clear to see that The Crew had potential, but the promises it made just simply aren't realised in the final product. While the thought of a digital America to drive across is certainly exciting, The Crew does a very bad job of executing on it and building an interesting environment to drive around in and discover. And when the bland world is combined with an easily forgettable storyline and the worst car handling we have ever experienced in a videogame, it's easy to understand why we did not have any fun with the game. The levelling up system and car customisation are the two good things among an otherwise hugely disappointing feature set. The Crew promised so much, but delivered so little.
Not terrible – just so very disappointing.
Despite delivering an impressive playground that captures the spirit of America, The Crew struggles to build out a worthwhile game experience around it, resorting to frustrating missions, insipid storytelling, and off-putting microtransactions.
The Crew is a very ambitious game that did suffer from day one release issues. Thankfully most have been patched but there are still a few graphical issues and gameplay nuances that can cause controller rage. Although the story is relatively forgettable, I actually did enjoy driving around American in its "free mode" and when engaged in missions, some were extremely difficult due to the control mechanics and insane difficultly of the AI. Nonetheless, it's an interesting racer that is probably a little too ambitious for most but definitely recommended for those not time poor!
The mission design is sometimes inconsistent, with some missions only playable solo and others very difficult unless playing as part of a crew
There's a game here that wants to be played. It's just buried beneath a game that wants nothing to do with you.
So is Ubisoft's open world racer worth your time and energy? It just depends how starved you are for a brand new racing game and your willingness to tolerate its many concerns until they're rectified, if at all. If you aren't, you're better off playing some of the older Need For Speed games instead.
The Crew's an okay racer, but when stacked up against its competitors it really falls short. Open-world fans would be far better off picking up the likes of Far Cry 4, while racing fans have been spoilt rotten in recent months with the likes of Forza Horizon 2, GRID Autosport, and DriveClub. A terminally dull storyline gets in the way of what is an epic-scale racing game, and its huge landmass can be a genuinely exciting experience driving across, it's just a shame it's spoiled by so many niggling problems.
The Crew is worth a go if you're into racers. You might love it. But there's a better than good chance that the niggling issues will prevent that from happening.
The Crew is not a bad game but one targeted at a very specific group of gamers. Not quite the pure race and unlock gameplay offered by other car titles and not enough of the usual trappings us twisted MMO fans look for to find a long term home on my hard drive. In short, it's a fun distraction for the short term but unless this is the kind of meal you'd like to eat three times a day for the next twenty five years, you are going to find yourself not quite sated by what The Crew has to offer.
Ubisoft set out to create a social racing game with a story. While the story aspect is completely forgettable, Ubisoft did do an excellent job in setting up a racing MMO-like experience. Mechanics like experience and money couple with exploring new territory in a way that tickles the RPG gamer in me. Unfortunately if you attempt to play The Crew by yourself, are hoping for simulation racing with loads of detailed cars or state-of-the-art visuals, The Crew will likely disappoint on those items. This turns The Crew into an interesting experiment that only makes for a decent game.
And this is it with The Crew; it tries to do so much and excels at nothing. It falls apart on almost every level, and given the potential it had that is a damn, damn shame.
The Eden Games heritage of Ivory Tower shines through in just about every element of the game - including, sadly, the awful story. The social features are also a little underwhelming, and there are much better looking driving games out there. Yet for every stumble, The Crew makes a huge leap. It's so immediate, with very few loading screens, and the fact that you'll probably never race on the same route twice cannot be understated. It's a game changer, and I'm somewhat concerned that I'll never be able to play a normal circuit racer ever again.
'The Crew' is a strained lovechild of 'The Fast & the Furious', a pay-to-win MMO, and the "always on and never alone" character of social media. Under the grimey physics, abusive AI, and lame story, there is almost a decent casual racer here. The distinction between city environments makes it somewhat fun to drive around the country, even if the tedious missioning and lack of a real reason to play in co-op undermine its charm. If you are a fan of racers, there are far better places to spend your money.
If you are a die hard racing fan with some friends who are playing this you MIGHT enjoy The Crew. Sadly though this is a classic case of biting off more than you can chew. The idea was great but they needed more time to polish up and add things to it. This road trip is one you can skip out on.
The Crew has a fantastic open world to explore and some decent ideas, but the rest of the game falters with every rev of the engine.