The Crew Reviews
Ubisoft's ambitious open-world racer offers you a whole continent to explore, but struggles to make it really live
Ubisoft may want us to form crews and connect with fellow racing fans, but as it stands, we'd rather just get behind the wheel, turn up the radio and explore this staggering country by ourselves.
'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.
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!
It pains me to say it seeing as I had such high hopes but The Crew missed its mark by a long shot and just barely chugs over the starting line.
This game was made for 12 year olds that watch the Fast & Furious movies and believe everything in them is real.
If you'd have asked me after hour five what The Crew was, I would have said a solid 50% score. Hour ten? 60%. Thankfully though, the home straight is what saves The Crew from being just another average racer and with its incredibly game world, it's worth dipping your toe in. Just don't expect it to get decent for a long time, but when it does, it's almost worth the wait.
Take away its vast environment and The Crew is decidedly mediocre. But the enjoyable story and great sense of actually driving, whether alone or solo, means there's plenty of fun to be had all the same.
The Crew attempts to take the United States by storm, but ends feeling more like a drag than an actual race.
The Crew is a game filled with missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential. The promises hammered upon during development fell short in almost every way, with the exception of the car creation. On top of that, the story found within The Crew is embarrassing and provides more laughs than it does drama. Ubisoft took a huge swing and missed by a car length, it is time for them to put The Crew back in the garage for an overhaul.
Ditch the lame story, work in more customization and more exciting races, and The Crew is solid roadwork for what could be a fantastic MMO ride.
Ivory Tower did have some great ideas in putting together The Crew, but they don't all pan out the way they should. Getting new cars can take forever, and some of the missions are a tremendous pain on your own. However, if you've got a few racing buddies that don't mind cruising with you, you'll find the game's true potential – and even have some fun while you're speeding along. So grab some friends if you can. Otherwise, if it's a single player endeavor you're after, you might consider Forza Horizon 2.
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.
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.
The Crew is quite the ambitious undertaking by a brand-new development studio that offers some fresh ideas for racing games, but it hits a few bumps and roadblocks along the way.
A decent enough racer slowed down by microtransactions and an awful story
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.
An odd mix of Test Drive Unlimited, Assassin's Creed, and Destiny. And while the combination is tastier than it sounds it also has an awful lot of lumps in it.
The world of The Crew is remarkable, but rarely has a great asset been squandered so tragically on a framework of dull grinding and insipid storytelling.
The Crew's magnificent automotive American playground and high-octane multiplayer road trips are sensational, but the tragedy is that Ubisoft and Ivory Tower didn't know when to stop.