The Crew Reviews
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.
I realize now that I wish that this game could make me feel like an outsider in a strange town: That feeling is America. And The Crew has none of the licentious anticipation for the fictional pile-up, nor any of the guilty pleasure of rubbernecking—American pastimes, both. The missions never just say "Get to Wyoming," and then let me plot my own foolhardy, American route there. They don't even let you look at the map. Just trust the waypoints and go.
There's a good game buried here, and when they finally plant the headstone, the cause of death will be chiseled as "trying too hard."
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.
The Crew's big wins are buried under a mound of frustrations
A title like The Crew has to be more than a glorified "Google Earth" simulator or a VOIP chat client - especially if it's advertised as a "revolutionary action car and driving game".
'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.
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.
The Crew is an overenthusiastic attempt at marrying racing gameplay and multiplayer to a massive open-world driving map. Unfortunately, repetitive missions, cheap AI, and poor balancing hold the game back from greatness despite its impressive and detailed world.
For years developers have been hunting the white whale of being the biggest and the best. Like Captain Ahab's fabled story, this hunt can often lead to ruination. Sure you've done a lot of things along the way and certainly have some stories to tell, but The Crew sits as an empty shell, capable of housing so much more.
The Crew attempts to take the United States by storm, but ends feeling more like a drag than an actual race.
The Crew has a lot of missions and environments to explore, but there are myriad issues that get in the way of its positive aspects.
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.
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.
While ambitious in attempting to craft a living breathing world with tons to do, it falls short with poor driving and being loaded with superfluous content intended to run up the play clock. The co-op is fun but recommending a driving game where the main activity of driving is no fun is a tough sell.
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.
I wanted to like The Crew.
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.