The Crew 2
Developer(s)Ubisoft Ivory Tower[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Director(s)Stéphane Beley
Producer(s)
  • Olivier Gueydon
  • Yann Le Guyader
  • Stéphane Jankowski
Designer(s)Boris Mellet
Programmer(s)Didier Blanche
Artist(s)David Guillaume
Composer(s)
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
June 29, 2018
Stadia
March 25, 2020
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The Crew 2 is a 2018 open world racing video game developed by Ubisoft Ivory Tower and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, and Google Stadia. It is the sequel to 2014's The Crew. It features a persistent open world environment for free-roaming across a scaled-down recreation of the contiguous United States. The game allows players to control a variety of vehicles including cars, motorcycles, boats, and airplanes.

A sequel, The Crew Motorfest, was released on September 14, 2023, with the Oʻahu island in Hawaii as a new location.[1]

Gameplay

Similar to its predecessor, The Crew 2 is a racing game. In the game, players assume control of a racer who is trying to work their way to become successful in multiple vehicular racing disciplines.[2] It features a persistent open world environment for racing and free-roaming across a scaled-down recreation of the contiguous United States.[3] In addition to cars, players can control other kinds of vehicles, including airplanes, motorcycles, and powerboats. Each vehicle has its own control physics, meaning that game play is different when players are controlling different types of vehicles. Players can switch between controlling air, land and sea vehicles instantly.[4] The game features four different hub worlds, with each having their own theme and playstyle. These themes include off-road, street racing, pro racing, and free-style. Similar to the first game, it places an emphasis on playing multiplayer in groups called crews. It also features a cooperative multiplayer mode, which allows players to join any events besides "boss" events together. This mode can also be played solo with artificial intelligence.[5] As with the previous title, The Crew 2 requires a constant internet connection to play.

Synopsis

The game features a nonlinear story, that follows the unnamed player character as they become a racing icon in the United States by winning in all racing disciplines available in the game. There are four disciplines: Street Racing, Off Road, Freestyle and Pro Racing. In Street Racing, the player is assisted by Latrell Jordan. In Off Road, the player is assisted by Tucker "Tuck" Morgan, having previously assisted by Wade Palmer until "The Switch" event. In Freestyle, the player is assisted by Sofia Valentina Herrera and Emmett Lee Parker. In Pro Racing, the player is assisted by Alexis Kendrick.

Development

The Crew 2 was developed by Ubisoft Ivory Tower.[6] Parts of the development was based on the feedback they received on the previous installment. One major critique was that players did not have enough freedom to explore the world and do missions. To solve the problem, Ubisoft overhauled the game's progression system and decided not to focus much on the game's narrative, which would require players to complete missions in a very specific order, and instead divided the game into several hub worlds, with each representing a unique driving style. Players can stay in these hubs to play the missions that interest them and do not need to force themselves to visit other hubs to play through missions that do not interest them. The Crew's downloadable content, Wild Run, which was positively reviewed by players, also prompted the studio to focus more on developing content regarding offroad racing.[5]

As the game features a variety of vehicles, Ivory Tower also needed to improve the game's graphics. According to the game's producer, Stephane Jankowski, these new types of vehicles allow players to explore the open world with new perspectives. For instance, flying a plane means that players can see objects that are very far away. As a result, the engine had to be modified to significantly improve the game's draw distance. The engine was also updated to include other enhancements, such as atmospheric clouds and realistic vegetation.[5] The game's control was designed to be accessible but "hard to master".[7]

The game was announced in May 2017 during Ubisoft's earning's call.[8] It was revealed at E3 2017 accompanied with a cinematic trailer and gameplay demonstrations. The game was originally set to be released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on March 16, 2018, however, in early December 2017 Ubisoft announced that the game was postponed towards mid- or late-2018, in order to give developers more time to deliver a quality product.[9] A closed alpha for PC was held from 14 to 19 of March 2018[10] and a closed beta was held from 31 of May to 4 of June of the same year.[11] The game was released worldwide on June 29, 2018.

Marketing

To entice The Crew players to return for The Crew 2, Ubisoft implemented a reward program, which allowed players to unlock up to 18 cars by achieving certain milestones in The Crew before The Crew 2 was released. Furthermore, all returning players from The Crew automatically received the 2014 Ferrari 458 Speciale upon the game's release.[12] Also, the publisher announced the touring car version of the 2017 Mercedes-AMG C 63 and the 2017 Harley-Davidson Iron 883 as pre-order bonuses, whereas players ordering the Deluxe or Gold edition receive further vehicles, with the Gold edition also including the season pass.[13] In addition to the reward system, Ubisoft also held a closed beta for players who signed up, as well as an open beta that occurred on June 21 until June 24. Those who participated in the open beta received a gold helmet in the full version of the game. Ubisoft also plans to have a "King of the Road Trip" competition, where popular YouTubers and streamers will get a chance to compete in a competition, where the players race against other players that are in the same region as them.

Reception

The Crew 2 received "mixed or average reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic.[14][15][16]

Awards

YearAwardCategoryResultRef
2017 Game Critics Awards Best Racing Game Nominated [23]
2018 Nominated [24]
Ping Awards Best Graphics Nominated [25][26]
Best Sports Game Won
2019 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards Game, Franchise Racing Nominated [27]

Sequel

On January 31, 2023, Ubisoft announced the next installment in The Crew series, officially titled The Crew Motorfest. Unlike the previous games, Motorfest would be set in a scaled-down recreation of the Oʻahu island in Hawaii. However, according to Stéphane Beley, the recreation of Oʻahu island that will appear in Motorfest will not be set in the usual 1:1 ratio, but rather it will mix all points of Hawaii together.

The Crew Motorfest was released on September 14, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.[28] For the Windows version, the game is available on Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Connect with the Ubisoft+ subscription. It also available on cloud access via Amazon Luna.[1]

Notes

References

  1. 1 2 Reilly, Luke (February 1, 2023). "Ubisoft Reveals The Crew Motorfest, Heads to Hawaii". IGN. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  2. ↑ Vazquez, Suriel (June 12, 2017). "First The Crew 2 Trailer Shows Off Multi-Vehicle Races". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  3. ↑ Devore, Jordan (June 20, 2017). "The Crew 2 feels like a do-over in the best possible way". Destructoid. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  4. ↑ Davenport, James (August 26, 2017). "The Crew 2's instant vehicle switching is a fun idea it doesn't use enough". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Sillis, Ben (June 22, 2017). "8 reasons to be excited for The Crew 2". Red Bull. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  6. ↑ Reilly, Luke (October 5, 2017). "Ubisoft Acquires The Crew Developer Ivory Tower". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  7. ↑ Bell, Alice (June 20, 2017). "The Crew 2 preview: you can dive bomb New York in a Porsche". VideoGamer.com. Resero Network. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  8. ↑ Hussain, Tamoor (May 16, 2017). "The Crew 2 Announced". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  9. ↑ Mamiit, Aaron (December 8, 2017). "Ubisoft Delays 'Far Cry 5' And 'The Crew 2': Here's Why That's A Good Thing". Tech Times. Tech Times LCC. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  10. ↑ Riccchiuto, Madeline (March 14, 2018). "The Crew 2 is Getting a Closed Alpha for PC This Week". Bleeding Cool. Bleeding Cool. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  11. ↑ Knezevic, Kevin (May 16, 2018). "The Crew 2 Beta Dates Announced For PS4, Xbox One, And PC". GameSpot. GameSpot. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  12. ↑ Nelva, Giuseppe (June 12, 2017). "The Crew 2 Gets Beautiful Screenshots and Rewards Program for The Crew Players". Dual Shockers. Dual Shockers. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  13. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (August 24, 2017). "The Crew 2 Release Date, Pre-Order Bonuses Revealed". GameSpot. GameSpot. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  14. 1 2 "The Crew 2 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  15. 1 2 "The Crew 2 for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  16. 1 2 "The Crew 2 for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  17. ↑ Devore, Jordan (June 29, 2018). "Review: The Crew 2". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  18. ↑ Harmon, Josh (June 29, 2018). "The Crew 2 review". EGMNow. EGM Media, LLC. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  19. ↑ Kato, Matthew (June 29, 2018). "The Crew 2 Review". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  20. ↑ Tran, Edmond (July 5, 2018). "The Crew 2 Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  21. ↑ Avard, Alex (June 28, 2018). "The Crew 2 review: "A Breezy Summer Getaway That, Like All Good Road Trips, I Best Enjoyed With Friends"". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  22. ↑ Reilly, Luke (June 29, 2018). "The Crew 2 Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2017 (2017 Nominees)". Game Critics Awards. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  24. ↑ Watts, Steve (July 5, 2018). "Resident Evil 2 Wins Top Honor In E3 Game Critics Awards". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Les lauréats des Ping Awards 2018". Ping Awards (in French). Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Les nommés aux Ping Awards 2018". Ping Awards (in French). Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Nominee List for 2018". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  28. ↑ Good, Owen S. (June 12, 2023). "The Crew Motorfest goes to Hawaii, comes back with a launch date". Polygon. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
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