The Crew 2 is in many ways, like the original game was, highly ambitious. But does is this a game you should rush out to buy or wait a while to see it on the second-hand rack in GameStop? Here’s my review of The Crew 2.
What is The Crew 2 About?
The whole premise of the game is pretty thin. You’re a stunt-racing driver capable of driving, flying and, ehm…boating, flat out. Fly close to the ground or barrel roll your plan, jump your boat and drift your car through race courses to win yourself more followers, the ultimate goal of The Crew 2. You’re building a virtual influencer brand for yourself and the crazier and faster you drive, the more followers you gain.
Honestly, in terms of story that’s about it and that’s without going into the terrible dialogue and weird characters you meet along the way. But to be fair, we’re not here for Oscar Winning scripts, we’re here for fun and fun you get.
When you’re not competing, you can enjoy what is definitely the best part of The Crew 2; the incredible map.
The Crew 2 Map
I’ve played some pretty expansive maps in my time. Immediately, the likes of Fallout, Far Cry 5 or even, to a lesser extent, GTA 5 comes to mind. The Crew 2 blows them all out of the water. Why? The lunatics went and squeezed the entire continental United States of America into the game. Now, let’s get one thing out of the way; it’s scaled down. To drive across the US would take at least 48 hours – emphasis on the ‘at least’ there. In The Crew 2 you can barrel across the country in under an hour, depending on your motor, of course, another highlight of the game.
Cars of The Crew 2
There are a whopping 220 cars to drive in The Crew 2. While I’m devastated there’s no Kia C’eed to pick from, that’s a mighty impressive selection of motors. If you have the collector gene it also gives the game a great lifespan too.
On top of that, have 27 motorbikes, 11 boats, 16 plans and a helicopter to pick from. Despite all that choice, however, The Crew 2 still feels a little….shallow.
The Crew 2’s Gameplay
From the get-go, The Crew 2 is a little frustrating for the least gaming reason of them all. The menus and loads are slow and frequent. When a game has a great storyline or incredible gameplay, you can generally look past a long load screen, but unfortunately, The Crew 2 doesn’t offer either of these.
Then there’s the AI. When racing, it doesn’t take much to upset your lap. The slightest mistake in your car, boat or plane will see your computer-controlled competitors fly past you, regardless of how far they were behind you previously.
The online gameplay doesn’t get a whole lot better either, which is a massive surprise given the first instalment was online-only! For some bizarre reason, you are unable to start contests with other online unless you’ve added them to your crew. Bizarre to be honest.
But it’s not all bad. While some of the gameplay is frustrating, I’ve never enjoyed the freedom of driving around an open map quite as much as I did with The Crew 2. There’s an expansive world for you to explore and discover mad bits and pieces, so aimless wandering is the aim of the game. The ability to seamlessly jump between car, boat and plane is a bit of craic too.
The Crew 2: The Verdict
The game is beautiful, is largely fun to play and is great to pass the time. Let’s be honest, for most that more than enough to justify a game like this being in your collection. I just want something a little deeper from my games. When I look at GTA 5 or Far Cry 5, they also have massive maps where I can drive, fly or boat.
If you want a pretty mindless but very fun romp by land, sea and air, The Crew 2 is unlikely to disappoint. Personally, I’ll be getting my kicks from some of the other games I mentioned.
