The Crew 2 Preview - E3 2017

The original The Crew was a bit of a disappointment, but underneath all that trouble was a feature that really deserved a ton of credit – the open world. That virtual recreation of the USA was simply incredible in its scope and ambition, and it’s just too bad that the rest of the game was not up to par. So, with The Crew 2, the developers are looking to completely reinvent their approach while still offering that incredibly vast playspace. We had a chance to play through a few events in The Crew 2 at E3 2017, and the sequel looks much better indeed.

Our demo kicked off with the introduction, one that will likely be similar to what players will experience at launch. We started off in a typical street race in the city on the East Coast, but soon it become clear that the mood has shifted entirely. The Crew 2 compared to the original is what Watch Dogs 2 is to its first title. Gone are the serious tones, drab environments and the sense of gritty realism. Instead, we are met with warm colors, ramps for crazy jumps, and a blast of fun music. After racing through the streets, even jumping onto some rooftops and crashing through gates, the perspective shifted to a nearby river where a boat race was underway. Now, we were in the water and in dead heat with some other racers. It was still a fairly straightforward event with checkpoint gates that needed passing, but even here there were many opportunities for jumps and general chaos. A bit later on, planes were suddenly buzzing overhead, and our perspective shifted to one of these planes. These small aircraft are the third type of vehicle that players will be able to pilot in the game, and they certainly offer an entirely new sense of freedom and exploration. We flew through a series of gates situated on rooftops, getting used to the new controls which are straightforward and responsive. You can either turn/tilt or just adjust the rudder for more fine-tuned cornering. With the air race over, we were greeted with the game’s logo. With its similarities, this introduction can be favorably compared to that of the Forza Horizon series.

Following the tutorial, we got a look at the newly revamped open world. Inspired by the original game, this vast open space will take hours for players to drive across. The cities have not only been rebuilt but also expanded, giving them a greater sense of character and immersion. The map overview provided a look at the headquarter cities of the four families in the game – two on East coast, one central and one in the West. These four branches of the story represent specific competition disciplines that players will have to prove themselves in, in order to become the best in the so-called Motornation world of The Crew 2. There’s freestyle, street racing, offroad, and pro racing. We had a chance to interact with the LA family, who offered us a choice of cars to purchase. While choosing a car, the player is actually able to walk around in first person view and check out the ride, and even open the doors and get in, roll down windows, and go for a test drive before buying. Again, there are positive comparisons to Forzavista to be made here. When buying a car, we could pick from a few different colors and rim styles.

The driving model for cars is still arcade-focused, though it felt better from our demo; we didn’t get to see how the AI would fare, one of the biggest issues in the first game. In street races, the cars handled with precision and plenty of grip. Going on an offroad race, things changed quite a bit. Here, in a forest with plenty of hills located north of New York, the entire track was a large open space, and outside of a few directional markers, we could choose any route to the destination. Again, more Forza Horizon comparisons. However, the UI for the destination would be hidden behind trees and thus leave us lost; hopefully this is remedied before final release. Still, having such freeform offroad races is a nice addition. Handling also feels different in the buggy, with less grip and more airtime.

Next we did another boat race, this time leaving the pristine rivers behind and heading into a swamp. This was a race against time, and the unique factor for this particular setting was the ability to take shortcuts over the marshes and some small islands in the midst of the swamps. When competing against others in water races, players must also account for changing water conditions (supposedly severe weather will have an impact on waves), as well as other racers. Driving into the path of waves left behind by another boat will slow you down. Boats, like cars, have a NOS that can be used for occasional bursts of speed. We also got a chance to fly through a few more races. As mentioned, airplanes handled well and the sense of freedom was very much present. They can also turn on a trail of white smoke to leave behind.

As you explore the game world, a very cool feature lets you hold down a key at any time and choose to instantly switch between your car, a boat, and a plane. So, you could be driving along, and swap to a plane, and now you’re flying. Fly above water, switch to a boat and drop down to make a splash. It gives the game a sense of freedom, and liberates you from navigating menus or worse, loading screens, just to switch the type of transport you're using. When planning ahead, navigating around the map is easy, and now you can zoom in from the overall country view all the way down to street level – and the game will start rendering the actual 3D world as you get closer. It’s quite neat; you can pick exactly the street you wish to fast travel to.

If we were to give out category awards at E3, The Crew 2 would certainly take the crown of the game that seems to be the most improved from the original. And we haven’t even got a chance to see bikes/other disciplines, the expanded roster of car manufacturers, or the seamless multiplayer. Having said all that, the sequel will require always-online, and we didn’t get to witness too much of the AI, so some concerns still linger. But, it is clear that the vision for The Crew 2 is very different from the original, and one that will hopefully end up working out for the best. The Crew 2 is currently expected to arrive in early 2018 for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.