As far as racing titles go, the industry has shifted its focus to the launch of Driveclub (and the delay of its free version), but the closed beta for Ubisoft and Ivory Tower's The Crew just wrapped up earlier this week.
I had a chance to play the beta during its run, which ended Monday, and came away feeling generally positive about the experience. Here are my thoughts, bearing in mind that this is a beta and these aspects of the game are subject to change:
- The Open World U.S.A. Map Is Very Cool. Racing games have been moving in this direction for years, with large open environments housing a variety of challenges that the player can swing past and engage in, from street races to stunts or precision games. The Crew takes it to the next level, with an approximation of the entire U.S. available as one seamless world.
You can drive coast to coast in about 40 minutes, with major cities placed within a few large regions. You can fast travel to places you've been, or drive without loading screens from point A to point B by setting a waypoint or just seeing where you end up. The regions look and feel different, and natives will notice rough landmarks. The interactive map is also cool, and useful: it's styled like Google Maps, and you can zoom all the way in to see your car on the stree live as other traffic drives past. When you're done setting where you want to go, it'll zoom all the way in and flip perspective back so you can drive straight off to your new waypoint.
- There's Actually A Story, And It's Not Terrible. The Crew isn't going to win any awards for its writing, but the narrative driving the game (get it?) isn't bad. The whole game has a bit of a The Fast & The Furious vibe, with personal vendettas and a need for revenge providing context for what you're doing in the world. Without it, the races and events would still be fun, but having at least some motivation and framework for competing in a series of races helps. You need to work your way up a street organization and win favor with other characters, which gives you a reason to play beyond individual race honors.
- A Mostly Arcade-Style Racing Experience. Whether this is a positive or negative depends on your preference, but this isn't a realistic racing sim. It's more Need for Speed than Forza, and the arcadey racing will have you bouncing off walls and ignoring some general laws of physics. This is all fine, and somewhat of a necessity for an open world game. You're bound to hit something while zipping around a city ignoring traffic laws, and if every little steering input behaved like it would in the real world, The Crew simply wouldn't be any fun. As it is, the races are enjoyable (if pretty standard), and the different events you can undertake are challenging. There are bronze, silver, and gold medals awarded depending on how will you perform in events, and each tier provides better parts. Major race types range from traditional races to Raids where you must destroy an opponents vehicle--wactch the clip below of me executing a takedown.
- Plenty Of Car Customization. There were only a handful of rides to choose from in the beta, but there will be plenty more in the full game. That said, there's a lot you can change about your car cosmetically, from the hood and spoiler to the interior colors. The part-swapping is really neat, as well: the different parts hover over the car in place, and the new one comes flying in to replace it as you cycle through the menu to provide a preview of what it'd look like.
Performance-related parts are less fun, and merely provide stat upgrades (which are of course essential). You can equip better parts immediately upon winning them without returning to HQ or a shop, which is useful. There are different 'tuning specs' for each car (such as Street, Dirt, or Raid) to compete in different events. You can unlock and upgrade these, with the HQ serving as a hub for inspecting and changing all of these aspects.
- The Value Of The Always-Online, MMO-Style Of The Game Was Tough To Judge. It's probably because it was the beta, but it was difficult to get a handle on how well-implemented or important the fact that other players are roaming your world will be. When jumping into an event on the map, you can play it solo or invite others to join. The game will send out invites to others, and they can opt in or out (you'll sometimes receive these just while driving around). It's neat, but I'm not sure they need to be in your world for it. Other than that, you'll see people driving around and being chased by the police, the game offering you several notifications about who's the most wanted and if a player evaded capture. This is sometimes distracting and can clutter your HUD with names and notices.
It does make the world feel more alive, but I'm not sure how much you'll care--other features may be implemented that give more of a reason for players to occupy the same world. I will also say, as someone experiencing internet connection problems at home, the always-online world comes with downfalls: you can't play offline and will be booted back to the menu if your connection drops. Not a consistent problem for most, but the benefits of requiring a constant connection need to be worth the chance that this occurs.
- The Crew Often Looks Good, Sometimes Great. In general, the game didn't overwhelm me with its graphics. It's attractive, but not overly impressive--it isn't readily clear on PS4 that this is a next-gen game, and looks similar to Xbox 360 and PS3 racing titles from the past. The large open world with no loading screens is likely the main culprit, as it no doubt takes up much of a console's power. All of that said, the game will still occasionally present you with a great-looking scene--the lighting in particular at certain times of day is attractive and reflects pleasantly off the cars. Mud splattered on the back of your ride is surprisingly satisfying, as well, and it's a good-looking game on the whole.
Those are the main points I came away with, though more could certainly be said. The Crew was recently delayed until December 2, with another console beta planned for November, the original release month. It will be available on PS4, Xbox One and PC.