The Crew 2 – Preview of the open-world racing game

The Crew 2 promises thrilling races in an open world. Moreover, you should be able to switch vehicles seamlessly and even race across the water from a car to a boat or take off into the air from a plane. How all this works was tested by Jürgen at Gamescom 2017.

I admit: The Crew 2 wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of favorite games from Gamescom 2017. I’m not much of a fan of car racing and vehicles in general. Nevertheless, Ubisoft’s MMO racing game is an interesting title, and so I dutifully went to the playtest appointment at the Ubisoft booth at Gamescom.

The Crew 2 – Unlimited Driving Pleasure in Top Graphics!

Along with a horde of other journalists, I soon found myself in a room full of computers, with an Xbox One controller in front of me. Great, I have almost no experience with gamepads, this will be fun! There was a brief introduction by a friendly Frenchman, and then I could get started.

“Just do whatever you want!” said an employee, briefly explaining the controls to me. Despite the unfamiliar gamepad, it surprisingly went quite well. And overall, the game looked fantastic and driving around was actually fun!

“Look, there’s a river, drive into it and press the following buttons,” said the helpful Ubisoft employee, and before I knew it, I was in a speedboat zooming over the water.

With another key combination, I suddenly became a plane and flew straight through the skyscrapers of the nearby big city. By sheer coincidence, I managed to pull off some cool stunts, such as narrowly zooming between two buildings or flying under a bridge. Points and achievements are awarded for everything.

The Crew 2 – Spontaneous Races or Official Tracks?

The open world of The Crew 2 is indeed vast, and you can practically drive or fly anywhere. Spontaneous races and stunt performances are always possible. However, if you prefer to race according to clear rules, you can do so as well. Special race tracks and game modes can be found all over the map. A click of a button was all it took to send invitations to the other players in the room.

Shortly thereafter, we started a fast-paced motocross race. With my bike, I raced through a hilly track, executing daring jumps and occasionally went off the path. However, this is not a problem; I can always return to the race track with a key combination. Such actions still cost time, of course, but you don’t have to painstakingly turn around and search for your way back into the race. A cool comfort feature.

The Crew 2 – Game Modes, Formula 1, or Drift?

In the motorcycle race, I managed to come in fifth despite all sorts of clumsiness. After a few more open-world detours, I was ready for new races that the friendly Frenchman behind me recommended. The next race was actually not a race at all, as it was all about drifting. So, anyone who drifts particularly effectively and for a long time around deadly tight corners earns points and ultimately victory.

By the way, I was drifting in a city, and quite a few buildings along the way and cafés had to suffer. However, pedestrians always manage to dodge at the last moment; brutal rampages (thankfully) do not happen in The Crew 2.

After the chaotic drift, we then concluded with a Formula 1 race track, where I got to drive a massive racing car. However, at over 200 kilometers per hour, I struggled with the corners. Good thing The Crew 2 disregards realism here, and you only lose speed and thus time if you crash.

Jürgen’s Conclusion on The Crew 2

Wow, at first I really didn’t feel like the playtest appointment for The Crew 2, but in the end, I wanted to take a few more laps, as the Ubisoft staff politely but firmly ushered me out of the room. It’s simply fun to zoom around freely like the wind and switch vehicles in a flash.

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And the race modes distributed all over the map are even cooler when you want to prove your skills in drifting or race through the underbrush. Added to this are the many comfort features, such as the automatic return to the race track or the fast vehicle switching. So, if you enjoy unlimited driving fun with great graphics, you should definitely take a closer look at The Crew 2.

Here you can pre-order The Crew 2 now. The game is set to release on March 16, 2018, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.