Last week the second beta of Ivory Tower’s new Ubisoft distributed release took me to the open roads and ignoring the plot line (which however is very enjoyable). During my initial time with the game, I’d mainly followed the storyline. This time I hit the open road and didn’t look back! What really makes The Crew incredible is it’s open sandbox world that allows you to explore across a condensed version of The United States of America. The beauty and pure artwork of all it all is the changing landscape as you seamlessly cruise across the vast open highways. The game itself seems to focus on bouncing you from city to city on a quest to raise up your rank, but I’m sure the true staying power will be in traveling around the immense landscape provided just for fun. What did I do this time around? Read on!
As before, the games story begins near Detroit. After doing what little needed to be done to clear the main story and tutorial missions, I set out on a huge trek to Seattle. Again this is where the crew shines. During this time I’d drive past Chicago, along huge highways, some elevated, going out into more wooded land. Finally I broke free into the mountain ranges and spent time winding my way through a series of twisting roadways. Snow soon followed and a winter wonderland sprawled out before me as I continued through the beautiful scenery. Finally I got into more temperate climates and arrived at the screenshot above. (Yes we do have permission from Ubisoft to share it).
It’s incredible to consider this journey probably took anywhere from half an hour to forty minutes without any loading times. Next thing I knew after driving around in Seattle for awhile, I was down in redwood forests taking back roads and working my way down towards LA. Taking in the whole coastal area was a fantastic experience that I missed out on during my first beta of the game. Driving right down to the Mexican boarder, I finally fast travelled back to Detroit and began driving down to Florida.
My trip finally ended after reaching the far bottom corner of the Miami Keys. Along the way though I went through so much beautiful Florida farmland and urban sprawl. I can hardly wait for the release of The Crew. It’s a game you just want to dive into and experience. The story seems fun so far and the action is very enjoyable. Travelling across America in this title is shaping up to be a fantastic journey that feels like a worthwhile grand adventure for Next Gen and PC gamers.
