NOStradamus: The bright future of The Crew 2
Boosting beyond expectations or off track already?
Before you get revved up over the prospect of The Crew 2, an MMO "car-PG", let's pump the brakes a little here. In 2014 The Crew leapt from the starting grid with vigour but stalled not too far down the road. That'll happen when your ride is riddled with technical issues, a dated graphics engine and car handling as wonky as your main narrative. The Crew 2 sure had a lot of things to tune in the interim. In my opinion, the pit-stop time has been well spent.
I recently had the pleasure of bombing around for a number of hours in The Crew 2 at the local Red Bull HQ in Australia. The flashy venue was a means to set my tonal expectations early it seems, for whereas The Crew was a gritty and dry race across an open-world America, The Crew 2 is jacked up on energy drinks and extreme antics. You're no longer out to clear your name with automobile-obsessed mobsters, you're out to *sigh* gain followers. Yep, this is Watch Dogs 2 on wheels.
But, hey, even if you hate social media with a passion, you'll get invested with your numbers early. The better you do in this virtual popularity contest, the more racing disciplines and opportunities become unlocked. Yes, if you endure the hammy advice from a bunch of brain-dead mentors, you'll be given the chance to go beyond land-based racing to get radical on the sea and in the air. They'll give you wings, I guess is the most marketable way to explain it.
From there, your vehicular options splinter off into an overwhelming number of sub-categories of racing. Street Racing Discipline focuses on four vehicle specs – Street, Drag, Drift and Hypercars. The Freestyle Discipline features Aerobatics (plane), Jetsprint (boat) and Monster Truck specs. Offroad Discipline features Rally Raid, Rally Cross and Motorcross specs and Pro Racing Discipline features Power Boat, Circuit, Alpha GP and Stunt Planes. Enjoy unrestrained exploration on ground, sea and sky.
Click to buy The Crew 2 from Amazon AU
The content is overflowing and the chance of emergent fun is high, thanks to a bloody enormous sandbox, but what about the key areas that were flubbed in the original? Visually, I think this sequel has come a very long way, though it simply cannot compete with the eye candy Playground Games achieves with Forza Horizon. That said, an entire continent is a much wider canvas to fill for Ivory Tower and the team is punching well above its weight in a macro sense.
I wish I could be as enthusiastic about the handling, but it's a very mixed bag at this point. Traditional four-wheel-based racing feels like an immediate improvement over The Crew 2's predecessor. Differing terrain types need to be respected during your colossal Gumball 3000 races and individual cars feel like they have their own unique flavours to savour.
Be that as it may, I'm worried that The Crew 2 is in danger of some jack-of-all-trades syndrome. Low-lights included the floaty dirt bikes which, frankly, weren't much fun to use at all. I'm also not convinced that sea racing is as visceral as it ought to be. Boating felt like powering across a salt flat – not wrestling with the liquid mogul field that is your average harbour. Here's hoping inclement weather adds waves into the final version. We know Ubisoft has the ocean tech to do it.
I also have a few reservations when it comes to aerial racing. A greater sense of speed wouldn't go astray as would a larger pool of tricks – it seemed like I was being asked to bust out the same half a dozen twists and turns. What I am in favour of is the somewhat pointless ability to shapeshift from a plane into a boat in mid-air. Thunking down into a Las Vegas river canal from 50 metres up feels pretty badass.
Beyond my aforementioned concerns, The Crew 2 looks to be veering back on course quite nicely. It's sure to place highly on the podium, providing it can dodge the usual potholes that face any MMORPG – a balanced and fair meta that's devoid of pay-to-win microtransactions, technical stability and a decent end-game. Nail those things, while steering clear of a bunch of “totes lit and in-my-face” commentators, and The Crew 2 could be well worth buckling up for.
Latest gaming headlines

Twitch Prime subscribers can score Apex Legends loot by connecting their account
Find out how to score your free Pathfinder skin and 5 loot crates on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Read more…

Final Fantasy XIV float heading to the 2019 Sydney Mardi Gras
This year's parade will have a particularly fantastic float. Read more…

HyperX Cloud Mix review: The best of both worlds
If you're looking for a high-quality wired gaming headset that can double as your everyday wireless headphones, the HyperX Cloud Mix should be very high on your list. Read more…

Far Cry New Dawn Review: Soaked with rads but not radically different
Far Cry 5's co-op hijinks are still rad but this mad-cap spin-off can easily be missed. Read more…

Metro Exodus review: Subway, eat flesh
Metro Exodus for PS4, Xbox One and PC stands tall with other AAA surface-dwellers. Read more…

Hands-on with The Division 2: The mother of all government shutdowns
In The Division's trip to Washington, content is king and the player's time is respected. Read more…

Kingdom Hearts III review: Doesn’t take the Mickey
This dazzling sequel isn't as finely tuned as it should be but it still has some Sorcerer's Apprentice-level magic in store. Read more…

Final Fantasy XV crossover coming to Final Fantasy XIV
Knock about with Noctis and take flight with the Regalia when Final Fantasy XIV X Final Fantasy XV releases. Read more…

Square Enix details Viera at Final Fantasy Fan Fest
Arguably the biggest request for Final Fantasy XIV has finally been answered and fans are lapin it up. Read more…

Twitch Prime subscribers can try Final Fantasy XIV for free from Feb
If you've been thinking about dipping your toezeas into Eorzea, Twitch Prime will give you access to the Starter Pack this Feb. Read more…

Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers details revealed at Fan Fest
Everything you need to know about the upcoming expansion straight from the floor at Fan Fest. Read more…

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe review
If you avoided Wii's less-than-successful successor, the definitive version of New Super Mario Bros. offers some damn good platforming. Read more…