Ubisoft Talks Racing: Shows off The Crew

Ubisoft make a mention of next gen gaming, and they announce a new IP called The Crew. It is an open world racer with many features underneath the hood.

What sort of game is this? It looks like a racer, but what is going on beneath the surface? A city context is demonstrated, showing some intense highway and street racing. This race speeds on out of the city, showcasing a much more rural and open area. Right after this, the camera zooms out, showing not only the person currently racing, but also others around them racing around the map. Iconic city streets, deserts, mountains, sand dunes, and so on and so forth. The environments are clearly vast, and said to be incredibly open.

The game is an online persistent world. Now before you scream “OMG ANOTHER ONLINE ONLY GAME OR ONLINE REQUIREMENT,” that is not the case. It is possible to play single player, but the game is better when experienced in an online manner.

The demonstration takes us to New York, where the gamer is currently part of an illegal street race. The second player is exploring an area near Mount Rushmore, searching out for some loot which provides experience, cash and parts. The third player is riding through the back roads of Nervada. He is part of a challenge where he is attempting to beat a ghost car. The catch is his car is made for tar surface only, and the ghost car has been racing offroad. The last player is in the streets of Miami. The last player is struggling with his last mission, so he sends a request to his friends (the three players we just saw), asking that they help him on his quest.

The customization is quite in-depth, with cars being tunable to every single kind of race requirement. The car is entirely strippable and customizable, and this is demonstrated briefly on screen.

Finally, the team meet up and begin the challenge. Riding alongside each other, they are tasked with bringing down a car. There is a timelimit which adds to the tension. The race takes them through the city, and even along the nearby beach. The crew manage to take down the target and are ranked and rewarded accordingly.

As the crew celebrate their victory, a rival crew appears and presents a new challenge to be undertaken.

One final feature that was shown, is the fact that you can customise your car by means of a tablet (an iPad in this case). A nice touch, but its not the only feature that a second screen will offer (and no other features are mentioned).

Personally, I’m not a fan of racing games, but this game does look like its attempting to inject some new life into the genre and shake things up a little.

Last Updated: June 11, 2013