The Crew 2 Reviews
While it certainly improves upon the original in many ways, The Crew 2 is a step backwards overall. Its rubberband AI is some of the worst in recent memory and its version of America feels empty, not at all like Forza Horizon, the game it really wants to be.
It's not bad, but it lacks imagination outside of the singular gimmick that you can change vehicles at any time, and ends up just being rather average.
Right now, this is an awful lot of not very much.
The Crew 2 is an ambitious undertaking that puts over-the-top arcade racing front and center. Though it makes large strides in the right direction over its predecessor, it suffers from odd game design choices, a lack of PvP, and a lackluster presentation that puts it squarely in the rearview mirror of its competition.
Ubisoft's open-world racer ditches the cringe-worthy storyline and is all the better for it, but it's a bit hectic.
In this road-trip fantasy, you can drag-race in Vegas, meander through Manhattan and divebomb off Mount Rushmore. So why isn't it more fun?
Maybe sometime next year The Crew 2 will start to feel like the sequel we all deserve, but as it stands right now, it certainly doesn't.
An avalanche of racing goodness, hokey social media anchoring and an oddly sparse open world aren't enough to prevent The Crew 2 from improving on the original in every way and providing a multi-disciplined racer that is quite unlike any other on PS4.
While it's disappointing to see The Crew 2 fall into some of the same pitfalls as its predecessor, its open world remains one of the most impressive playgrounds, in terms of scale, out there. Sure, there's very little reason to explore its vast road networks outside of its visual appeal, but the sheer variety of different events, from nerve racking aerial races to coast-to-coast endurance runs, will still get your heart racing.
The Crew 2 is an impressively large game with a lot to do. Cars, planes and boats, travelling the USA is fun. The problem is that almost everything else ends up feeling the same and, eventually, boring.
Is The Crew 2 an improvement on the original? Without a doubt, yes. Should Forza Horizon be worried? Nope.
In a way The Crew 2 is a better game from the old, but in another way, it is also very much the same flawed racer. There is a lot of good here: open world, four racing types, huge customization, and tons of races. However, as a racing game, you'd do better with Mario Kart.
Throw in some odd design choices, a dull story, and lukewarm presentation and The Crew 2 is an ambitious game that doesn't achieve its potential, nor does it approach the standard of some other open-world racers available today.
The Crew 2 is fast, fun and offers a flexible gameplay experience. But, a sense of imbalance throughout the game causes it to be a bit of a rough ride.
Ubisoft's free roam driving sequel is full of things to do, but the environments can feel a bit empty at times
Despite significant progress in comparison with the first game, The Crew 2 has a number of problems with graphics, weak AI, lack of PVP modes... Always online and races on the planes are also disappointing elements. But even so, you can spend hundreds of hours in The Crew 2 and have a lot of fun.
Review in Russian | Read full review
The Crew 2's evident ambition to encompass cars, planes and boats into a seamless sporting experience is admirable, but constantly undermined by the bland, unattractive shell in which it's contained.
The Crew 2‘s digital recreation of American remains as inviting as it was in the first game, and the diverse event types and new air and water vehicles mix things up in a good way. Eventually, however, the aggressively grindy loop of replaying races to upgrade your vehicles will leave you feeling like a theme park custodian: You're surrounded by attractions that should be such fun, yet you're stuck doing mindless chores instead.
The Crew 2 is an improvement over its predecessor in most ways. It is truly a gearhead's playground, with plenty of customization and tweaking options, combined with arcade gameplay to give a more relaxed feeling. Rubber-banding AI can be annoying to deal with, an issue which is more evident in some events, like street races, than in others. Despite some flaws, The Crew 2 is a fun rush of whatever kind of racing players desire.