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The Crew review: U-turn
Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PC In the course of the last console generation, Ubisoft has gone from "the French publisher behind the Tom Clancy games" to the world's leading creator of lucrative open-world sandbox franchises (by quantity, if not quality). This success hinges on a simple formula shared by all of Ubisoft's open-world games: Large, interesting worlds plus tons of things to see and do equals happy customers. Based on massive sales and a decade of largely positive critical response, this seems like a solid and, more crucially, reproducible formula. With The Crew, Ubisoft and developer Ivory Tower hope to apply those principles to the world of arcade-style racing games while also tacking on an omnipresent multiplayer component that supposedly makes the game's world – an abridged take on the entire contiguous United States – feel more alive, while also making it simple and fun to race around the country with your friends online. It's an idea that's undeniably ambitious and, if executed properly, could propel The Crew to the front of the racing game pack. Unfortunately, this racer is more Yugo than Porsche.
FIFA 15 reclaims top, The Crew cuts in at sixth in UK charts
Captain Toad isn't adventuring in Europe until next month, so that leaves The Crew as the only major new release in this week's UK charts. Ubisoft's online-roaming racer takes to the grid in sixth place, cruising just behind the typical glob of big hitters. You can tell the silly season's beginning to die out when the latest FIFA is back on top, sat just in front of the latest Call of Duty. Just to prove it's not too predictable, this week the UK chucks Lego Batman 3 back up to fifth on the back of retailer promotions, while lower down Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix debuts in 31st place. For the full top ten and the customary (but not predictable) music video, head past the break.
Gone in 180 seconds - Watch The Crew's CGI launch trailer
It's a case of the fast, furious, and CGI spurious in this trailer for The Crew. While it may not show gameplay, it's still a glossy escort for Ubisoft's open-world multiplayer racer. If you're the fast and the curious, the game launches on PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC today.
Everyone can hang out with The Crew in next week's open beta
Well, not quite everyone; PS4 and Xbox One owners can test-drive The Crew's open beta between Tuesday, November 25 and Thursday, November 27. Then, five days later on December 2, Ubisoft Reflections' and Ivory Tower's persistent-world racer launches worldwide for PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC - perhaps with its own live updates blog. Beta players can roam free across the entire open world of Americana, condensed into the five major regions of the Midwest, East Coast, South, Mountain States and West Coast. In the beta, challenges and player vs. player lobbies are limited to the first two of those regions, and Ubisoft notes "some online features" - i.e. multiplayer - require a Xbox Live Gold or PS Plus membership.
The Crew coming to Xbox 360
Open world racer The Crew was already scheduled to hit PCs, the PlayStation 4, and the Xbox One on November 11th. Now we can add one more platform to that launch date, as Ubisoft has said via press release that the game is also heading to the Xbox 360. The 360 version is being developed by Asobo Studio with assistance from Ivory Tower, Ubisoft Reflections, and Ubisoft Shanghai. Have a look at the game's new "Playground" trailer after the break.
Video preview: Ubisoft's open-world racer The Crew
Even the long, flat, dull, utterly unentertaining drive from downtown San Francisco to Salt Lake City is bearable in Ubisoft's The Crew, a new open-world racing game that draws its roads and racing tracks from the entire United States. It's a compressed, embellished America, allowing you to drive from, say, New York to Miami, with three of your friends and a desire to collect and upgrade a sparkling set of vehicles. With challenges and events littering its massive country, The Crew is less a white-knuckle test of driving skill, and more of a steady road trip meant to amass better cars, better parts and better loot. It's not quite Diablo with cars, though, and we see why in our new video preview above. The Crew is set to arrive on PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One this Fall. Check out the latest trailer right after the break. [Image: Ubisoft]
The Crew encourages playing well with others
The Crew's emphasis on co-op will be worth more than just the feel-good vibes of teamwork. Extra XP, cash and car parts will be earned by those who team up. Players can help friends by dropping into challenges via the overworld map. The Crew will burn rubber on the PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
The Crew hits the road Q1 2014
Ubisoft Reflections and Ivory Tower's next-gen open-world driving game The Crew has just had its release window narrowed slightly. "The team's vision has been validated by very positive feedback from the press and the community," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said today during a financial conference call. "The production planning is on track for release in the first quarter of calendar 2014." We had known previously that the game would be out sometime in early 2014, but this clarification places its release somewhere within the first three months of the year. The Crew is currently planned for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, though Guillemot made no mention of how concurrent the PC release will be with its console brethren.
The Crew announced by Ubisoft, coming early 2014 [update: trailers]
The Crew was present and correct at Ubisoft's E3 conference today. As expected, it's an open-world racer from Ubisoft Reflections and Ivory Tower, and it's coming early next year to the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Ubisoft says it's using next-gen hardware with The Crew to "change the status quo" of driving games. The Crew will feature an online persistent representation of the US, in which players infiltrate criminal organizations in individual cities. Ubisoft says the online persistent world "blurs the lines" between the game's single-player, multiplayer, and co-op. Ubisoft showed off a demo featuring four players playing in four different US cities. One player was taking part in an illegal street race, while another was fighting through a 20-second trial, and the third was racing against a ghost. The final player called upon the first three to join him in a co-op mission in Miami, demonstrating how The Crew doesn't need a lobby for online multiplayer. The game will also have a companion 'second screen' app on iOS and Android. Update: We've added the announcement trailer (above) and gameplay demo (below the break). A press release notes the game is also coming to PC, and we've updated the post as such. %Gallery-190970%
Watch a full match of Team Slayer on Halo: Reach's Reflection map
For being a remake of Halo 2's Ivory Tower, Reflection doesn't look like it's changed much. Aside from giving it a graphical overhaul, the map's layout in Halo: Reach is pretty much what we remember. Large open area, some tight hallways and that elevator -- we call it the "deathvator" because, let's be honest, anybody riding that thing is going to get murdered. Head on past the break and soak in five minutes of what the latter half of your September is going to be like, courtesy of 343 Industries. [Thanks, Glenn]
