The Crew buckles up for a new open-world adventure set in the tropical paradise of Hawaii, according to leaked screenshots and information from Reddit. The Crew's sequel The Crew 2 released in 2018 to mixed reception from racing gamers, who critique the game's lacking graphics and story while approving of its variety of racing modes.
Initial footage of the sequel released back in 2017 as part of a three-minute E3 trailer. Ubisoft and Ivory Tower marketed The Crew 2 as an open-world racer allowing players to do pretty much anything, built around the appeal of racing all sorts of vehicles in locations like New York, San Fransisco and even Mount Rushmore. Upon release, The Crew 2 was reviewed decently well by some publications, but was generally considered underwhelming, with complaints stemming from a lack of depth and replayability. The Crew 2 has mostly failed to rectify these shortcomings following its release, as the DLC season passes only included new vehicles for players to drive.
If the leak detailed by VGC is true, Ubisoft and Ivory Tower look to change their luck with the future of the franchise. Rather than unrealistic recreations of Miami, St. Louis and other famous cities, data-mined screenshots from The Crew 2 suggest that the The Crew: Orlando will take place in Hawaii, despite the nickname. Tom Henderson on Twitter gives his take on the leak, linking to the original source on Reddit. Henderson describes The Crew: Orlando as "a completely new game with a new driving engine," currently in pre-Alpha without a planned release date. He hesitates to call the rumored game a reboot, as he specifies in a reply to his first Tweet. But he reports that a complete "overhaul" of The Crew 2 has ensued.
The Crew series has yet to reach the name recognition of competing open-world racers like Gran Turismo and Forza. Given how the upcoming Gran Turismo 7's online requirement requirement for single-player has alienated fans of that series, Project Orlando may have a chance to surpass its competition with the right execution. The detailed graphics and in-depth physics of Gran Turismo 7 have come underscored by frustration at the decision to keep the single-player campaign restricted to online, meant to prevent players from hacking save files. A complete overhaul of The Crew 2 would likely mean learning from the more blatant missteps of its competition. Project Orlando will at least have an opportunity to bring new modes of racing to the table. Per VGC, one of these new modes will include “a breathless crew vs crew race" where as many as 100 players can compete against each other.
Leaks like these often fuel speculation among gamers for months to come, and the screenshots for this new addition to The Crew franchise will likely be scrutinized for some time. Gamers will have to wait for official word from Ivory Tower to find out for certain if this tropical open-world racer marks the newest entry in the series, and the newest racing game to throw its hat in the ring alongside the PS5 headliner Gran Turismo 7.
Source: VGC, Tom Henderson/Twitter
https://ift.tt/3o9GgN4
September 25, 2021 at 02:11AM
