The first two entries in The Crew franchise cannot be called resounding successes. The first one is remembered mainly due to its wasted potential, while the second drove fans away with its awkward driving model that made you feel like you are trying to pilot soapboxes. After borrowing some inspiration from Forza Horizon, the third episode in Ubisoft’s driving saga invites us to Hawaii to prove that the developers took some serious driving lessons.
The Crew Motorfest is a pure blood arcade game, so don’t expect simulation game depths, yet from the first moments you hit the tarmac you realize the controls feel much more natural than in any previous iteration.
Just as obvious is the fact that the developers took Forza Horizon for a spin and a big gulp of inspiration. The Crew Motorfest, just as the name suggests is another celebration of everything powered by big gas guzzling engines, that invites you to an exotic place to test your driving abilities. Arguably this was seen in games even before Microsoft’s arcade racing game, but here the vibes are oddly familiar.
After sampling different driving styles behind the wheel of different mechanical beasts you have to choose your avatar either from the inclusive premade characters or by building one from scratch. At the beginning the options are quite limited, and no matter how hard you try your avatar will never look natural. This is easily the worst looking part of the game – thankfully you will spend most of your time looking at cars and not at your clumsy character.
Photo: autoevolution
As soon as you choose one of the free vehicle lineups, you are introduced to playlists. These are built in a thematic fashion and introduce your different branches of motorsports. You can get hands-on with American muscle cars, of if you prefer you can try your hand at drifting with Japanese legends. You will inevitably end up exploring the island and also get familiar with supercars, the legendary vehicles of the 50’s and even participate at series of events endorsed by Donut Media or Supercar Blondie.
A peculiar feature of The Crew Motorfest is that many of the races are narrated. Beyond the in-game assistant who will spit our random facts while you’re driving from one race to another, during the event you will be presented various stories about the island by a fictive native, a supposedly legendary rockstar or even well-known influencers already mentioned. While in theory this adds to experience, in reality the not so stelar voice acting is rather distracting from the race.
In order to advance to further playlists, you will have to buy new cars. Fortunately, the game is rather generous with the in-game currency, so the amount of grinding is relatively in check. There is always the option to throw real life currency at the game to unlock new vehicles, but why would you spend even more money on a game that you already bought at full price?!
Photo: autoevolution
The car selection is pretty varied, and you will jump from various Mustangs and Porsche 911s to DeLorean DMC 12, to Ferraris, to Lamborghinis and many other iconic cars. The number of vehicles is not astonishing, but we can be sure that the roster will be extended in time. The advantage is that if you got bored by the 4 wheels, you can switch anytime to a bike, a boat or a plane.
Excellent driving experience
There are plenty of challenges for each type of vehicle, since all unlocked playlists come their own side attractions that will award money, XP points and sometimes even car parts. Similarly, you will uncover treasure chests hidden in the game world that will reward you in the same way. There are also weekly limited events that challenge you not only to complete a specific list of races and tasks, but also pit you against other players in the hope of bagging extra rewards. The more desirable these are, the better you got to be to claim them.
On casual difficulty settings most of the races are a walk in the park, but competing against other human players will be a true test of your skills, pushing you to be better. The game is worth trying on at least normal difficulty to be enjoyable, and to be able to appreciate the physics system that is far better than any Forza game.
From the various offroad terrains that can throw you off track, to the tires that have natural elasticity, to the way your driver reacts to breaking or sudden acceleration, the developers did a great job simulating almost real car physics.
Photo: autoevolution
The visual style overall is eye-catching, but the quality of graphics varies. The cutscenes are out together in a way that really opens your appetite for racing, the lush jungles are full of details, the beaches are just beautiful. On the other hand, the great cities like Honolulu still feel quite empty, with building blocks like buildings, and many of the textures look really rushed. Also, the fixed camera angle feels way too close to the vehicle, compared to what we got used to in other similar games.
The sound part on the other hand, beyond the monotonous voice acting, is another great job. The engine sounds are especially worth mentioning: the sound of older cars is just melody to the ears of gearheads. The playlist is quite varied as well from chillaxing scores to oldies but goldies, rock, EDM, hip-hop everyone will find something to enjoy.
Conclusion
The third time seems to be the charm since The Crew Motorfest took its lessons seriously and turned out to be a well-rounded experience. This is by no means a revolutionary experience, nor does it bring anything new to the genre, but the content is enjoyable and even engaging at some points.
Not to mention that the physics and the sound part stand out even more than the flashy graphics, while the driving experience is well balanced. The Crew Motorfest is a bullseye for those looking for a casual racing experience.
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