"The Crew 2" Review

Whether by land, air or sea, "The Crew 2" is filled with ways for you to seek racing and trick-executing thrills as you seek to amass followers and rise to fame.

The motif has you as a fledgling multidisciplinary racer who takes part on a reality show. With fans gawking at your every move, the setup feels like a benevolent version of the all-consuming social network that enslaves the populace in Ubisoft's "Watch Dogs" series.

With four years to refine and add on to concepts from the original, the dev team at Ivory Tower has taken intensive care to fill in the holes left by the 2014 original, which tended to devolve into progress bottlenecks, with little inducement to return other than a compulsive completionism.

With loads of unlockable courses, boats and aircraft models to unlock, there's always a reason to plunge back into the fray. Everything you do on the track contributes to your ongoing quest to tack onto your fame.

The visuals, sound and presentation get ample upgrades, making it even tougher to go back to the original. If you were a fan of "The Crew," you'll find the sequel superior in just about every way.

If you tried "The Crew" and lost interest, you'll find the newer game much tougher to peel away from and all but impossible to trade in. A vibrant, vital effort that fulfills your racing needs on several fronts, "The Crew 2: is an all-around impressive effort that makes you feel the thrills and speeds it seeks to simulate.
Publisher provided review code.