There's a new trailer for The Crew that has arrived, courtesy of Ubisoft. The new trailer is pretty slick and sports some really awesome electronic synth music to help propel the action on-screen. The music really is super-awesome. The sweet video collage of racers taking the nation by storm helps offset some unpleasant news regarding the game's online setup and microtransaction business.
So in case you didn't already know, The Crew is one of the few top games out there this year that will be always-on. Here's the complete list in case you were interested.
So, first, get in a good mood about the game by watching the trailer.
Okay good.
Now that your heart is filled with rainbow-ponies and songs of happiness, it's time to trudge into the dark side of gaming.
Videogamer.com decided to ask some tough questions to the Ubisoft team regarding The Crew's always-on type setup. Speaking with creative director Julian Gerighty, he let loose from his lips the following thing...
"I've got to admit though that I think our connection is a little bit more elegant than the Origin/EA server thing," ... "but I'd have to get more details to give you a complete rundown. That said, it's safe to say that if you're doing a mission, you lose your internet connection, you're kicked back to the boot screen."
Essentially he compares The Crew to World of Warcraft. Whether you're playing alone or with friends, solo or multiplayer modes, if you lose connection while playing The Crew you will be knocked offline and out of the game.
Test Drive Unlimited was the same way, which was very weird in my opinion. I mean, the game was supposed to be designed around multiplayer gameplay but other than a few handful of occasions, I rarely ever came across other players. This is with more than 40 hours dumped into the game. It had a competent single-player campaign, but it definitely made me wonder why it's classified as an MMO when multiplayer wasn't one of the game's highlights.
Ubisoft is desperately hoping that The Crew doesn't end up like the ghost town in Test Drive Unlimited. The thing is, they want to aim to appeal to as many gamers as possible, and that means making things as easy as possible for casuals to achieve.
While it's entirely possible to play through and earn/unlock new gear and parts for your cars, it's also equally as convenient to drop real-life coin to unlock parts and gear, too.
A Ubisoft representative revealed to Videogamer.com...
"We can confirm that performance parts can be unlocked through progression as well as microtransactions," ... "All content can be unlocked through progression, but for busy gamers who want to save some time, they will have the opportunity to buy some items in-game."
This has always been a topic of contention, because players who play fair will be playing against players who buy their way into top performance. It was an issue that also plagued Need For Speed World, which ultimately resulted in me leaving the game behind due to people literally paying-to-win.
I don't know how well this will work out, but Gerighty further mentioned that...
"Everything in the game has got this dual currency approach," ... "We're not going to stop you from progressing [if you don't spend money], but it'll be more time."
This game is really starting to feel like a typical MMO. The only thing it's missing is a monthly subscription, even though Gerighty admits that majority of the network setup is through peer-to-peer hosting. All-digital-future and all that jazz.
