The Crew, no regrets, thus far

The Crew was originally a spontaneous purchase, a used-but-new-to-us game for the Xbox One. My first hopes were dashed after we (as in the family) discovered it was an online experience that only one person at a time could enjoy. However, should things unfold as I hope, that could change, soon.

As I got more involved into the game, I started to make the connections to other title elements of the same genre that I had played before. The open world environment offered a sense of freedom from restrictions, much like Test Drive Unlimited and Need for Speed World (to a degree) and seeing other players driving around was like a homecoming of sorts.

The storyline presented wasn't a truly original idea or plot, but it moved the singleplayer experience along quite nicely. I was rather impressed with the level of detail from the whole game experience, from the renderings of the player controlled vehicles to the compressed environment of the United States, with all the landmarks and tourist traps.

Of course, that's just the base game. Add in the Wild Run DLC and I could have experienced motorcycles, monster trucks and dragsters (all of which existed in other games, as official or player addons), not to mention Summits, special events to climb a few leaderboards for bragging rights and prizes.

Now, here comes Calling All Units. Other than adding in the option to have police cars of my own and not to sound too critical, it doesn't hold much additional interest for me. Not to say I wouldn't pick this up at a later date, but for now, as a racer, I am having a blast. From collecting the crates and the prizes inside....

.... to outrunning, outmaneuvering both player and AI controlled police units and their tactics....

....almost more fun than I can handle.

I will admit that I did have certain doubts about using the Cadillac Escalade to begin with, especially in police chases. Originally acquired through a glitch, programming error or some other unexplainable means, this vehicle has proven it's worth in situations that could have spelled disaster if I was using almost anything else. Although I prefer the Dirt Spec model, it doesn't seem to be suffering from any serious limitations because of this classification. On road or off, this black beauty has earned it's place as a keeper in my garage.