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The Crew 2 locations to get excited about
From East Coast to West, this recreation of the USA has a lot to offer.
Attempting to bring the entire contiguous United States into a single game is, to say the least, ambitious. The Crew 2 is doing exactly that, though, and is expanding on the options and details available to you over those in the first game.
With so much to do and see it can be overwhelming to define a clear path of action when you get behind the wheel for the first time. So, as a gift from us to you, we thought we’d highlight some of the key places you should add to your The Crew 2 bucket list.
Here is our rundown of the locations you should immediately check out when The Crew 2 is released on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on 29 June.
New York City’s waterways
Is there a more iconic metropolis than New York City? The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, it’s all here. You can’t turn a corner without standing in the shadow of a recognisable building, street or monument.
While street racing along Madison Avenue and through Times Square is appealing, it’s the waterways around Manhattan that we’re perhaps most excited about. There’s a particular charm to experiencing the city’s landmarks from the water, sun setting in the background, so we’re hoping that this translates meaningfully here, while skimming across the water in a powerboat.
Given New York’s fame across the world, you can expect many of The Crew 2’s players to congregate in and around the city looking for competitors and new friends.
Florida Everglades
Forest meets sea in the Everglades
© Ubisoft
The Crew 2 isn’t all concrete and steel, however, and the inclusion of the Florida Everglades stands as perfect example of exactly that. Narrow channels running between forests of trees and undergrowth make for technically challenging boat racing, serving up a very different kind of experience than that offered by the water in and around New York City.
Given the tight confines, it’s as important to keep a check on the position of your opponents as it is to master the racing line. In this environment you are definitely going to come into direct contact with other vehicles and often it’s the racers with the most daring and aggression that are going to come out on top.
In a land full of crocodiles, this kind of fierce racing acts as a perfect mirror to the natural world.
Inner-city Los Angeles
The home of The Crew 2’s drift racing competitions, Los Angeles tasks you with mastering your technical racing skills in order to tame its collection of inner-city highways and the long, winding mountain roads on its outskirts.
A racer’s paradise, this is the best place to show off your new rims and spoilers and demonstrate just how much rubber you’re capable of leaving on the asphalt. Like New York, Los Angeles is full of landmarks that you’ll recognise, but the addition of sun and sand gives it a very different feel to its East Coast sibling.
If you’ve got the endurance then Los Angeles is the best place to begin an entire cross-country drive, journeying through mountains and prairies and finishing in New York City.
Fly through the Grand Canyon
The inclusion of planes drastically diversifies your travel options
© Ubisoft
With the introduction of planes, taking to the skies is an option no matter where you are. You might want to fly high and fast in an attempt to set a coast-to-coast aerial navigation record, or you may prefer to glide low and slow over The Crew 2’s cities to gain a different perspective than that available from the road.
Whatever you choose, don’t ignore planes as an option for both travel and entertainment. The Crew 2’s planes are incredibly nimble, allowing you to perform all kinds of acrobats – from loop-the-loops to flying over the USA upside down.
A favourite journey of ours, based on our few hours with the game so far, is a complete fly through of the Grand Canyon at river basin level. It’s as thrilling as it is spectacular.
Las Vegas Strip
Nowhere brings more crazy than Vegas
© Ubisoft
If you’re looking for a little more neon with your racing then your first stop should be Las Vegas – home to casinos, clear skies and a glut of high-powered supercars. The wide roads are perfect for drag racing and other high-speed challenges, while the surrounding desert offers plenty for those who prefer the dirt to the tarmac.
Las Vegas’s location means it serves as a good place to start any number of adventures. To the west is California’s Joshua Tree National Park and the Pacific coastline, to the south is Monument Valley and the deserts of Arizona and to the east are the mountains of Utah and Colorado.
Whatever you decide to do here you need to remember to look good doing it. You’ll never make it in Vegas if you don’t look the part.
Monument Valley
From Forrest Gump to The Searchers, Back to the Future III to Easy Rider, Monument Valley has served as the backdrop to some of the finest movies of all time. In The Crew 2, however, you can be the star of one of the USA’s most spectacular natural vistas.
You’ll need an offroad vehicle to take best advantage of this rocky, dry, desert environment, so make sure you’re well-versed in the nuances of the available quad bikes, dirt bikes and four-wheel drive trucks before venturing out into this wilderness.
Once you’re finished tearing through the red-rocked vistas you can relax a little and use The Crew 2’s inbuilt photo mode features to capture your presence in what’s surely going to prove to be one of the most beautiful sights on offer here.
