STACK #122 Dec 2015

GAMES

FEATURE

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activities. We wanted every player to be able to live their own adventure while progressing with their friends. If you want to team-up with them for a few missions then go back to exploring the world alone, you must be able to do so, but you shouldn’t end up behind them next time you meet. The choice of a specific activity over another should never appear as something slowing down your progression. Another major challenge was the story line, and creating unique experiences for each player; a problem most developers working on MMOs are familiar with. As each player will be going through the same story missions, it is important to offer a large variety of gameplay elements, allowing for a custom experience at the same time. With such an extensive play area, what activities can we expect to be playing outside of standard race events? The game features a large amount of activities for every player to enjoy. Missions are the narrative glue of the game and you’ll find seven different types of them: from races to takedowns, from collect missions with items scattered across an area to delivery missions with specific constraints. Skill challenges will put your driving capabilities to the test, focusing on eight different types of skills. Whether it’s precision, speed, drifting or managing your boost, learn to master all of them to become a complete driver. PvP will take different forms based on whether you’re playing alone, in a crew, or even as a representative of your faction. Finally, exploration – it may just be sightseeing – will offer another range of activities, unlocking every secret the game has to offer or visiting landmarks. Will the game cater for players who prefer to compete alone as opposed to with a crew? Every activity in the game will be playable solo or in co-op. But that doesn’t mean you necessarily have a greater chance of success in co-op. Drivers willing to put in the effort to develop their individual skills will definitely be rewarded for it. One of the best examples of

that is actually in skill challenges. In those, you’re comparing yourself to every other player in the world through online leader boards and ghosts. It’s about your capacity to top the others. Sure, having a few friends ramming into traffic vehicles that could hinder your performance in a slalom challenge can be of some help, but overall, the difference will be made on your individual driving skills. Can we expect to find secrets throughout the game? Perhaps hidden cars a la Need for Speed: MostWanted ? Yes, there will indeed be “secrets” scattered around the world for players to find. And it might very well unlock new cars Obviously the game will feature some form of narrative? Can you tell us about this? Without getting too much into details, there will indeed be a story. We’ve been working with Christian Cantamessa, writer on Red Dead Redemption and more recently on Shadow of Mordor. Players will be taken on a road trip across the country, starting in the Midwest and travelling across every region of the map. As those of you who played the beta already now, it involves infiltrating a gang of illegal street racers in order to reach its head that got your brother murdered. Is there a limit to the customisation options for a particular vehicle? How far can you go? Customisation is really deep; we wanted players to make meaningful choices

• The Crew is out now

The cosmetic part is only about the looks but it’s what will actually make your car different than the others while you’re

on the road. From rims to stickers, fenders and wings, you can change every element of your vehicle. Even the interior can be customised for a total of nine different parts on the cosmetic side. The performance part is where the RPG mechanics kick in. This is where you choose to focus on specific stats and enhance your vehicle to perform better. From engine to chassis, eleven different parts can be customised on the technical side. How do you see a game like The Crew developing as a franchise?What direction would you like to see the game go? Of course launching the game this December is only a start for us. We definitely want to keep developing the IP on its current pillars and we already have several ideas regarding new ways to expand the game. We’re also very curious to see how the community will react and what they’ll be looking for in the future.

between car parts, just the way they would do in a more traditional fantasy-based MMORPG. In that regard, we split the customisation in two main aspects: cosmetic and performance.

DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

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