The post-release support for The Crew 2 has been nothing sort of outstanding. After releasing in June 2018, Season 4, Episode 1: The Contractor marks the seventh Motorflix addition, coming over three years into its lifecycle.
The open-world racing game – read RPG – is all about car tuning, levelling up, XP earning, credit spending sprees and the whole of the USA driveable within a dynamic weather model, offline or online with friends.
On a technical level, this is one of Ubisoft’s crowning achievements and something that developer Ivory Tower deserves more recognition for.
Where it doesn’t quite stack up against more contemporary rivals is the driving experience. You never really feel like the car is following your inputs, instead, it’s like The Crew 2 game is a sentient being that steers the vehicles on your behalf.
Still, the regular content drops have kept my interest, even after all this time, and following the recent US Speed Tour East and West, The Contractor arrives on 17th November with yet another new twist on the proven formula.
Your character will now take the role of a taxi, limo and delivery driver. A suite of new ‘Activities’ are available, all of them involving the collection and delivery of an item or impatient customer. Pick up the package race through the streets of the United States following the GPS and, crucially, beat the target time.
In essence, this is Uber Driver: The Game.
The missions remind me of side-quests within a Grand Theft Auto game, and indeed, they don’t hold enough weight. These are a small addition many years into development, so it’s hardly expected that they would offer something radically different. I did, however, prefer the races or stunt challenges in the previous Motorflix episodes more.
As with each previous update, the vehicles are the main draw, and here The Contractor doesn’t disappoint. For just one in-game Crew Credits, you can pick up a Ford Crown Victoria cab – the previous mainstay of New York streets. Apple pie, beef jerky, The Star-Spangled Banner and a Crown Vic. America.
Owning this vehicle will enable you to take part in the taxi drop-off missions for Marco’s Cabs. Alongside this six-seater luxo-barge are four cars that can be acquired through the Motorpass.
Complete challenges and you unlock several customisation options, plus the odd vehicle. On the free tier, reaching level 49 unlocks the Chevrolet 3100 truck emblazoned with The Rocket Co. Delivery firm insignia – allowing you to take part in the assignments in something other than a taxi.
If you unlock the Premium Motorpass for 80,000 CC, you also receive the Cadillac Coupe DeVille cab, so you can switch up the people-ferrying missions and not just stick with the Ford. For reference, a pack of 100,000 CC costs £7.99/$9.99 and you can also earn them by levelling up.
A specially modified nearly-1000bhp Chrysler 300C limousine is also unlocked immediately if you go one step further and purchase the 150,000 CC Premium Bundle Motorpass that unlocks the first 12 tiers of items. Alternatively, the limo unlocks at level 13, and a tuned lime green Alfa Romeo Guila at level 33.
Also arriving in-game on the same day are further variants of the Crown Vic and Chevrolet pickup.
The Vegas-spec Chrysler limo takes the limelight here, surprisingly. I dismissively chided the stretched Bentley-lookalike as a cumbersome boat. But, thanks to the power and not-even-slightly authentic handing model, this put a smile upon my face. It’s just ridiculous, especially in pink.
This leads me on to one of The Crew 2’s trump cards – customisation. The Chevy truck in particular features a cascade of swappable elements, from hoods to fenders. When you select a vehicle that has the full range of visual options available (sadly but perhaps understandably the cabs do not) you can truly make something your own.
The Contractor once again highlights the game’s highlights and lowlights. I had fun playing through and editing the new content, but the underlying gameplay still doesn’t quite do it for me and the user interface is just as cluttered as it ever was.
On the flip side, playing through the latest Urban Jam taxi-themed Live Summit, where you will be able to compete for the best online leaderboard times to unlock rewards, is as competitive as ever and a reminder that there are some excellent ideas within The Crew 2.
The Crew 2, Season 4 Episode 1: The Contractor, including the new vehicles, will be available on 17th November for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players.
The Crew 2, Season 4 Episode 1: The Contractor vehicles
Across two episodes, Season 4 of The Crew 2 will deliver 25 vehicles. From the 17th November, with The Contractor launch, here’s what’s available.
- Ford Crown Victoria Marco’s Cab 2008 – 1 CC
- Ford Crown Victoria 2008
- Ford Crown Victoria 2008 Limousine
- Chrysler 300C SRT8 Limousine 2013 – Level 13 of Motorpass
- Alfa Romeo Giulia QV Outclassed Edition 2017 – Level 33 of Motorpass
- Cadillac Coupe Deville Marco’s Cab 1949 – Level 1 of Motorpass
- Cadillac Deville (Coupé) 1949
- Chevrolet 3100 The Rocket Co. 1953 – Level 49 of Motorpass
- Chevrolet 3100 1953
The Contractor Motorpass options
- Access to all 50 tiers of items
- Receive immediately Cadillac Coupe Deville Marco’s Cab 1949 with one smoke and one helmet
- Access to all 50 tiers of items
- Unlock 12 tiers and receive immediately one smoke, lement, tint, nitro, horn, perfparts set and outfit, plus two underglows, tires, CC packs and Bucks Packs
- Receive immediately Cadillac Coupe Deville Marco’s Cab 1949
- Receive immediately Chrysler 300C SRT8 Limousine 2013
