Racing games, as if in spite of their dynamics, represent almost the most conservative genre, which has remained virtually unchanged for many years. It seems that the last big revolution was back in 86, when the creators of Out Run came up with the idea of hanging a camera behind the car being driven.
No, small revolutions happened every now and then. Well, let’s say it’s not a revolution, but fashion trends have blown. Here, she taught us to love rally racing and off-road racing. instilled a tender feeling for spectacular accidents, chaos and destruction. gave birth to a fashion for street racing and tuning. But most of these trends lasted no more than a couple of seasons, and the entire racing genre eventually degenerated into a conveyor belt similar to games in the . How many of you buy more than one racing game a year? Same thing. And all because sometimes we just want to drive cool cars and look at the surrounding delights through the prism of next-gen - dashingly, fun, without bothering our heads with new rules.
Best the enemy of the good
And so, Ubisoft, it seems, has decided not just to launch one of the first racing games for top platforms, but to follow in the footsteps of those same trendsetters in its attempt to forever change the genre as we know it. The development of the masterpiece was entrusted to the studio Ivory Tower. Moreover, this is their first project. But it is worth considering that at one time the employees managed to work on such lines as Need for Speed, Test Drive Unlimited and V-Rally, in a word, the team is new, but experienced. And in the game we clearly see this experience. We see that it has become a chance for them to realize all their ambitions and long-held fantasies.
However, my fantasy played out, and it played out badly, weightily, like an elderly, but still flirtatious lady who had drunk too much. EVERYTHING. At first sight the main problem The Crew The problem is that the game gives us much more opportunities than we actually need. For example, the player is released into a huge open world. The geography of the game is all of America. From the gray streets of Manhattan, to the sunny beaches of Miami, through the fiery deserts of Nevada. Cool? Damn! The only problem is that simply traveling around all the states, unlocking all the cars and, in principle, trying out all the experience that can be squeezed out of the game will take so much time that, probably, leveling up the elf to level 80 will be faster and easier. But in addition to the obligatory events, there is simply an incredible number of different side-quests and secrets scattered across the map. By the way, not everything is going well with the latter either, thank God. For example, to find secret cars you just have to drive back and forth on the map and carefully respond to the radar readings, which beep according to the hot-cold principle. Only the found cars are not marked on the world map in any way. All that remains is to print it out on a printer and make notes with a marker, otherwise the sacred mission of searching will have to be passed on to your grandchildren.
Hard to learn, easy to fight
The incredibly confusing game mechanics add fuel to the fire. It would seem, why is it so complicated? Pedal to the metal - and they won’t catch up with us! Yeah, just to get started, please kindly figure out how and why to switch between characters, how to earn and what to spend skill points on, why you need to join new gangs, how to open new tasks in a new location, what are the basic principles of tuning, what are the effects of configurations cars, how and why car levels increase, what classes of cars can participate in certain types of races, why there are two types of currency in the game at once, why the hell you can’t catch a friend online... All this is INCREDIBLY LOADING. Moreover, most of these frills are frankly unnecessary, and due to the complexity of the interface, all this micromanagement can cause almost physical pain. Be mentally prepared to open the map, teleport to the “base”, look for the necessary menu item with the profiles of gang members - and all this in order to increase the car’s handling by 1%.
The problem with honest money is that it is difficult to earn - profits are low... However, we will now explain about the two currencies. One is the usual in-game money, given for winning races and completing tasks, everything is simple here. But the second one... If you are an ardent fan of free2play mobile games, then you probably already guessed what we are talking about. Yes, yes, you are offered to buy the second currency for quite real money. Of course, with this monetization model comes fancy pricing. For example, a spoiler can cost 2,000, and a tiny sticker the size of a fist can cost 40,000. But what prices are consistently high for is brand new “horses”. It’s logical that when you arrive in a new city, the first thing you’ll want to do is visit the local dealer and update your fleet. But there’s a high probability that you’ll succeed – the money in your account will be 2-3 times less than the cheapest nag costs, unless you saved on upgrades and repairs.
Money is not mushrooms - you can find it even in winter
Also, by the way, a strange and most likely rudimentary solution. At the end of the race you are offered to repair the car for Nth amount. Well, yes, we crashed a couple of times - that was the case. But the car is running and in perfect working order, why, one might ask, spend virtual money? “To quickly start spending real money,” he grins. Ubisoft.
However, it is assumed that you can earn this very second currency in multiplayer. And here it is - the main feature The Crew, that's what it all started for. Within one global map unite players from all over the world and give the opportunity to form gangs, organize single and team “battles”, play PvP and PvE. At any time, you can contact gamers who are passing somewhere nearby and arrange a race; you don’t even need to leave the “single” for this. But even here, be prepared that you won’t be able to “get the hang of” how everything works here right away. For example, in The Crew there is no common lobby. You can consider each location as a separate server. Are you and your friend lucky to be in different countries? So someone will have to take a ride. But the main problem is not this, but the fact that finding a company is not so easy. You can wait 20 minutes while the game tries to gather players for your race - and there is no guarantee that your wait will be rewarded.
And it seems that the whole game is such a huge array of incomprehensible and difficult decisions. But once you delve into them, understanding comes. Do you know The Crew– this is not racing in its purest form. This is a timid attempt to create in a world of roaring engines and burnt rubber. That’s why, if you really love fast cars and the romance of the roads, you will turn a blind eye to the traffic that appears in front of the player’s nose, to the rear-view mirrors in which nothing is reflected, to the incredibly confusing interface and game mechanics that require a long study. You will close your eyes and be fascinated by watching your experience bar grow, painstakingly filling your garage with new models, paying real money, grinding again and again and - most importantly - hanging out online at night. Because for all its shortcomings, The Crew is much more than a racing game. It's a whole world for those who understand. That is why, despite the seemingly devastating review, we give this game a good rating. In advance. Because the journalist's heart tells him that The Crew in its current form is only the beginning of a long story.
We almost forgot to talk directly about the race. They are dashing and fun, yes.
Today we would like to present to your attention a completely new and modern presentation of the online video game in the driving simulator genre presented by Ubisoft - The Crew. Let us remind you that the game went on sale at the end of 2014 for consoles and PC. Let's get to know The Crew a little closer.
The Crew
The Crew is racing online simulator a new generation, where everyone can test their strength in legendary racing battles in the open virtual world of the USA. I would immediately like to start with the plot of the game, where every user will be able to find a familiar story. Your character finds himself in a very difficult situation and ends up behind bars, but after 5 years he is given a chance to correct his mistakes, find and punish the people who killed his loved one and thereby framed him.You have to travel hundreds of miles to get to your final goal and go through many racing battles different types: drag racing, drifting, racing cars with huge wheels, motorcycles, etc. In total, the story part of the game can be completed in approximately 20 hours, but if you are a true connoisseur of games in this genre, then the passage may take weeks, because it takes time to learn all the features and subtleties of The Crew. If we talk in general about the plot component of the game, we cannot say that this is a perfectly developed story; most likely the developers decided to take it as a basis various material and combine it all into one whole. It seems to us that this was the main mistake, because we still wanted to see something really new and interesting, not a banal story. In other words, players will be much more comfortable just riding around the huge world of The Crew, completing various missions and improving their iron monster, than trying to get to the truth and go through the plot component of the game.
It should also be noted that on this moment no Russification. That is, players who do not understand in English, some points will not be entirely clear, and you will have to get used to the game at random. Let's hope that the game will be released in Russian in the near future.
On your way there will be many different tests, for completing which you will increase your level and receive credits that you will need to buy a car, a motorcycle, various improvements and even move around the map. Moving to a specific point on the map is quite interesting solution, which allows you not to waste your precious time and, for example, fly by plane to a certain point in another city. The further the point is, the more credits you will have to spend.
The developers took a very interesting approach to improving your cars. Players are given the opportunity to almost completely customize the parameters of a particular car to suit their driving style. In the game The Crew, you can replace almost the smallest detail that will decide the outcome of the race, and this is a very good approach for which you can give the game a plus.
I liked the fact that from an ordinary Camaro you can make not only a racing ballide, but also an SUV with big wheels. In other words, the open world and an incredibly large number of possibilities allow you to create whatever your heart desires.
If you're tired of four-wheeled "monsters", then it's time to switch to two-wheeled solutions. Yes, you can replenish your garage not only with high-speed and off-road cars, but also with powerful motorcycles, for which they made a separate racing area.
The game features a huge number of cars and motorcycles, and in order to purchase the best ones, you will have to spend a decent amount of time to accumulate credits, but if you don’t like to wait, you can spend rubles and buy unique sports cars.
First impressions
When you first get into the game, you can’t say that this is some kind of unique project. Yes, there is a huge open world, yes, there are many possibilities, but it seems that the developers simply took as a basis what was already created in other projects and combined it all into one whole. Still, I would like to see something new, something that could attract any gamer from the first minutes, even those who until now refused to play such games.
After playing for a certain time, this feeling begins to go a little for the better, but it still remains, which is not good. I was pleased with the abundance of vehicles presented in the game, two-wheeled solutions and the opportunity to create a huge “monster” out of an ordinary sports car that can conquer any road. But generally speaking, there are more positive aspects than negative ones. We can only hope that in the near future the developers will try to do everything to ensure that their project is at the top of the racing battles.
By the way, speaking about updates, it should be noted that recently, on November 17th current year, the game received the Wild Run update. The game has a lot of interesting things: a monthly tournament among players, new cars and classes, joint stunts, free mode challenges, a player search system (LFP) and many other updates, which you can find out in more detail on the official website of thecrew-game. ubi.com.
Game modes
- Free mode
- Cooperative play
- Single player game
In addition to all this, it should be noted that in the game The Crew there are five factions that have divided territory with each other and there is a constant struggle between them. As you progress through the game, you will be given the opportunity to make a choice and join one of these factions. In order to defend the interests of your group, you need to complete certain tasks to increase your reputation and receive certain rewards. At the end of each month, the faction that has gained the most reputation will have access to special events where players can earn unique rewards.
Upgrade
There are a huge number of modification options in the game, about 20 in total. In order to open them all, you need to complete various tasks and increase your level. The higher the player's level, the more details It will open up to you, and therefore, do not forget to complete as many missions as possible.Before you start improving your iron “monster”, you need to buy a basic car, which, in fact, you will have to start working on in the future. In The Crew you have the opportunity to create many different car options:
- Street cars
- SUVs
- Rally cars
- Supercars
- Racing cars
Skills
With a new level, the player receives one skill point, which allows him to learn a certain skill. For example, you can learn a skill that allows you to earn more in PVP mode, etc. In other words, each player must decide for himself which direction to go.Graphic component
As for the graphical component of the game, it cannot be said that it is top level, however, it’s quite well drawn. Plus, in addition to all this, it should be taken into account that the game is receiving updates that add not only new features and cars to the game, but also affect the graphics itself. There is a lack of some liveliness and realism; it seems that the developers still need to work out the graphical component of the game in more detail and carefully. Let's hope that this project will still receive wide public attention, and the developers will not stop there.Results
To summarize, it should be said that game The Crew is a great start to something new in the genre. Generally speaking, The Crew has received a worthy start to a new generation of online video games in the car simulator genre, but what exactly its future will be and whether it will be successful depends directly on the developers themselves. We can only wait and hope for the best.Company Ubisoft at the end of the year it fired a salvo from all guns at once. Several games were released: , and . Standing apart from this list is a new IP in the racing genre - which was presented with fanfare at E3 2013, then postponed, and now, finally, appearing on store shelves.
The game was developed Ubisoft Reflections and company Ivory Tower. The latter arose in 2007 and consisted of immigrants Eden Games, which are known to fans of duology racing and PS1- versions Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed.
At the core The Crew lies the story of a former street racer who is incredibly similar to Gordon Freeman (except that the glasses have changed a little, and the hairstyle and beard have become more fashionable). His brother, who, by the way, does not look like him at all, is killed in the prologue of the game, framing the protagonist. The accusation and several years behind bars - all this remains behind the scenes, since it turns out to be background history.
The action begins to actively develop around the group “ 510 ” - street racers who don’t put their words under the hood. These people are ready to threaten, kill and smash cars if this is necessary for the prosperity of the gang. A car crime group has gained control of all major US cities. It is clear that this situation does not suit the country’s authorities, so a sexy secret service agent approaches the main character, offering to become their undercover person. Wanting to avenge the death of his brother and years of prison, the main character agrees and now his goal is to become the head of the gang “ 510 ”, defeating all the leaders, and at the same time feel like a detective on wheels, having found a connection with the “rats” from the agency who have been covering the group all this time.
To say that the plot is banal is to say nothing. We saw similar “moves” in “ Fast and Furious” and in single player campaigns Need For Speed(same ). But since the time E3 2013, everyone's attention was riveted by one idea - the location of the action. All of America on a huge map without downloads, large cities with recognizable streets and monuments. Realists said that Ubisoft It’s unlikely that they’ll be able to do everything very reliably; they’ve set the bar too high for themselves. What happened in the end? Let's figure it out.
The first city, Detroit, is almost extinct in reality, but in the game it appears to us, one might say, as polished as it was during the heyday of auto production. Having completed several not very diverse tasks, gaining the trust of the leader of the local “ 510 ” and once we got into the group, we moved to St. Louis. At this moment you understand that there can be no question of authenticity. The distance between St. Louis and Detroit is almost 750 kilometers, and in the game there are only 20. The path from New York to Los Angeles 4000 kilometers away, but in The Crew limited to 120 kilometers of winding roads and changing landscapes. Just for fun, we drove the last route, spending about 40 minutes of game time on it. It would seem not bad for games, and the local world can be called truly huge, but the scale of 1:30 is hardly comparable to the big words from the announcement of the game about the map of all of America. Moreover, the chosen proportion not only reduces the distances between points, but also the cities themselves. In New York, for example, only a couple of blocks separate Central Park from Times Square, instead of 10-15 “blocks”. The scale can still be accepted, but it is impossible to accept the many shortcomings.
For example, every car, of which there are about sixty in the game, has a view from the cockpit, which is very commendable, but the mirrors “don’t work”, they are dead. And we're talking about a racing game in 2014 on next-gen consoles! The cabin is a separate issue. It would seem, how can you screw up the gear shift? Just! The animation starts a moment after you hear the sound of the gearbox going up or down. As a result, it looks like the player is tapping the steering wheel. At the same time, the gearshift shift paddles remain motionless. The on-board computer also does not work in the cabin, which can be classified as an unpleasant detail.
She looked quite interesting game 2014 - here you were already provided with vast territories of the United States as a game world, here you meet dozens of large and famous cities, a very criminal storyline and, it is worth noting, a powerful social detail of the game. The creators of the game Test Drive Unlimited proudly presented their new game as the first true online car game. But as is usually the case with a company with debuts (just look at the autumn release), the first attempt, as always, was not very successful, so it cannot be called a full-fledged game. Instead of the original racing blockbuster, players received a “torn” and somewhat unfinished project. Almost every detail in the game (from the stupid storyline to the multiplayer) works incorrectly or doesn't work at all. If it were not for the amazing scenery of the USA, then the game could simply be given up. In the end, it turned out that it was much more pleasant to ride than to go through it at all.
Despite all the efforts in technical terms, the game looks like a project of the last generation, although here you can arrange a couple of excursions. Each of your trips will be fraught with some surprises: for example, during your first trip you will stumble upon a huge statue of a cow in North Dakota, and on your second trip you will come across a ghost village located in the southern United States. In general, as in the case of the game, it constantly pulls you to go to Wikipedia and look at all the historical places, of which, as always, there are many in the game. In addition, you can even find out about such details as, for example, what the Great Las Vegas looks like in the morning, or whether Manhattan really constantly suffers from traffic jams, and whether it’s true that in San Francisco all people travel only by tram. And the sheer scale of the game is simply impressive: traveling from one end of the country to the other will take you about an hour.
The main problem lies much deeper than it might seem - the developers themselves simply did not understand how to properly use such game scales in the game. Instead of, for example, creating a race across the country, they simply created another standard game universe, with standard indicators. The game is connected with a very ordinary crime plot only by a couple of circuit races, but no more.
Of course, the scale of the game cannot in any way help it become as large a project as the same recently released game or very popular game. Everything was only detrimental to the game. The game map is so large that the racers constantly get lost and crawl around the map - in the end, you won’t find them. Therefore, the wait in the races lasts from 10 to 20 minutes, and this is a new problem not only due to the poor quality of the online code (with which the game also has a number of problems), but due to the fact that players do not want to go from one end of the region to the other, just to complete a couple of roundabouts. Here the game probably resembles more online game, because as a couple, gathering players for a raid takes much more than going through a dungeon itself.
Due to the fact that the developers did not want to support the players to fight between each other, the game looks dull and dead - in general, completely offline, in which you rarely even see a player passing nearby. The already deplorable situation could be saved by regular updates special for the online mode, where there would be both short and longer races. But no, you will only be offered a PVP mode in which there will be a fight between people (the most common circuit races), so this cannot bring any special pleasure. What can we say about the PVP mode, if there is not even smart selection here - you are simply thrown anywhere, so usually your opponents will be multi-level players who will have supercars. As a result, it is very difficult for newcomers to the game, since they are not given any chance for a normal existence.
And these are not all of the listed problems in the game. There are also a number of technical problems with the server. At launch, the game immediately had a number of problems. On the very first day, the servers could not cope with the influx of players and simply went down for the whole day. A little later, the studio admitted that because of this, some players’ saves stopped working. At the moment, the problems have been resolved, but the start of the game can hardly be called “successful”.
The last nail in the problem was the disgusting interface. As a couple, you may not even find the most basic things: how to leave the team and how to gather the right people together. in the game version it’s still more serious - as happens in games, the developers didn’t even try to adapt the game menu to keyboards.
There are also problems in other elements of the game - for a game where there are as many as 12 huge cities, there are too few varied routes, tasks and other things. The game is not even saved by races from one city to another, but all because of the very “oaky” behavior model of the car. The last remark is extremely surprising because the famous guys from The Reflections took part in the development of the game, because they ate the dog in cars. But still, all cars behave like logs.
A very interesting fleet of vehicles is somehow still trying to pull the game out of a deep hole, where you can find such car models as Ford Focus or Chevrolet Camaro, and there are even more rare species cars, for example, Saleen S7 and LeFerrari. I was pleased with the tuning system, where you can not only improve the running parts of the car, but also radically change its design. In general, again, despite the bright statements of the game developers, no significant changes will occur when installing a new car upgrade. Each improvement is primarily aimed at driving comfort.
Results
Having a very attractive concept, the game greatly upsets the entire gaming audience. If we consider it as an online race, then it is very chaotic, but if we consider it as a single-player game, it has a very simple plot and a terrible model of vehicle behavior. The only real advantage is the size of the universe, but as far as interest is concerned, this is not enough. But what can I say if the studio rarely produces new games that are interesting? If they have the courage to not abandon this game after the first part, then the next part may be something better.
At first it seemed like a very intriguing idea - the first since Motor City Online(and much less sensational) a full-fledged network race with a huge world, with an emphasis on cooperation and socialization. Also from people who had a hand in and Test Drive Unlimited.
But it turned out... strange. It is difficult to understand why numerous beta testing cycles were needed - almost all problems The Crew, noted then, remain relevant now.
Gone in half an hour
The beginning The Crew very reminiscent of the intro Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2005: the main character was framed, and now he is forced, at the instigation of the FBI, to infiltrate an illegal group of racers that actually controls the transport network of the United States. By completing tasks, we slowly level up and climb up the “rating table”, watching along the way the development of a formulaic drama, in order to eventually get to the main villains and bring justice.
But history plays a secondary role here - the emphasis is on the online component. "Under the hood" The Crew hides a classic MMORPG with all its pros and cons. Only instead of elves there are cars, and instead of armor and swords there are spare parts.
The similarity with typical MMOs is especially noticeable in the structure of progress - we complete “quests” in one location, move to another, and repeat the cycle. And all this time, other players are skating with you, doing the same thing. Most cars in The Crew are quite expensive, so you either have to complete the same missions of the same type over and over again for money, or buy in-game currency for “real money”.
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| The main character looks like a very famous drug lord. Say my name! | There are interactive elements on the tracks - for example, this crane, which at the most inopportune moment drops a heavy container onto the road. |
American dream
But The Crew far from hopeless. It’s worth saving up for cars if only for the sake of an interesting customization system: if desired and available necessary details from the nimble Porsche GT 911 you can make, for example, an armored SUV. The only pity is that the car park is not very extensive.
The stories that the game will allow you to travel literally the entire territory of the United States (albeit on a reduced scale) turned out to be true. Megacities, forests, snow-capped mountains, white beaches of Miami, swamps of Louisiana, deserts of Nevada, green valleys and meadows of California - all this diversity can be explored far and wide.
Each region differs in the type of tracks and the range of cars available for purchase. In the central part of America, it is better to use and buy SUVs, since the roads here are mostly unpaved, full of potholes and hills, so it is better not to drive a Lambo here. But in major cities like New York or Chicago, fast supercars are just the thing.
Thus, in different locations you can improve certain classes of cars, unlocking new spare parts and available models.
For each completed task, you receive new spare parts, thanks to which the level of the car increases and new races open up.
World The Crew not only big, but, more importantly, alive. Pedestrians walk the streets, NPC cars get into accidents, causing traffic jams, planes land and take off at airports, and proud eagles soar in the skies over Nevada. To the intersection of the entire map The Crew diagonally takes approximately fifty minutes of real time. It's a lot.
Journey to the West
For the sake of experiment, we decided to organize a full-scale motor rally across the USA. The GPS has laid out a route from the extreme northeastern point of North America to Los Angeles, and now I have to drive the whole country in my brand new Camaro.
Passed Salt Lake City. Thank God the autobahn was clear.
As I was entering Nevada, some guy (or girl) in a Challenger caught up with me and let me know with a long horn that he wanted to compete. Well, let's fight. There's nothing else to do in the desert anyway.
We arrived in Las Vegas. That guy in the Challenger still overtook me and turned south a couple of minutes ago, but the race turned out to be fun.
My route through California lies through national park"Sequoia". I spent ages following the blue NPC Ford. Every single one of the tourist sedans obeys the speed limit, and trying to overtake them is more expensive.
Got to Los Angeles. The sun is beating down mercilessly and there is a traffic jam at the entrance. A group of racers just drove past me, followed by about forty patrol cars. I recognize the city of angels!
Wrong turn
But all the joy of exploration is spoiled by the failed mechanics. The physics of the cars and the controls are depressing: the cars behave like oak irons glued to the road, which is felt in every turn and every maneuver. You don’t really want to delve into the designer and study an interesting configuration system when you understand that when you leave the garage, you will have to control the bulky, clumsy colossus again. After the recent Forza Horizon 2 It’s impossible to look at this without tears.
Also in The Crew for some reason there is damage system, which does not affect anything except appearance cars. Scratches and dents miraculously disappear after some time - the cars here, it turns out, regenerate.
We're running away from the cops. So far it's not working out very well.
 The Crew is very far from its competitors.");" style="width:318px;"> |
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| The game has a view from the interior, but in terms of detail The Crew very far from competitors. | You can take any car for a test drive before purchasing. |
Added to this is the brutal AI. Even if you are speeding along the highway at a speed of up to 300 km/h, during a chase the cops can easily catch up with you, give you a good “bump” a couple of times and take you into a neat “box” in a couple of seconds. If you stop it, it’s a disaster, it’s almost impossible to escape. Hello again to physics - move someone else's car from its place in The Crew It's still a problem.
Moreover, the AI is not above obvious cheating - for example, opponents can re-enter the track after an accident a couple of hundred meters ahead of you. And even if you are participating in a race in a top-end car, and low-level Nissans are against you, you will fight on equal terms. What then is the point in developing and searching for new cars, other than for the sake of beauty, is not clear.
Adding to the happiness is the interface, overloaded with assorted menus, inconvenient navigation through them and antediluvian graphics. In terms of detail and overall picture quality The Crew reminds me rather a lot good game for PS Vita than an expensive AAA project for current generation consoles. And yes, kudos to online roots: The Crew requires a constant connection to the network, and if there is the slightest problem, you can say goodbye to the progress in the current race and enjoy the view of the main menu.
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Behind The Crew It's a shame. It would seem that now, when the fashion for co-op, multiplayer and huge worlds dominates the industry, such a game would easily achieve success. But Ubisoft failed to cope with the task: the beauty of a large, diverse, spectacular North America is undermined by artificially delayed development, worthless driving mechanics and AI opponents who compensate for the lack of skill with cheating.
Just waiting for the next one Need for Speed: already from the reboot it was clear that EA was also moving in the direction of an online “social race”. Well, to the owners Xbox One there is nothing to worry about at all - they have a wonderful Forza Horizon 2.