It's difficult to set apart a console racer. Some attempt to do it with laser-focused realism, some go for mad, over-the-top racing antics. With The Crew, Ubisoft is looking to set itself apart with masses of ambition.

First, the plot. Yes, this is one of those racing games with a plot. Your job is to infiltrate and overtake the 510s, a gang that's come up from Detroit's illegal street racing scene. To do this, you'll need to build up a rep while secretly wreaking havoc on their activities in cities right across the United States.

And there is a LOT of the United States to go at. Locations include everywhere from New York City to Los Angeles, to Miami Beach to Monument Valley. The terrain ranges from the tight corners of downtown cities to suburbs to cornfields to canyons.

The real drive of The Crew, though, is its massively multiplayer status. It's a world populated by other real-world drivers. You'll need to build a crew of four with an interface that's designed to be seamless. You might be taking out a convoy, evading police or just flat-out racing, but you never have to do it alone.

The style is very much on the arcade-y end of the spectrum, but The Crew still also offers extensive customisation tools to tune and perfect your licensed cars.