What does it mean to be family? The “Fast & Furious” movie franchise has answered that question through sheer octane as men & women race through the streets of big cities, unpaved deserts, and even space (okay, the last one isn’t true, but why can’t it happen?). With the movie franchise’s popularity came media expansions including video games dating back to the PS2 era. In celebration of the highly-anticipated “Fast & Furious 9”, developer Slightly Mad Studios went to work on a game that would coincide with the eventually delayed movie featuring the actual cast reprising their roles in digital form while introducing a new set of protagonists. I was ready to ignore all the rules of common sense driving, burn through nitrous without a care in the world, and potentially stop a criminal mastermind by being incredibly stupid.
Did I Complete “Fast & Furious Crossroads”?
“Crossroads” presents a “Story” mode showcasing characters both new & old in various, though similarly designed environments. After nearly five hours I completed the “Story” mode which saw me fail several missions more than once. With no difficulty setting the mode proved rather easy to complete even when battling certain technical issues. The “Online Ops” multiplayer is the biggest hurdle when attempting to complete the game. Thanks to multiple achievements/trophies associated with the online mode it would take weeks, if not months for full completion mostly thanks to the grind of completing 400 online games or having a twenty car takedown streak and the fact it’s impossible to consistently get a full lobby necessary to start an online session. Thankfully I was able to play around with the multiplayer after multiple attempts of waiting for fellow racers to join.
Did “Fast & Furious Crossroads” Live Up to the Hype?
Though promoted as the optimum “Fast & Furious” video game experience with Dom & Letty getting an early spotlight, the story hastily introduces the real protagonists, Vienna & Cam, as they try to make a living in Barcelona. Unfortunately for the pair in their attempt at keeping their heads down after a situation in Miami saw them leave their hometown, Vienna’s apparent boyfriend Sebastian runs afoul of the local mob. It doesn’t take long before the plot escalates from simply trying to make some fast money via street racing to taking on a criminal organization. Though the “Fast & Furious” movie stories aren’t the most revolutionary or, at times, coherent, they do have a level of excitement and a rewarding feeling for long-time viewers. A majority of the moments that would scream “Fast & Furious” are out of the player’s hands in regards to the story. The lacking usage of the more pivotal & loved characters just adds more to the underwhelming narrative; an issue made even more profound because of the main protagonists being treated as characters fans of the franchise should already care about without giving the player a real reason to empathize with them.
As expected, “Crossroads” focuses on driving from one point to another with certain stipulations connected to each scenario including reaching a checkpoint in a certain amount of time, not wrecking the car when carrying a trunk-full of “race fuel”, and tailing a suspicious vehicle without alerting the driver. These prototypical racing game missions are accented by some multi-phase moments where the player can control more than just one character at a time, as well as fantastic set-pieces including surviving a rock slide. Upon entering the car specific for whatever mission is currently being tackled, the player will discover two things: the arcade-style mechanics and the fact each character has a specific ability.
In regards to the prior, driving in “Crossroads” showcases roads lacking friction as the player will most likely slip & slide around each road and/or track. With every hit comes the losing of “car health” as indicated by the green bar at the bottom of the screen. While every car has nitrous that can be refilled both automatically & via icons scattered on the tracks specific to each mission, and the ability to shunt enemy cars with the hope of pulling off “Burnout”-like “Takedowns”, each character specializes in a special ability/tool. Dom’s cars feature missiles, Letty can produce spikes from her wheels to cut up tires, and Cam has the ability to hack police cars to cut off an officer’s engine (though the latter is incredibly annoying when trying to perform the hacking mini-game while driving without slowing down to a complete stop). During missions where the player has to use multiple characters, a touching of the directional pad allows for character switching on the fly and works incredibly well even though it’s rarely utilized.
Considering every “Story” mission only allows for the player to use a specific vehicle without the ability to upgrade said car in any way, the developer didn’t completely ignore customization options. Unfortunately the ability to gain new vehicles that can be modified is solely connected to the multiplayer mode, “Online Ops”. “Online Ops” has nine players in teams of three (“Heroes”, “Villains”, and “Cops”) doing battle in designated scenarios including the Heroes trying to gain information from a moving truck intended to be protected by the Villains while the Cops attempt to arrest both teams, or the Heroes & Villains trying to reach a safe zone as the Cops try to arrest them (the Cops team’s only purpose is to arrest the other players via takedowns). The biggest issue with “Online Ops” beyond underwhelming missions and the copious amount of achievements/trophies connected to said mode is the fact an online game won’t start until there is a full nine-player lobby. With a rather small player base, the amount of time necessary to get nine players in a lobby is absurd. Those who were excited about the game’s online & customization options will walk away thoroughly disappointed.
Technically, “Crossroads” is a mixed bag. Beyond some stellar sound effects and a fun soundtrack, the dialogue delivery is mostly stiff & unremarkable (even more than what one would see in an actual “F & F” movie). “Crossroads” looks like something from the seventh generation/Xbox 360 & PS3 era with unimpressive vehicle damage and wooden character models. Players will fail multiple missions, though, at times, the reasons for having to restart the most recent checkpoint or even passing a mission isn’t the most clear including being tasked to win a race, but the game advancing the story even though the player’s car was in last place during the checkered flag moment. Framerate drops can occur during the more hectic moments such as moving through a sandstorm, but mostly occur when the game enters a cutscene. There isn’t an option to change the camera angle from being directly behind the car with the right analog stick sharply moving in the direction pushed by the player before snapping back to the starting position. There is also no speedometer both for the HUD or in the cars as the latter’s doesn’t even function when a car is in motion.
“Crossroads” feels like a gaming relic – something people may have praised before 1999 with its gameplay options and story presentation, but in 2020 this is mediocre at best, and mind-numbing at worst.
Should You Play “Fast & Furious Crossroads”?
Though “Crossroads” doesn’t have incredibly egregious gameplay problems or even game-breaking technical issues, there’s nothing spectacular or even remarkable about this “Fast & Furious” game other than the actual actors allowing their likenesses & voices to be used for a short “Story” mode. The “Online Ops” would be something fun if players could invite friends and weren’t forced to wait minutes to hours for a lobby to fill before a game can start. But the biggest anti-consumer method used for this game is the price. Marked as a triple-A title featuring a thirty dollar season pass containing only three cars for online play, “Crossroads” doesn’t warrant the asking price even if someone is a die-hard “Fast & Furious” fan. Wait for a major sale or just rent it from Gamefly if you’re desperate for a mediocre racing game, or you want to have your intelligence questioned like someone stating that amateur criminals are better than expert thieves.
