🚗 Crash Drive 3 | Xbox Series X | Review | 9/10 | "It's an open-world, cross-platform arcade stuntfest" 🚗 @M2Hgames #IndieGames #GameDev

I wasn't really sure whether an open world MMO racing game on a budget would actually be any good. I mean, I've played and enjoyed the Forza Horizon games, but they have huge amounts of money thrown at them and are very, very shiny (to the extent it kind of stops being that much fun after a while, as they take themselves a bit seriously). 

Crash Drive 3 does not have this problem. It's an open-world, cross-platform arcade stuntfest where you tear about in a huge array of vehicles in amusingly varied environments. And it's fun.

Each level is huge and has loads of hidden items and collectables to unlock, and a staggering variety of ramps and jumps to fly off like it's Tony Hawk. Bigger and better stunts rack up the points and money, which lets you buy ever more ridiculous cars and accessories, from a Mini to a monster truck. 

You can also pimp your ride with stats boosts, different aerial and number plate styles, and change the look of your boost. Thankfully, money is easy to come by, as you get rewarded for pretty much everything you do. The big bucks are to be found in the multiplayer events though, and thankfully these are common. Every 30 seconds there is a countdown and a new event begins. Win or place highly and the money rolls in. 

There are a good number and variety of events - from your bog-standard race with checkpoints to smashing a giant beachball around the level and racking up the damage done. One of my favourites is the Tony Hawk-style trick challenge, where you tag an object by tricking off it. The fun really starts when you start to steal other players' tags, by pulling off a higher-scoring trick. Once you get into the swing of it the leaderboard can change every few seconds, making it a real nailbiter as the time ticks away.

I mentioned the environments earlier. You start on the Arctic level, with predictable consequences for drifting and cornering. There's a huge submarine in the middle of the map that you can of course jump off, and you can even end up driving around underwater, which can be awkward to get out of and therefore a total death sentence if you're trying to compete in an event. Later on, you unlock desert and medieval levels, and you even end up on the moon. Each new stage has a lot to do, so there's a ton of playtime in each before you even need to think about moving on.

You've heard the pros, so what about the cons? Pretty minor to be honest. The camera, although controllable, sometimes jumps around when you're in mid-air, making it tough to land your stunts for big money. The driving is a little bit loose as well, although you wouldn't expect Gran Turismo controls in an arcade racer like this. Honestly though, once you get your eye in this is all quite forgivable as you'll be having so much fun.

I never played Crash Drive 1 or 2 so I went into this one completely blind having only seen the trailer. I've played a good few times now, both pre-release against what I assume were the devs or testers (who battered me), and with a mate versus randoms, and it was great fun every time. 

The regularity of events means there's always something to do (although you don't have to join in and can keep doing your own thing), and the fact it's cross-platform gives you a bigger pool of players to take on, thereby extending the shelf life.