By Philip Orona
Gripping the wheel, his knuckles went white with desire. The wheels of his Mustang exploding on the highway like a slug from a .45! Time to pull over or it means true death by 400 horsepower of maximum performance. As the car comes in, piercing the pit lane, the pit crew rushes out like a ray of “Black Sunshine” to wash over the car and change that now deflated tire and gas up the vehicle. As the car pulls away in a hurry screeching its Pirelli’s, another car comes in. The job of the pit team isn’t done until the race is done! The gear heads at Wild fields welcome you to the world of Speed Crew where you don’t drive the cars, you service them on race day. Grab some buddies with a concrete fascination and let’s get wrenching!
Quite simply, Speed Crew is designed to be a party co-op game but can be played as a solo in a story campaign but it really works better online or as a couch co-op. Up to 4 players can team up to perform speedy maintenance tasks on vehicles that need a pit stop during a race. Each player can work on different tasks. One can change a tire, the other can bang out crashed body work while another does a quick diagnostic on the next incoming vehicle and player 4 can be Johnny on the spot with the necessary tools. Think Overcooked but mechanics instead of chefs. The objective is to climb the ranks to become the best team in the league and beat the challenge set by the mighty Dominion Torrento and his family. It’s bound to be fast and furious.
The year is 1977. Jimmy Carter just signed the Panama Canal treaty, Apple Inc. is now a startup and our intrepid heroes are setting off to make a name for themselves in the world of motorsport. The cartoony intro movie sets the stage while the funky 70’s bass groove lets you know that you are indeed in the 70’s. While the veteran of the team is introducing the new members, Dominion Torrento calls up our protagonists and throws down the gauntlet. Time to get cracking through the championships. The tutorial is very laid back compared to the rest of the game of course but it lays down basic tasks and how to do them. When a car comes in, you must run a diagnostic on it using the computer system. That will highlight the cars problem areas which can range from tires, engine, fuel and body work. To change a tire, you have to find the jack and raise the car first. Then you must find a wrench, unbolt the problematic tire, then take the tire to recycle bin, grab a new tire, bring it over to the car, bolt it back into place with a wrench, then lower the car and then slam the ninja warrior looking red button to release the car back to the track. Then another car comes in and its wash rinse and repeat until time is up.
As the game goes on, your team will be exposed to different automotive maladies and multiple lanes of cars while a race timer is counting down. Once the time elapses, the stage is over. With all the people rushing around trying to beat the clock and tools being moved around and possibly misplaced, it is possible for the action to become 2 Fast 2 Furious and if you take too long to do a job, the lower your score will be. Good team work and keeping an eye on the clock is crucial to victory. As the game goes on, years in the game progresses into new era’s and tools will change as will the threats that the team faces. You will see things like rain and change in weather but just like Overcooked, the ridiculosity comes into play with moving platforms and lava pits getting into your way and costing you valuable time. All of that while also trying not to get run over by a car pulling into the pit lane which takes you out of commission for about 5 seconds.
The game’s graphics are cartoony but clear and colorful in a Fortnite kind of way. The cut scenes are done with a near vintage orange scale patina 2-D paper cutout type characters which fits the theme of the game well. In game, the characters are large enough not to lose track of but the same cannot be said for things like wrenches so mind your tools! The funky bass and guitar track keeps the action moving but it gets repetitive. At least it changes every so often, I rather enjoy some of the synthwave tracks. Sound effects are good and simple, from the sound of a car pulling in and leaving to the sound of a metal sledgehammer hitting the bumper of a car. Controls are simple to use, movement comes easy. For those who have played Overcooked 1 and 2, it will all feel very familiar. You have your action button to grab and drop items, the button to use the item and you also have a movement dash. During the game you can unlock additional characters and additional outfits to mix things up a bit.
If you are a fan of party game co-ops, this is a solid entry that shouldn’t be skipped out on. Speed Crew is a competitive and hectic good time that should be experienced with friends. While single player is just fine, you miss out on the team chatter and the challenge of trying to synchronize with a partner. Perhaps an AI teammate would have been nice, even if it wasn’t very intelligent it would certainly add to the amusement watching an AI player get run over every time a car comes in. Still, the game is interesting enough to keep me coming back until finally we hit the high noon showdown with the Torrento’s. So keep on the Blacktop rolling below the asphalt drive, scraping the edge of nothing. Speed Crew gets a party game seal of approval. Now, all I need in the game is a White Zombie avatar.
A Rank
Things I liked:
Couch Co-OP
Music
Easy to pick up and put down
Things I would improve:
An AI partner for single player mode
Similar Alternatives:
Overcooked 1 (PC, Xbox, Nintendo switch)
Overcooked 2
The Stretchers (Nintendo switch)
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