A new Fast & Furious 9, and marks yet another licensed game from Bandai Namco which will be handling publishing duties.
Crossroads will mark the first time a Fast & Furious video game has appeared on current-gen consoles. The most recent installment, Fast & Furious 6. However, it received poor review scores and Activision never made a sequel. In 2017, Slightly Mad Studios signed a six-year licensing deal for the Fast & Furious IP, making Crossroads the first game to come out of that partnership.
Fast & Furious Crossroads was officially unveiled at John Wick: Parabellum). According to the game's press release, Crossroads will feature a single-player mode with an "authentic" Fast & Furious storyline and a multiplayer mode, the latter of which will be revealed at a later date.
According to Slightly Mad Studios Chief Creative Officer Andy Tudor, Crossroads will include a number of Easter eggs for fans to discover. “As huge fans of the franchise, it’s an honor to be able to expand the Fast & Furious franchise into the world of video games with a brand new story, the introduction of a new crew with ties to beloved characters, and iconic and stunning set pieces,” said Tudor. Players can expect plenty of over-the-top, car-based action set across a variety of exotic locales, as well as being drawn into "the murky world international espionage."
Judging by the trailer, Fast & Furious Showdown looks like it could be a mixed bag. On the one hand, the involvement of franchise stars like Diesel and Rodriguez is encouraging. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, in part because of his own frustration at the lack of good movie tie-in games. But even though the gameplay shown off in the Showdown trailer certainly screams Fast & Furious, the whole thing looks pretty rough. Many have been quick to point out that visually, Showdown looks an awful lot like a PS3 game and it's hard to argue with that. Just look at how bad Vin Diesel's character model looks:
It's always a shame when movie tie-in games don't turn out well. Slightly Mad Studios have proven they can make great racing games with the Project Cars franchise, so hopefully Fast & Furious Crossroads will look and play better than its first trailer suggests.
Fast & Furious Crossroads is set to launch in May 2020 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: Bandai Namco
