In anticipation of the upcoming Alabama vs. LSU game, video game developer Ubisoft, in partnership with marketing agency Creation, will be bringing their soon to be released racing game “The Crew” to campus Wednesday as part of The Crew College Tailgate Tour. 

The six-week tour includes stops at key college football rivalry games. Two trucks outfitted with gaming stations will tour the country, allowing fans from each school to play “The Crew” and compete head-to-head with their rival school.

“There are many similarities with ‘The Crew’ and these storied college football rivalries,” said Dominic DiSanti, public relations manager for Ubisoft. “’The Crew’ is all about selecting the right vehicle for the mission at hand. On the football field, college football players must call the right play for the situation in the game.”

“The Crew” is a massive multiplayer racing game in which players form crews of four, travel across the country and compete against others. Players will be able to drive from coast to coast without any load screens or interruptions. Sergio Loaiza, who is part of the tour, said the tour and demo help encourage people to play with one another in a social setting. 

“You would find three other people and form a crew of drivers. Those four people would play against another group of people,” Loaiza said. “It’s a social game. It’s meant to be played alongside other people whether competitive or cooperative.”

DiSanti said he hopes the tour will allow fans to show their team pride, demo the game before its released and take an active role in their school rivalries.

“We wanted to give fans a way to show their team spirit and play their own role in the rivalry,” he said.

So far, Loaiza said the tour has been well received. On gameday, people have been lining up to play against other schools and each other. With four screens on each side of the truck, Loaiza said players on one side can team up to compete against the other side. Playing a video game before it’s released gets people excited, DiSanti said.

“People are really excited when they find out they can play in real time against the truck at the rival school’s campus,” he said. “They want to learn more about the game and showcase their driving skills.”

At the demo, Loaiza said players will get to cycle through most of the game’s features. The game offers a variety of missions including off road races and demolition missions where players try to wreck other cars.

“You can customize the game in a lot of ways as far as vehicles go,” he said. “Each vehicle has different types of settings. You can change the bumper, the wheels, the lights on the car. If you have time to spend on just customizing cars, you can do that.”

DiSanti said “The Crew” embodies the competitive and exciting spirit of college rivalries by allowing players to form a team of their own to determine who’s better.

“College rivalry games have intensity unmatched by any other sporting event,” he said. “What better way for fans to show their pride and play a role in their team’s rivalry than to take on opposing fans in ‘The Crew’ and race to prove who is best?”