Rockstar's Social Club Service Now Revamped With Crews

Rockstar's Social Club is better than ever, and it is time to form your Crews. Here's a breakdown of the new features.

By Michael Shelton /

Rockstar has officially launched their updated Social Club service for users in preparation of Max Payne 3's launch next week. As many of you may already know, Max Payne 3 will make use of Rockstar's newest feature, "Crews". This is essentially Rockstar's version of a clan, and it is set to change the way the Rockstar community plays. Gamers everywhere have already dove into the deep end with the customization options, and if you plan on playing the newest Max Payne in multiplayer you might want to jump in with them. Here's a breakdown of the newest features Rockstar is offering up to their multiplayer community. Crew Basics Once you are logged into your Social Club account all you need to do is hit the "Crew Up" button. This will allow you to browse many of the featured crews searching for the best of the best to join their ranks. Up to 5 crews can be joined, so ensuring you avoid "Crewing Up" with a rival organization might be a good idea. If you already have your own Crew, be sure to invite your friends and join together for online insanity. Are you a Crew leader? Well congratulations, this will allow you to designate your team with a specific M.O. that can range from All-Stars, Soldiers, Rebels, Thrill Seekers, and Chatter Boxes. You are also offered a wide variety of bonuses for joining a Crew. Whenever you fight alongside your fellow members, or battle rivals you will receive a significant XP boost. Rockstar has made sure to give players a reason to want to immerse themselves even further in the online multiplayer. The best part of all this is that Crews can be represented across PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Designing Your Emblem Rockstar has created a very impressive emblem creator toolkit. This allows gamers to form their own distinguishable battle crest that will be displayed on members of your Crew's avatars. The tools that are offered allow gamers to create anything their mind can imagine. If you are unfamiliar with tools such as Photoshop, fret not. Rockstar has included a tutorial designed with every gamer in mind and offers easy accessibility, but depth that many will crave. Having already taken a shot at designing images myself, I can safely say that it is indeed intuitive and easy to use. Those more experienced with Photoshop should feel very comfortable, and easily create masterpiece emblems. Even your Crew members can propose Emblem crests. Only the Crew leader is capable of approving and selecting the emblem for use, so founders will always remain in total control. Any Crew formed between now and next week, on Tuesday May 15th, will receive the distinction of being a "Founder Crew". This will provide members with a two-stripe designation of their in-game Crew tag. Rockstar has also planned further benefits and perks for members with Founder status. Be sure to head over and form your crew now, then post it in the comments below!