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Test Drive Unlimited |
by Coola
10/3/2006 |
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Test Drive Unlimited Review
Review by: JTF2 Stryc9
Test Drive Unlimited appealed to me due to it being an online MMO-style racer. I’ve never played the Motor City Online racer, but I heard that it sucked and imploded for some reason before I could get to it. Since then I have been longing for an online racer, and here it is. After playing the demo (the first one) I wasn't sure if I was going to get it or not. The driving seemed unrealistic and the steering was too hard. The car seemed to just float off the road in the easiest of corners. So when the game came out at just $40 I decided to pick it up. I made a good choice.
I played for over 5 hours the first day that I picked it up and I just loved it. I bought a few cars, downloaded a few free cars, bought a house and mostly got my ass handed to me during online races. I needed to save up money and get some better cars. Instead I spent hours visiting all the car showrooms on the island to unlock the motorcycles.
My first impressions are that the world is incredibly detailed and awesomely huge. I have put hours and hours into this game and I am still finding streets that I have yet to drive down. The reflections on the cars are really cool, and the interiors of the vehicles are realistic and detailed. In the in-car view you can pan left and right to see out of the front windows and when you pan down you can see your character shift into gears (unless the car has paddle-shifting on the wheel in which case you can always see the shifts). The loading while driving is seamless as the world is constantly streamed which is great because nobody likes to see a loading screen.
Really though, the controls aren’t as bad as I first thought. The game handles differently than Project Gotham Racing 3 and Forza Motorsport, but I got used to it in about 10 minutes and that’s fine. The varying degrees of driving aids works out really well, as some cars have way more wheel spin and don't handle corners as well as others. With the driving aids on, the car seems as though it doesn't turn very well, but that’s because it won’t drift around corners at all. There are also 'Sport' and 'Hyper Sport' and 'Off' settings to the driving aids and I have yet to find a setting that doesn't make any of my many cars not drivable. I think I could have a lot of fun with the in-car view and Microsoft's steering wheel when it finally comes out.
The missions/races are pretty straight forward, and come in a different levels of difficulty. With online races, single player races, missions, club events, cruising, challenges, etc. I don't find myself bored with nothing to do. Most of all I enjoy the blend of online/single player play. At any time while free-riding around the island you can run into other players. Being able to run up on online players and challenge them to a race is really cool. For an hour or more I just chased people around flashing my high beams and honking at them to get them to race me. I felt like one of those idiots in World of Warcraft that runs around Ironforge trying to duel everybody that walks by. Once you challenge someone, you get to set up the route by dropping a marker that sets the finish line on the map. It doesn’t matter where you put the marker, the game automatically generates the route to it. Though there is a limit to how far you can set it.
One thing I did not ice was that there are a lot of online players with the Saleen S7 twin turbo that always try to race players with their starting out cars on straight line tracks that the newbies never have a chance to win. It’s sad but you get that with any online game. You can also hop into multiplayer races on the map or organize challenges at the local diner or inter/intra 'club' events. All in all it is refreshing to play something that is innovative and not just a clone of other popular games or a sequel.
After all that praise Test Drive Unlimited is not without its share of problems. The trade system, where you can buy/sell cars has been down for a while, and appeared for a day or two only to be brought back down again, but it is far from game-breaking since I don't really see the point of the trading anyway beyond getting the gamerpoints for doing it once (since all the cars are available to anyone). There aren't a staggering amount of cars compared to some of the other racers out there, but they are more slated to be released in packs throughout Test Drive Unlimited’s lifespan. There is however, currently enough cars present to fill more garages than you can afford, so I wouldn’t worry about that too much.
As with most games, you have your share of glitches and errors (some of which are exploitable to make cars accelerate faster, etc.). Some unsavory individuals rely on these to win races but I hear the developers are working for a fix to be released at some point. Overall, none of these issues stop me from wanting to play, and at a lower price point of under $40 I can't really complain.
So... in conclusion: If you like racers and want a game that you can collect cars, houses, bikes, cash and pwn other racers online then get Test Drive Unlimited.
Score: 8 out of 10.
The Good Stuff
Online Play Owns! Seamless world, huge beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii… no brainer.
Gorgeous car models and realistic crashes (for AI non-racing cars that is)
Fast cars and wide open highways to explore. A very, very good combo.
150+ cars to choose from. Variety is your friend.
The Bad Stuff
Few glitches here and there… but that’s about it
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og shwag
X365 Member
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nice looking game and nice looking price :-)
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eradicator
X365 Member
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8 out of 10 seems quite high to me. This game is certainly not next-gen. Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Project Gotham 3 are waaayy better in most every way (graphics, sound) and they have damage modelling on the cars. How come, in Test Drive, you get in a collision with regular traffic and their car takes damage but your own car comes through without a scratch? Also, the hitchiking, supermodel missions get boring after doing about two of them. You can buy mansions, but who really cares whn all you get are static shots of a mansion. Where's the inter-activity in that? I'd give it a 6 at best. Balls.
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BIGGSX
X365 Member
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Originally Posted by: eradicator 8 out of 10 seems quite high to me. This game is certainly not next-gen. Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Project Gotham 3 are waaayy better in most every way (graphics, sound) and they have damage modelling on the cars. How come, in Test Drive, you get in a collision with regular traffic and their car takes damage but your own car comes through without a scratch? Also, the hitchiking, supermodel missions get boring after doing about two of them. You can buy mansions, but who really cares whn all you get are static shots of a mansion. Where's the inter-activity in that? I'd give it a 6 at best. Balls.
Eradicator,, just say u have bad taste so u can spare us your bull...Need For Speed, its great but linear. Hmm, but I'll be honest, I never played Test Drive so I cant speculate. :P |
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RPG, ACTION-ADVENTURE, SHOOTER- I play them ALL !!
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Eradicator
X365 Member
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Need For Speed is not linear; it provides an open world to race around in. Also, I have great taste. Not just in games, but movies, music etc. Furthermore, BigSux, how can you paraphrase "be like water" to mean "be open minded". Both statements may be good advice but water has no mind and no opinions. How would "being like water" make one more open minded?
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drfred79
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I'll stick it out for Forza 2 thank you.
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RySetter
X365 Member
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I know this is an old review, but I've been playing Test Drive Unlim on the PC. I just bought the xbox 360 (1st console ever) and am thinking of buying TDU for the xbox. It's hard to explain the game. The driving physics in the game, pc version anyway, while not as realistic as I like, aren't bad and really do grow on you. All the cars handle differently. I was surprised about how much fun it is driving around a beautiful, tropical island can be. With over 1000 miles of roads, including city, mountain and freeway, you never run out of places to explore. Just flying around these roads going anywhere you want, avoiding the not too heavy civilian traffic is fun. Tracking down other online drivers for races or just chasing each other around the island is surprisingly addictive. That, plus all the solo and multiplayer races you come across as you travel the island just add to the fun.
Give the game a try, as long as you don't expect really realistis racing sim, I think the racing and driving freedom this game gives you will keep you entertained for a while.
Gotta go, have to win a few races, there's a Ferrari I'm itching to add to my garage.
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