One of the world's most popular racing franchises has made a return to video game consoles with Atari's latest release, Test Drive Unlimited 2. It is the seventeenth installment in the long-running franchise, which dates back to 1987, when publisher Accolade released the original Test Drive. Developed by Eden Games, this sequel to the 2006 installment, Test Drive Unlimited, allows gamers to race along dirt and paved roads on the beautiful island oasis of Ibiza and Hawaii. It's an ambitious title, but how does it stack up against its predecessor and other games within the racing genre?
What sets the Test Drive Unlimited games apart from the other racing games that are currently out on the market is its design. Not only is Test Drive Unlimited 2 an open world racing game that mixes traditional racing with off-road racing well, but it's also a massively multiplayer social gaming experience. That's right - not only can you race against opponents online, but you can also interact socially with them, in clubs, car shops, and even a casino (which requires the purchase of a separate downloadable add-on.) With this release, the massively multiplayer online aspects of the original Test Drive Unlimited are expanded upon and fine-tuned, allowing for a more social experience.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 is a new game which acts as a sequel, but it also incorporates many elements of the first game, making it feel like a combination. Instead of just having the game take place on the new island oasis of Ibiza, Eden Games went the extra mile to also include the island of Hawaii which was the backdrop of the original Test Drive Unlimited. Whereas its predecessor featured 1600 km of roads to traverse, Test Drive Unlimited 2 features a whopping 3290 km of roadways. It also features a full career mode, as well as 100 different instant challenges (escort missions, shadowing challenges, speed limit challenges and some others), cop and outlaw chases, plus online ranked matches.
Players can drive around both islands, engaging in single player challenges and competitions, as well as any sort of multiplayer driving they fancy. That is because, like the original game, Test Drive Unlimited 2 allows players to create multiplayer challenges at any time by flashing their headlights at other players when they come across their peers on the open roads. Challenges can be set up on the fly and cooperative driving is also available, allowing players to enter the cars of others, acting as a passenger and navigator. Each island has its own Community Racing Centre where players can post created challenges. Gamers can also set up clubs with their friends, allowing each member to donate money to the common goal and also giving members the opportunity to compete against other (rival) clubs.
At the beginning of the game, gamers are asked to choose an avatar from one of several options, including characters of different ethnicities and genders. This avatar is to be their representation in the game world. There is never an option to change your avatar selection, but you are given the freedom to customize this character in many different ways. Customization shops such as hair salons, plastic surgeons and clothing stores are spread out throughout the game world, providing players with the opportunity to customize their avatar in any way they see fit. Like in real life, it all costs quite a bit of money, but those who like to customize their video game characters to closely resemble their real-life appearance will love these options. I was impressed with the wide variety of customization options available, as well as the realism involved when your character is forced to wear bandages for a while after undergoing a procedure. This is one of the more customizable games I've played.
Players can visit real estate agencies to purchase houses, though this is mainly done for garage spots. In order to purchase a vehicle, you need to make sure that you have a spot in a garage for it. These houses are ranked in different categories (via a star-based rating system,) and each category has its own price ranges. You can visit these houses at any time, with the ability to change clothes, check your TDU Live stats or check the news. Some customization is available for chairs and fabrics, but that's about it. These houses are mainly in existence for storage, allowing you to view your cars (and a vehicle list) and choose one to drive.
After choosing an avatar (which is done during your poolside birthday party on a patio in picturesque Ibiza,) you are whisked inside to see your new birthday gift from a friend, which is a brand new Ferarri. You get inside the vehicle to check it out and get the opportunity to give it a test drive on the open roads. Shortly afterwards, reality sets in as you're awakened from a day dream by the owner of that red Ferarri as you sit in it while wearing your valet clothing outside of a fancy building. The owner asks you to give her a lift to where she is to shoot a new promo for her racing reality show and competition, Solar Crown. It is not long before you're competing within the ranks of Solar Crown, after impressing the host enough to give you a chance to prove yourself as a rookie. Thus begins your ascension towards the top ranks of the highly popular, 22 championship tournament. There are also three cups to win, at the end of different parts of the tournament, including the Ibiza Cup.
Each license category seemed to have two different championships in different parts of one island. You could drive to them or fast travel (which is only available if you have explored the road before. This also goes for fast travel to any other location, as explored roads are highlighted in a blue accent.) They all featured different amounts of events of varying types, including traditional races and eliminator events, as well as timed events that have you going through a course as fast as possible, while going through checkpoints, to try to beat the par time. Additionally, there were also two other types of events: speedtrap events that had you trying to have the highest speed out of all of the competitors, as you'd go through each of several police radar spots, as well as an event type that had you earning points based on speed. My favourite was the traditional race mode.
With this reality show career structure comes some positives and negatives. I liked the fact that it established and developed your competition into fleshed out characters with their own personalities, instead of just having you race in tons of different challenges with randomly named racers. It was also nice to see them try to add some charm and character into the experience in a general sense. However, I didn't like how cheesy the whole thing was, as well as the constant babble between competitors who were essentially exaggerated caricatures of regular people. The characters became quite annoying, especially when they could constantly babble with each other. I also found it kind of strange how (especially early on) only your rival would ever come in second place. It seemed like the race results were predetermined. Though I noticed a small decline in that as I progressed through the championships.
Players level up based on their results in the championships, as well as many other factors. The level cap is 60 and there are seven different statuses that can be achieved, taking you all the way up to a high-ranked celebrity status. Your progress can be checked in the 'My TDU Life' section of the menu screen, allowing you to see your progression in each category, culminating in a main level score. These categories include social progress, exploration, your collection (cars, hairstyles, clothing,) as well as multiplayer and single player accomplishments. It is easy to grasp this leveling system and quite simple to know what you need to do to progress. By just selecting each category's tab, you can check which objectives you've completed and those that you've still got to complete. It's a great leveling system that gets players to partake in every aspect of the game in order to level up and earn new items. Some haircuts and clothing items are locked until you reach a certain level. Additionally, a computerized ranking system (referred to as F.R.I.M.) is added to your car and you can earn money by driving dangerously but avoiding collisions.
One of the main draws of this game is the fact that it lets racing fans explore their fantasies of being able to own and drive some of the most popular, expensive and exotic vehicles in the world. Test Drive Unlimited 2 features more than 90 fully licensed vehicles, from manufacturers such as General Motors, Audi, and Ferarri, with the notable exception being Lambourghinis and motorcycles this time around. Apparently Lambourghini could not be featured in the game due to licensing issues, but there are still plenty of exotic vehicles to drive. Each vehicle you purchase with in-game currency is yours to customize in any way that you would like. That means that you can add expensive sticker decals, paint them whatever colour you prefer and can tune them to their peak potential. Not to mention the option to choose your interior and rims at purchase time.
Hidden throughout each island are wrecked vehicles, which can usually be off the beaten path, in the bushes by a road. An indicator is installed into your vehicle, and it flashes to tell you if you are close to one of these wrecks. Once you discover a certain amount of wrecks, you will earn a new 'treasure' vehicle, which is added to your collection and can be used. This adds some depth to the game by adding a need for exploration, as it's quite tough to find these wrecks. Additionally, there are photo vantage points that can be found, which task you with taking pictures for a professional photographer. There is an indicator for this, but you must take the pictures only when certain conditions are met (such as time, lighting and weather conditions.)
These vehicles are categorized in three different sections: Asphalt (fast, exotic race cars,) Off-Road (rugged all-terrain vehicles) and Classic (retro vehicles.) These categories are then broken down into numerical tags such as C3, A1 and B4, which represent their rankings within their main category, based on statistical analysis, with 1 being the best. In order to drive these vehicles, your character must earn various different licenses, by completing several different license challenges within each test. The challenges range from obstacle courses to timed events and even include challenges that test your driving skills in different weather conditions such as wet roads. I thought that this was a very good idea to implement, especially since it added a lot of challenge/content to the experience and heightened the immersion. However, some of the license tests were far too difficult due to poor handling. The lower A tests were the most frustrating because it sometimes felt like you were driving on an ice rink as opposed to an asphalt road. I eventually earned all of my licenses, but it took a while due to being held up on a few of those challenges. It was far too easy to spin out of control.
One of the most impressive aspects of Test Drive Unlimited 2 is their attention to detail with each vehicle. All of the cars are very detailed and look impressive, featuring the most polished graphics of anything within the game. That's just the beginning though. Every car has its own realistic engine sounds, interior cockpit view, speedometer and handling physics. Not to mention the fact that they all have their own statistical analysis pages, which rate them in different categories such as handling, acceleration and braking, as well as their difficulty level. Vehicles that are ranked in the same category will handle in different ways, which was a realistic and nice touch. Another vehicular aspect that car enthusiasts will love is the ability to get inside vehicles to take a look at their interiors, open/close windows and test drive any vehicle before purchase.
As I mentioned previously though, handling is a major issue with the game. Its driving physics aren't very precise. Some vehicles handle better than others and I understand it's like that in real life. However, in a game that tries to mix arcade racing with simulation aspects, it's frustrating when vehicles don't handle well. You're trying to compete in challenges that predominantly require you to cross through a certain amount of checkpoints in a predetermined time (races even fall under this category because you're trying to get the best time as you go through the race's checkpoints.) When the handling is loose and difficult, it makes the game more frustrating than need be. Luckily, the only major issues seemed to be within the A class vehicles, which you aren't given access to until later in the game (in Hawaii, which is the game's second island that is reached after you make it to level 10.) The other vehicles in the game don't handle exceptionally by any means, but they're much easier to control. You can customize handling options within the options menu, to try to achieve a balance that works well for you.
I was very impressed with the game's dynamic weather system and day/night cycles. One of my favourite times during the thirty hours I've put into the game was when I was driving during a thunderstorm and could see the lighting off in the horizon. It looked good and I loved the fact that it altered the road conditions. After a storm or rain shower, the roads remain wet for a certain amount of time until they dry. You can see the road conditions changing as you drive. Slick and wet roads will dry into smaller pools of water, eventually clearing up. These weather systems will pop up randomly throughout the experience, but some license tests have predetermined weather and road conditions.
Other than handling, the game has also suffered from one other major issue: server problems. Since its release, players such as myself have had issues with the multiplayer/social aspects of the experience, due to the servers being down more often than not. Atari and Eden Games have been working on adding new servers and patching this as well as smaller issues, and they've done a pretty good job thus far. Recently, the servers have been much more stable. I've been noticing more people online in my game world and have been able to play the casino DLC without many issues (which is something I couldn't have said a week or more ago.)
Presentation-wise, Test Drive Unlimited 2 is hit and miss. Its menu system and map are top-notch - they look great and are easy to navigate. The game's 3ofps frame rate is devoid of hiccups. However, this is not a game that will blow you away with its visual fidelity. Granted, I would never have expected it to look amazing based on the fact that it's a massively multiplayer experience. The cars look great, as I mentioned earlier, but the landscapes look somewhat jagged and feature some pop-in. When I first started playing it, cars would appear and disappear on the road ahead of me and it also occasionally occurred during championship events, but the recent server fixes have seemingly eliminated that issue. Also, although they are varied, the game's character models animate in a stiff manner and only look okay. Though, with the amount of content that the game possesses, it's easy to overlook the visuals. With that being said, it's definitely one of the better looking MMOs I've ever seen.
As before-mentioned, the cars are the best looking aspect of the game. They look really nice and feature some nice visual touches. The cockpit views were impressive and detailed, but it was weird that there were no windshield wipers during rainstorms - but that is a small gripe. It's one of the only games that allows you to actually turn your head left and right within the vehicle as you're driving.
Audio quality is one of the more impressive aspects of this game. The variety of sound effects and different engine sounds is impressive. Most of them also sound very good, with a few exceptions. Additionally, the in-game radio (with its two stations) sounds very good, featuring some licensed music from artists such as Metric, Phoenix and Deadmau5. I liked the fact that you could set the volume for the radio independently from other audio settings. The only real negative with the audio was the game's poor voice acting, which becomes quite grating after a while.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 is a vast and expansive gaming experience, featuring a wealth of content that will keep you playing for hours (I'm 30 hours in and I'm still not close to being finished with everything.) Though it has some really frustrating moments and handling issues, it's a fun experience for the most part. If you're a car enthusiast and/or a fan of the original Test Drive Unlimited, you're sure to enjoy this game. Fans of massively multiplayer online games will also enjoy its variety, customization and social content, especially since it doesn't require a monthly fee. It's not a huge leap forward and feels a lot like its predecessor, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Though this is a game that won't appeal to everyone, it's something that definitely grows on you. I've had fun with it and look forward to putting more time into it.
Casino Downloadable Add-on:
The casino downloadable content is a separate entity but I wanted to cover it in this review, as it's already available for some customers who purchased the game from select retailers such as EB Games/Gamestop. It will be available for everyone at a later date, and features quite a bit of (online only) social content.
When you fly to the casino island, you enter the building's main foyer, which features a bar, clothing store (which sells exclusive clothing,) a closet and a cash desk. That is where you must transfer your in-game money into credits (at a 2:1 ratio) in order to take part in any activities at the casino, including buying cocktails. Four different types of games are available, including slot machines (of varying types including traditional slots and video poker,) roulette, cash game poker and sit & go poker. Poker tournaments are also available within the VIP section, which is available once you hit casino social level 5. The casino has its own leveling system, which ranges from level 1 to 10. You rank up by completing social tasks, buying clothing, winning at various games and by just participating in events. I had a good time with the casino DLC when it was working.
Rating: 7/10
Test Drive: Unlimited 2 was released for the XBOX 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on February 8, 2011. It released at a suggested retail price of $49.99 for the consoles.
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