Test Drive: Unlimited

[Knowlesy]

Didn't realise this game was out until I saw it this morning. I had been waiting for it for ages and was under the impression it was released in October!

So I had to put it on the credit card!

The game is set on Hawaii's Oahu island and pretty much the entire island is modelled pretty accurately apparently. this means over a thousand miles of road to explore.

You explore the island in any one of about a hundred licensed cars and motorbikes from the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ducati, McLaren etc....the cars can be chosen with their real life colours, interior trim options and alloys.

Plus you buy properties around the island to keep the cars in.

There are of course races and challenges to do but this is secondary to me....I just drive round!

Handling wise it's simply fun and accessible.....it feels just like Project Gotham actually. I know this will make PC gamers choke and their oat cakes and shout something about gigabytes or something, but really who cares? It is still intuitive and that is the main thing.

And of course, the graphics are top notch. A gorgeous in car view, lovely car models, awesome views and surroundings, a character editor....the works.

It's a magnificent game. You could waste hours just driving round doing nothing but going fast and looking for new areas. Earlier on I just had a 100 mile blast in my lovely Caterham Seven......and had to stop before I got into the next 100!

Criticisms.....well, you can't damage your own car (though traffic cars can be smashed up nicely), the police fines are a bit steep when they stop you and the music is dreadful. Also, some car sounds are a little lazy. But these are minor problems.

Go out and buy this. It has got me back into gaming and back into my Xbox 360 which had laid dormant pretty much since Christmas.

[Hazard]

Not on PC till November

[pirenzo]

Originally Posted by knowlesy

the police fines are a bit steep when they stop you.

Well, at least they won't take your license away

What are the challenges and courses like? Presumably that's how you earn your cash..
And what can you do with the properties other than drive back and forth between them?

[Knowlesy]

The properties are a bit secondary really....you just get a nice living room.

They are really just somewhere to store your cars (in a nice garage) and also a save point on the map, as it can be nice to not have to start on the wrong side of the island to get somewhere.

The courses are just randomised on the map, so they can be great or poor. As for the challenges, well, I have only barely dipped into them and am only on the low level ones. They seem a bit easy and the money winnings are generous.

The best way for racing is to find a challenger in a flash car just driving around and flash the lights at him....you then enter into a one on one race where you define the course by marking the end point on the map.

I think the empthasise is just on driving and exploring though to be honest, the single player racing feels secondary. On X-Box Live it'll probably be a belter. It is amazing how big the playing area is.