Game #1211: Test Drive Unlimited

 The longest test drive.

  A few years ago I played Road Trip Adventure, a game I loved, and afterwards I was on the lookout for other Adventure/Driving game hybrids. I never found such games. But, during that search, I came across Test Drive Unlimited, a game I purchased... but only got around playing now. It's not the type game I was looking for, but, having loved Burnout Paradise earlier this year, it's one I was pleasantly surprised by, as this is another Open World racing game, much like Burnout Paradise!

 This game is HUGE, as I'm pretty sure the game covers the entire Hawaii island. This is both good and bad, the good is that if you enjoy driving just for driving's sake, let's just say that there's a ridiculous amount of asphalt to drive on. On the other hand, there's no quick travel or anything like that, so going from one point to another can take over half an hour, assuming you pick the best route. Speaking of routes, I loved trying my hand at driving through hills and what not, trying to save time! If you ever get stuck or too lost, you can just press L3 and R3 and the game will teleport you back to where you were before you went off-road.

 The objective of the game is to drive around to find challenges, which can be races against other drivers, against time or trying to make it to certain checkpoints(Cameras) while driving at a certain speed. Completing challenges gives you money, which you can then spend on cars. But don't go to wild on them, as you need parking slots, and you get parking slots by buying expensive houses. I'm horrible at driving games, so at my skill level it felt as if I was making very little money, and I was getting gold on quite a few challenges. Thankfully the game gives you free cars for certain milestones, so you can focus on getting larger houses to park your freebies.

 The game is a curious mixture of Arcade-style racing as well as more Sim-like elements, although it favors the former by a mile. Driving is done exclusively with Automatic Transmission, which was an interesting design choice considering you are encouraged to take curves slowly, heck, some missions will be failed if you drive off-road too much, and, well... it seems the Xbox 360 version of the game does feature Manual Transmission, if you so choose. I hate MT, so I didn't care too much. The physics were interesting too, as colliding against 'pedestrian' vehicles will send them flying, but the physics are more subdued when hitting other drivers, during races.

 The game does feel a bit iffy at first, but as you get used to the game it slowly starts coming together. At first I thought the map was terrible, as the game is just too large and it was hard to plan your way through the streets, plus, it didn't highlight challenges. Well, it turns out you can press R2 to make the map highlight challenges you have found. Besides that you have a GPS, which you can turn off, that directs you to the closest Challenge you can try that you haven't attempted yet.

 That said... This game is pretty similar to Burnout Paradise, but I think Burnout's smaller map is better if you enjoy objective-based gameplay. This game's world is so huge that finding challenges on your own can be like finding a needle in a haystack, and it's not due to the game lacking content, it's just that the game is so HUGE that finding it without the GPS can be almost impossible. I think that both games are brilliant, but both favor a different type of approach. If you'd rather drive at your leisure, this one is a better choice, as there's simply so many places you can drive through. But if you get your dopamine fix from completing goals, Burnout Paradise is your game.

 Another difference from BP is that races are more structured and don't encourage finding your own routes, heck, most races are based around hitting checkpoints, so the routes are pretty much set in stone. A few other missions, like the ones in which you must drive through cameras at a certain speed, may allow for more freedom, but not usually.

 One last thing... the Police in this game are just too annoying. Driving quickly around them will trigger them into chasing you, and if they catch you they fine you money, money which his already hard enough to come by already. And it kinda kills you inside to drop your pace just because a cop is around, which kinda gets in the way of enjoying driving for the fun of it. And it takes FOREVER for them to stop chasing you.

 Test Drive Unlimited was a load of fun, and there's so much stuff to do. Sadly, I think I was spoiled by Burnout Paradise, as I feel that that game does what this one does much better. Regardless, TDU is available on PS2 and BP isn't, so point for TDU, and comparisons aside, this game is REALLY good, and I bet it was pretty ahead of its time back when it first released.

 8.5