Test Drive Unlimited

[Glockstar]

Part Project Gotham Racing, part NFS: Most Wanted, part Midtown Madness, part Crazy Taxi (...except without the "crazy"). No, it doesn't do those parts as well as those aforementioned games do them, but then again it also does things that no other game has done before: it's absolutely frickin' huge; and seamless; and it's perpetually online. To tie all of those gameplay aspects into one package is pretty cool, but it's the real-life, real-time world that makes the game really cool.

Physics are good, but not the greatest. There is definitely variety between the cars tho'. Finding a car that you're comfortable with and that's still competitive is the trick. There are six or seven different viewpoints; including a first-person cockpit cam where you can see your drivers hands on the steering wheel, and dashboard instruments, and rearview mirror and everything - just like in PGR3. Lots of cars. No real customizing tho'. Tracks/courses are meh. The driving too is kind of dry: there's no drifting/powerslides.

Graphics are damned good. Overrall, I'd say they are definitely 360. 'Cept for the avatars - your driver-person (that you can customize, and dress-up, and whatnot) - they look kind of PS2-ish.

AI is... consistently inconsistent. Kind of like real-life traffic: most cars behave pretty good, but there are some a-holes on these roads too. The problem is with the ones who are totally effed the head. Like the guy who suddenly decides to take a hard right - right into the concrete barrier on the overpass. Wtf?!

The way the game is set-up is almost identical to NFS:MW. Cops and everything. Except this gameworld is 4x as big! It is the island of Oahu. All 596 square miles of it. So if you want to drive across the 70 miles from one end of the island to the other - you better know that it's going to take some time.(!)

There are all kinds of races to enter (checkpoint racing, circuit courses, speed-traps, etc); there are car clubs to join; and a few missions to undertake as well.

Like taxi missions and car-delivering missions. Unlike in most other games where you'd perform these tasks however, in TDU the undertaking is serious. Driving reckless - even veering off the road for a couple of seconds - will result in a serious deduction of your rewards. Continue to do it a couple of more times and you could fail the mission completely. Sound like fun? Well... that's TDU.

Most of the fun comes from racing online. Actually, you don't even have to race proper - with a world full of leadfoots, you can find lots of fun just messing around. The possibilities are endless. Had fun goofing around in Halo and Oblivion? You'll have fun here too. You can also design and set-up your own courses/races. Impromptu ones as well as league-oriented ones.

This is a game where everyone could find several different criticisms to level at. But I suggest that you not concentrate on the negative. It's faults are mostly subtle. Especially when viewed against the bigger picture. (And what a big picture it is!) This is a solid game. A good game. (And an incredible bargain too!) :thumbsup:

-

Anybody else besides me and Hunter get this game?

-

One thing I'm having a problem with: How the frack do you ditch the cops?! (I have no fracking money right now. :mad:)

[Fivespot]

Nice write up! Seems worthy of a purchase somewhere in the not so distant future.

[Cuddly Knife]

I was gonna get this game but Wally World didn't have it, big surprise, so I got Saint's Row, which might've been a bad decision because I forgot that Just Cause comes out soon, as does Crackdown. I still want to get TDU, but will I really play it since I'm such a whore for Burnout? I don't think so...

I also heard that the next Burnout will be taking this open-world approach. I can't wait!

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I haven't been able to get away from the cops. I tried doing some races, but as soon as it was over, the cops were back. I even saved the game once because I didn't want to fork over $14,000 in fines. Lately, the cops haven't found me when I hit (or get hit by) a car. I try to make sure that I don't do a domino effect on the traffic to get th cops attention even more.

My complaints about the game are:

1) E-Brake sucks so far. Maybe it's just my car (Saturn Sky), but it doesn't really work as well as I want it to. I want to whip my car on quick turns like I did on PGR3, but it's just not happening.

2) Pop Up traffic. It's not too bad except when going over a hill, when a car morphs right in front of me and makes me wreck, especially when trying to escort a model to her location.

Honestly, that may be it as far as the bad. I pretty much like everything else in the game, especially the instant races you can have with wandering opponents. The AI is pretty good, a lot better than Gran Turismo since any opponent can become wreckless and crash or something.

I have a bad habit of rolling up my car windows in my convertibles. I guess since I can control the windows, may as well do it.

-

Cuddly, I'm shocked you bought Saints Row. I thought you condemned the game right after you played the demo.

[Cuddly Knife]

Yeah, well, I'm a sucker for GTA games, and this one is GTA3 re-made for next-gen. I just like cruising around in virtual cities.

What do you think Saints Row, Hunter? IMO, it's pretty much what people are hoping out of the next GTA from what I've read around the net, and that's a smaller gameplay area than San Andreas, but more to do in the area that they do give. They give the smaller area, but so far, the missions aren't anything to gloat about. I'm only 11 percent through the game, so I'm sure things'll get interesting. I'd say it's better than GTA 3, but not nearly as good as San Andreas. I'm not sure that GTA4 will be able to top San Andeas.

[Glockstar]

I haven't been able to get away from the cops. I tried doing some races, but as soon as it was over, the cops were back. I even saved the game once because I didn't want to fork over $14,000 in fines. Lately, the cops haven't found me when I hit (or get hit by) a car. I try to make sure that I don't do a domino effect on the traffic to get th cops attention even more.

For those that don't know, the cops in TDU have a tiered alert system, similar to that in NFS:MW. Unlike NFS:MW however, you don't get any rewards for avoiding the cops, or crashing into the cops, or causing collateral damage... you only suffer penalties. I.e. fines. (Also, there's no radio chatter or any other dramatizations.)

The weird thing about the cops in this game tho' is that they only pay attention to accidents. Speeding, or running a red-light - even if done right in front of a patrol car - doesn't seem to bother them at all. Only if you smack into another car, or wreck yourself around a telephone pole, for example, will the cops come a calling.

At the first level the cops are a breeze to evade, as they give up really easily. The only thing you need to concern yourself with at this point is to not get into any more accidents - until the coast is clear, at least.

If you do - even a glancing sidesswipe - then the cops will go to 'alert status 2'. If you get to this level then you're most likely going to go to level-3: several cop cars will now be alerted to your presence, and they will give a tenacious chase. And during this long chase, I guarantee you will commit your third infraction. Honestly, I think the best thing to do here is just to give up before it gets worse.

Because at level three they do not give up. They're like the frickin' Terminator. At this point the game is a lot like NFS:MW ('cept, again, without the rewards) - the cops will be everywhere, they will take a head-on run at you from the other direction, and they will set up roadblocks. That you cannot break thru. You hit this roadblock, you get stopped cold! And even if you happen to snake around one, there will be others waiting - as they get a perimeter set-up fast.

I have no idea what to do here. There is nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. I tried hiding. They were waiting for me. My only thought is that maybe you're supposed to make it to one of your homes, that maybe it will be like a "safe-area" and it will end the chase. I hope that's it... there's got to be something! Doesn't there? (But even then my homes are always so damned far away - and they get the exit points blocked off in no-time flat. ) :(

-


1) E-Brake sucks so far. Maybe it's just my car (Saturn Sky), but it doesn't really work as well as I want it to. I want to whip my car on quick turns like I did on PGR3, but it's just not happening.

And it's not going to. TDU is no sim; but they did want to keep it real. There's none of that over-the-top racing - no turbo-boosts; no big-air; and no drifting.


Saturn Sky tho', that's funny: that's what I'm driving. I own four cars now, and that's still the only car I like.

I chose it because I want one in real-life. I've seen them on the road and think they look sweet... but can't remember what color(s) I've seen. When it came time to pick a color for my game-car, I thought the colors they offered were bogus: I didn't recognize any of them. So I went online to the Saturn website to check out what colors they really offered, and found out they were they exact same as in the game. Even listed/shown/presented in the exact same order. Kinda neat.

Thing is tho', the car's just not very competitive.

But I hate that frickin' Alfa. I think I wasted my money there.

Guess I need to try the Audi - see what that one's like.


[As they are in many racing games, the cars in TDU are classified into different groups - and so are the races - and so are the missions.]

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Yeah, well, I'm a sucker for GTA games, and this one is GTA3 re-made for next-gen. I just like cruising around in virtual cities.

What do you think Saints Row, Hunter? IMO, it's pretty much what people are hoping out of the next GTA from what I've read around the net, and that's a smaller gameplay area than San Andreas, but more to do in the area that they do give. They give the smaller area, but so far, the missions aren't anything to gloat about. I'm only 11 percent through the game, so I'm sure things'll get interesting. I'd say it's better than GTA 3, but not nearly as good as San Andreas. I'm not sure that GTA4 will be able to top San Andeas.

I like Saints Row, to the point where I can put it in my top three 360 games I've played so far (NCAA and Oblivion the other two). The manual aiming is the best of the GTA-type games, even to the point where Rockstar needs to copy it. The main missions aren't too bad, but it's a few of the mini-missions that are slightly annoying. I do wish Volition would have done a better job incorporating custom soundtracks in the game. The in-game music isn't interesting, and when I do go custom, the music plays right through cutscenes, which is annoying. I'm about 33% complete, but I decided I'm not going to rush and beat the game before Just Cause comes out, since both are open-ended type of games.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I think the best technique I can do as far as the cops is to not wreck anyone after catching the cops attention. Sometimes, these other vehicles either hit me (that gets the cops attention) or if I'm speeding on a straightaway in the other lane, some bastard will coem up and pretty much block my path. Not just being in my lane, but they will turn their vehicles so I end up T-Boning them right in their side. On purpose.

-

Funny thing, I want a Saturn too. Ever since I got a free rental from an accident, I've been wanting one.

My 2nd car on TDU is a Lotus Elise. It's a nice looking car, but I'm treating it like a baby and not taking it out of the garage for some reason. I need to put some miles on that thing.

Any idea when bikes become available?

[Glockstar]

Any idea when bikes become available?

Don't know. I just assumed that it was because I haven't found the dealership(s) yet.(?)

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Don't know. I just assumed that it was because I haven't found the dealership(s) yet.(?)

So far, I've found two (Kawasaki and Ducati) on the map and actually drove past Kawasaki, and they were locked. Maybe it unlocks after getting to the next level. I just reached amateur status, so it could be a while before I unlock it.

[Superior Beatslayer]

And it's not going to. TDU is no sim; but they did want to keep it real. There's none of that over-the-top racing - no turbo-boosts; no big-air; and no drifting.




What? you can do drifts in Honda Civics, and sure as hell aint over the top anything.

[Glockstar]

In a stock Civic?