Test Drive Unlimited

You have finally earned the money to buy the class B car, one that is sleek, shiny and screams power from the moment you turn over the ignition. Heading out on the streets of Oahu, there are few rules, and the law can’t catch you even if you do – and you will – fracture the legalities often associated with driving a car.

There is a signpost up ahead, one that beckons you with the promise of cash. Maybe you can upgrade your digs, get a bigger house with more garage room for your burgeoning collection of vehicles. Besides, with all this power at your disposal, it should be a walk in the park.

Oops, speed is great, but it seems this course also challenges handling, and your new ride has a tendency to drift wide when taking corners at high rates of speed.

Such is the joy of Test Drive Unlimited, an online PC title from Atari. If you were one of the lucky ones that played Motor City Online years ago (the game was online from Oct. 10, 2001 until Aug. 29, 2003), then you may recognize part of the format of TDU. You get a car, you race it in a variety of ways – against either AI opponents, other players, or in timed events, earn money for placing in the top three, and then upgrade everything from your vehicles to your clothes to your dwelling.

The game is played online and instead of race courses that are developers’ fantasy, this game takes place on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The streets are authentic, right across the island. The dev team has actually boasted that if you play this game consistently and then travel to the island, you will recognize the road system and know approximately how to get to places.

Whether true or not, the one thing that does stand out is that this game has a great road system, full of terrific courses – players can actually lay out their own race courses in the game on the road system – with great scenery, changing skyscapes and lots of racing action to be had.

The cars span from low-end, low-power vehicles that you may buy when you first arrive on the island up to the concept cars and other class A rides that make you look fast even before you turn over the ignition.

The game sets up easily enough. You create a character – at this stage it appears you only get one per account – and then take a plane ride into Oahu where you are alone, with a set amount of cash to begin your adventure. You start off with a place to live (which is the starting point each time you log in) and a low-end car. The map has a wide variety of races you can participate in. This is how you earn cash. The island road system must be traversed to unlock avenues to the different shops. Most of the major car makers are included here – from American domestic and classics to foreign imports. Once you have unlocked the roads, you can just hop around the map by opening it and clicking on your destination. If you have yet to unlock the road, the game will ask if you wish to have a GPU tracking system to the destination. Clicking yes not only shows you the roads you will have to go down, but also has a voice that will prompt you to turn at the appropriate places.

Be forewarned, though, if you are going at a decent rate of speed, you may be almost past the turn when the voice tells you to make it.

The game does have timed races, races against AI, which seems to be on instanced tracks, and players can set up races for all comers with, sometimes, higher stakes. There are clothing stores you can visit to upgrade your look, you can upgrade your home, and once you have visited all the car dealerships on the island, you can invest in a motorcycle for a different kind of thrill ride.

The cars are all rated in four categories – you know, speed, acceleration, handling, braking – and have class distinctions. You may begin with a small little compact that does not have a lot of get-up-and-go, but handles well. Run races – and at this stage, you can repeat races, so if you find a nice little race against AI that you can win, running it a couple of times is cash in your pocket – and move up, but pay attention to the cars attributes. Faster cars are not necessarily what you will want as you move up. It just depends on the class you are racing and courses. Having a high-speed machine on a twisting bit of road can be problematic. Fortunately, before you buy, you can kick a few tires, honk the horn and test drive the machine. Cars do not take physical damage, but you can visit a mechanic for upgrades.

Graphically the game is very well done. There are – at this stage in the development – a few minor clipping problems, but nothing to get alarmed about. The skies can be distracting and speeding through towns, especially if you are looking to sightsee as you drive can also be hazardous to your faction with the local law enforcement officials. Crash and you will trigger a police alert. There are three levels to this alert. Get to the third and you will spend time in jail.

The game rewards mileage driven, races won, cars earned and so on … this is a player-friendly environment that tosses kudos to racers often.

The sound has, of late, had some distortion and static. No files were changed on the host machine and this has been a recent development that is not rolling over to other games. But TDU has the basic sounds one would expect. Some lighter tunes, and the roar of engines and protesting tires, along with the GPU and race announcer counting down the start of the races.

Control wise, the game supports wheels and joysticks, with the default being the keyboard/mouse combo. If you don’t have a wheel, and intend on playing this game, now might be the time to invest in one.

The gameplay is very open-ended and players can create their own experience in this fast-paced world. Join a club, race other players, or just motor around in top-flight machines and enjoy the sites – the game experience is not directed but left up to the player.

Test Drive Unlimited not only looks very good, but plays well. The physics seem solid, the vehicles handle differently and the FPS seems rather constant and smooth.

Fans who mourned the loss of MCO, who enjoy just running the roads, might find this a tasty bit of car-crazed fun. The game is currently on track to release in February.