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Jason's patients are tested in this next gen hand-me-down
Sun, 23 September 2007
by: Jason
This could be a difficult review, as I have played a demo of Test Drive: Unlimited, on the mighty white box of power, the Xbox 360 and comparing the two is like comparing horseshoes and hand grenades, however I will push on and try to review the PS2 version on its own merits (or lack thereof).
Its probably also worth mentioning that I haven't tested the game online, being one of the few PS2 games with an online component is something of a novelty, they are so rare that it is too much effort to find an Ethernet cable and hope that the other three people with online PS2's are also online, the short story is if you want to play online without a PC go buy an Xbox 360 or a Wii or a PS3.
 | | It's true, racing captions are the most boring captions ever |
Having said that, what we have here is a fairly solid if a bit bland racer. Rather than force you to drive around in circles on the same racetrack Test Drive: Unlimited gives you a whole Hawaiian Island to make your skidpan.
There is a vague reference to something resembling a plot but really it's a racing game. The premise is simple, buy car, drive car, buy new car, repeat as needed to obtain buttloads of cash, vehicle upgrades and a slick selection of the fastest motorized shopping trolleys.
Now once you've collected these chariots you're going to need somewhere to park them, just jump in the nearest vehicle and drive to your friendly neighborhood real estate agent who will have a selection of homes for you to pick from, everything from a tin shed to a massive mansion with the main focus being garage size (i.e. more cars- bigger garage).
Graphically we're pushing the humble PS2 but the game is far from ugly and special mention must be made of the scenery. Be it a winding mountain road or a quick blast along the beachside it's a definite step up from the painted on spectators in grandstands you usually glance once at and never pay attention to again in many racing games.
One thing a racing game must have if it's to hold your interest for more than five minutes is a good selection of cars. Well Test Drive: Unlimited gets a big tick in that department as there is a massive selection of overpriced and overpowered buckets with the main emphasis on luxury speeding fine collectors from such makes as Ferrari, Porsche and many others you or I will drool over but never drive.
 | | For those with super vision, you can see a tin of Spam on the horizon |
Naturally there has to be someone to attempt to bring an end to your hooning joy and that would be the boys in blue.
Drive too quick, bowl over some signs and soon enough you'll be treated to blue and red flashers in the rearview mirror, however when you've got several hundred horsepower under your right foot it's usually fairly easy to outrun them until they lose interest.
The one thing that can really annoy about this game is the GPS navigation system. At first it seems handy simply, select your destination on the map and away you go. That is until you are in the middle of a race when the pleasant female voice telling you to "turn left here" comes a bit late when you're traveling at upwards of 200 KPH.
So there you have it not an absolute stinker but if you're bored shitless with Gran Turismo and don't own a next gen system give it a go (if you're game you might make it four people online.
by: Jason
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