It’s been 20 years since the Test Drive legacy began. Then, the original set itself apart from its competitors with its rather realistic 2-D graphics (we’re talking about a time before the advent of the Playstation) and innovative concept of speedsters trying to outrun the police, which has since been copied by a number of racing simulator franchises, including the extremely popular Need for Speed series.

Fast forward to 2007 and 13 Test Drives later, the moment of truth has arrived after an eight-year hiatus from the last edition, Test Drive 4×4.

The 14th instalment of the franchise is none other than Test Drive Unlimited (TDU) UrbanWire tested the game on the PC for the PC, Xbox360, Playstation 2 (PS2) and Playstation Portable (PSP).

The game is set in idyllic Honolulu, the capital of the paradise island state of Hawaii (you remember Baywatch: Hawaii, don’t you?). But don’t just think that you can just steal a car and drive off straight away like you might do in Grand Theft Auto, which is another of those games that involves cars and evading police detection.

In TDU it’s a bit different… Alright, it’s very different because you start off blowing a big wad buying a car and a bachelor or bachelorette pad (you can opt to be either male or female in the game) before you’re eligible to tear up the tarmac up and down the roads of Honolulu.

So besides getting to outrun the traffic cops, who’ll set up road blocks and employ dangerous driving tactics to try and get you to crash (which will land you in jail for your incessant speeding if you can’t pay the fine), there are many other things that make TDU outstanding and interesting.

You get to

1. go to dealerships around the island to either rent or buy cars,
2. send your car for some amazing tune-ups at garages to rev up the engines, which in turn lets you speed past the cops with even more senseless ease,
3. visit a real estate dealer to get that new dream pad or even
4. head out to clothing stores to make your character look even more the fashion conscious, lawbreaking driver that you wish you could be.

The most liberating thing is that you never have to worry where the money’s coming from to pay for all your exorbitant purchases. Since it’s a racing simulator, the answer to that worry is actually rather simple. You race.

And by that, I don’t mean the 500 continuous boring laps in NASCAR. You can

1. choose to go up against the computer,

2. take time challenges,

3. take on missions, like getting hitchhikers to the airport in time for their flight or

4. compete at tournaments.

These are just a few of the things that can be done on TDU. All in the name of glory and cash for your brand new car, suit, or another racing vehicle- a motorcycle, if you’re not playing the game on the PSP or PS2.

While we’re on the topic of wheels, don’t worry about being able to obtain the perfect vehicle because, I assure you with TDU, with about 90 sports cars and 35 motorcycles to choose from, that’s the part of the game I like the most.

There’s the usual and ordinary Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG to the amazing quick, cool and utterly expensive US$170,000 Lamborghini Gallardo SE. For the motorcycle department, there’s the usual Kawasaki Z1000 to the rare Triumph Speed Triple. In short, it’s just about ever motor enthusiast’s dream game.

However if there’s anything that doesn’t captivate me about the game despite the game’s outstanding visuals, it’s the fact that I can’t damage my car. I know this sounds crazy, but seeing my Audi crash into trucks, cars, lampposts, you name it I rammed into it, and still wind up unscathed is bordering slightly on the unbelievable.

Also I wouldn’t recommend you play the game without the aid of a steering wheel if you can help it, especially if it’s the PC version. It’s a bit hard to drive a car hurtling down the speedway at speeds of up to 280km/h when all you have is four arrow keys to do the steering, which is also used for acceleration and reversing.

Overall, the game’s fun to play, its graphics are sleek especially considering it only requires a minimum of two Gigahertz processing power to play. For the Test Drive series to have stayed away from the virtual racing scene for so long and yet return with such a great game shows just how much um… test driving went into the production process.

In short, TDU is hereby certified a drive worthy racing simulating by us here at the UrbanWire.

Platform: PC/Xbox360/PS2/PSP
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Eden Games & Melbourne House
Genre: Racing

Score:

Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 7.5/10

Plot: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Addictive Rating: 8/10
Overall Rating: 8/10

Images courtesy of Atari.