Test Drive Unlimited

[Devin]

This is a very interesting concept. If the physics aren't just total shit, it might could be fun.

Anyone checking this out (or waiting for a demo)?

[TimCollier]

Devin,

While the reviews of the console version have been as expected, with the cars having very arcadish physics, I have been awaiting a demo to try out on the PC in the hopes that maybe it would be close enough...the idea of having an entire Hawaiian island's roadway as well as the freedom to do as you please sounds very cool.

I'm keeping an eye on this one, if only because I would like to see something different for sim-racers....but I can tell you that because of licensing agreements with the automakers, the cars that you drive are not allowed to receive damage....figures huh?

[Devin]

Yeah, damage would be too much of a headache especially in a multiplayer game like this (wreck-to-win). I've been looking at some comments over at RSC forums (forum.rscnet.org) and most people have said the handling is between arcade and sim. Another good sign is that some of the Need-for-Speed crowd have complained that it is "too hard".

I'd love to see a demo for this one... I'll be watching to see if the potential meets the product. Could be fun.

[Devin]

I had to try it - and I'm glad I did!

After reading many opinions of people who were playing this, I figured it was worth a shot (what's 40 bucks when it comes to my second childhood, right?) It is available for download from Atari (a nice 3.7 gig DL). I only had about 40 minutes before work, but I like what I see so far.

The game is beautiful, and its pretty cool to cruise along under trees and past Hawaiin views. As to the driving, I tried out two cars - Lotus Elise as a rental at start and then I bought the Audi TT - and I'll say the phyics aren't bad. You definitely get a feeling of tires on a road rather than rails on a track. Its certainly not GTL or GTR2, but it seems that the developer's statement that they wanted "easy to drive, hard to pilot" has been achieved.

I ran the "rookie race" that you're taken to after buying a house and a car and it definitely takes some racing skills (braking, controlled acceleration, racing line) to be quick. You can't just "Need-for-Speed-Underground" it around, hitting 90 degree turns at over 100. I went off the road once (didn't see the road turn) and the slide through the grass and sand felt pretty cool. The physics feel a little "floaty" perhaps, but I think its something you'll get used to and I did keep in mind I was in a $40k sportscar, not a half-a-million dollar racecar.

I'll give an update after I've got some more time into it, but I'd say if any of you have been on the fence, intrigued and wanting to jump, you probably won't be disappointed.

[TimCollier]

Thanks for the report Devin....I'd be curious to know more from you since you're cut from the same cloth as the rest of us...sim-racing that is

Also, you wonder if someone will do some "modding" of the car files to enable more realistic physics for the cars....

[Devin]

After several more hours playing the game, my opinion is: The game is fun.

Cruising around Hawaii with miles and miles of roads to explore is what we all dreamed of after every episode of Magnum P.I. The game has done an outstanding job incorporating an excellent sense of speed, the best in any game I've played so far. Not so fast you can't control the car, but certainly spine-tingling as you blast through and around traffic at 150+ mph. On missions where dinging the car leads to failure or loss of cash, you'll actually be stopping at traffic lights and looking both ways.

The driving physics are definitely challenging with lots of room to hone racing ability over simply driving. Sim-racers will have a big jump on the arcade race crowds as the model rewards good driving lines, smooth acceleration, and the like. You will find yourself suspending a bit of disbelief as the braking is too quick and the tires too grippy at slower speeds and too prone to letting go at higher speeds. Recovering from loss of grip is challenging though a bit easier than say GTL, but all-in-all the racing "feels" fun and makes it easy to forgive some physics shortcommings.

The cars I've driven (maybe 12 or so (you can test drive any car at a dealership)) are very nicely differentiated from one another. Each has a different feel to it and strenghts/weaknesses. I put out an extra $75k for the Ascari over the Z06 even though they were both in the same class because the Ascari just "felt" better for me. Oddly enough the lower-end cars feels a bit more realistic physics-wise than the Dream-car types I drove, but the "Group A" cars still seemed they'd be a blast to race. As a bonus, the car interiors are extremely detailed and beautiful and go a long ways to adding to the feeling you just hopped into a car that cost almost as much as your house.

Long review short: A nice change of pace for the sim crowd and a unique experience. I'm joining an in-game club of sim racers (GTL, GTR2, and rFactor) who are also enjoying living an experience few of us will reach in the world outside our monitors. Well worth the 39.99 for me.

Post up if any of you take the plunge.

[davidan]

Sounds very interesting Devin. I may have to check this out. I've been to Hawaii a couple of times and absolutely loved it. Could be kind of fun exploring some of it again this way.

[Devin]

The more I drive it, the more I love this game! Twisting through moutain roads in a Lotus Elise or Mazerati Grandsport trying like hell to avoid traffic just gave me a perma-grin. This game is challenging as hell with huge room to improve.

The more I drive, the more I like the physics for what they are: fun and challenging. If I drove my Ascari around town like I do through Honalulu traffic, I'd be in jail or the ground. Dream come true.

Y'all have got to try this!

[TimCollier]

I may have to break down and buy it just to check it out....thanks Devin. Post some screenshots if you can!!