Reviews
Test Drive Unlimited 2 (2011) - Review
Test Drive Unlimited 2 (TDU2) is a racing video game developed by Eden Games and published by Atari. It is the sequel to Test Drive Unlimited and the tenth game in the series. The game was released on 8 February 2011 in North America and on 11 February in Europe.
There is a storyline in Test Drive Unlimited 2 for the player to follow. To progress through the game, the player has to earn experience points to level up through the 60 levels. These points can be earned via 4 categories:
- Competition (racing, completing challenges)
- Social (making friends in the game, race against other people, joining clubs)
- Discovery (discover all roads, take photographs of specific locations, find all car wrecks)
- Collection (buy cars, houses, furniture, clothing/basic needs)
There are an additional 10 Levels available to those who acquire the TDU2 Casino Online DLC/Pre-order Bonus, these levels are achieved within the casino itself.
The player can earn extra money depending with how the player drives. Driving like a daredevil and performing stunts, drifting through turns at high speeds and evading crashes and the traffic will earn the player extra cash. Exploring the island lets the player find vehicle wrecks which will unlock exclusive vehicles at the dealerships on the island. The player can also walk out of the car in vehicle shops,player houses, clubs and the optional casino DLC. The player's avatar can be altered by changing hair, clothes, physical appearance and their attitude and facial features, and they can also buy houses. Co-op will also make an appearance in the game including a Follow-the-Leader mode. In this mode, players will have to complete a route by driving through checkpoints. When a checkpoint is passed by the leader, the game promotes one of the other drivers as leader. Working together properly is made even more important as only the leader can see the route on his GPS display.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 delivers immensely in the content department. As advertised, the game is "Massively Open Online Racing Experience", and this couldn't be more true. As you are progressing through the game, earning experience, licenses, and cars, you also have 1000's of other people competing in your world. These people are looking for challenges, or just doing the same as you, and progressing through their single player experience. And with the term thrown around quite a bit after Gran Turismo 5, TDU2 definitely falls into that category of CARPG, if not RPG. There are so many customizable option in TDU2. Since you have an avatar which you select at the very cheesy opening of the game, you can customize this avatar with clothing and other options that you can purchase as you earn money from any of the various activities on Ibiza. Aside from the purchasing of clothes, you can speak with real estate agents, customize your vehicles, customize you home, and customize just about every aspect of TDU2.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 is not a linear game. There is a very neat leveling structure put in place to assure that you get the most out of the game. With four categories to earn XP: Social, Discovery, Competition, and Collection, the game constantly has you doing new things. Hardly a boring experience, if just for the sheer fact that the game makes you want to challenge that guy that just sped past you and knocked you off the road if just for the chance at leveling up. And this is where the Sandbox elements of the game really come into play. You can take off to explore the island in all it's beauty, and just search for wrecked vehicles which will net XP. Or you can just focus obtaining licenses and grinding through the ranks that way. But there always seems to be some type of distraction in TDU2 to keep you occupied.