Test Drive Unlimited 2

''Test Drive Unlimited 2'' is a 2011 open world racing video game developed by Eden Games and published by Atari for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the sequel to the 2006 game ''Test Drive Unlimited'' and the nineteenth entry in the ''Test Drive'' video game series and was released on 8 February 2011.

Gameplay

''Test Drive Unlimited 2'' includes a variety of roads on the island of Oahu, which returns from the first game, and the island of Ibiza. The game features three main vehicle categories, with each vehicle also belonging to a subcategory depending on quality – A for asphalt cars (A7 to A1), B for Off-road vehicles (B4 to B2), which is a new feature in ''TDU2'', and C for classic cars (C4 to C1), with an additional M category for motorcycles (included in DLC). The vehicle subcategory is noted in the form of a number; the lower the number, the higher the quality. The plot revolves around the Player's customizable avatar, who is offered the chance to enter a series of tournaments and progresses through the game in order to eventually become the winner of the Solar Crown by defeating a number of NPCs (non-player characters) in various races.

Plot

The Player character is a poor valet driver working in Ibiza for Tess Wintory, host of the 2011 Solar Crown, a highly popular racing championship. Tess berates the Player for arriving late; she considers firing them, but seeing as they are a car enthusiast, she has second thoughts, and asks them to escort her to the Sant Antoni de Portmany club, in exchange for entering them in the Solar Crown. On the way to the club, Tess explains one of the racers withdrew, leaving an open position for the player. Tess herself is also a contestant in the championship, and enrolls the player to dampen the competition.

At the club, Tess introduces the Player to the viewers of Solar Crown. She explains how they need to gain racing licenses for each class of vehicle, in order to legally partake in the races and challenges of the respective class. She introduces the Player to Todd Bishop, a driving instructor, who takes them to a used car dealership. There, the Player chooses a car, and Todd takes them to a run-down caravan, which becomes the Player's house.

Throughout the game, the Player earns their way up the ranks of the championship. They can use money earned from races to buy houses, cars (which are needed for certain races) and clothes from dealerships and stores around the islands. The other contestants of the tournament will also challenge the Player in one-on-one races, putting their beloved cars on the line. After reaching a moderate status in the competition, the championship moves to Oahu.

Not wanting to lose to a rookie, Tess and her father Stuart Wintory, another contestant and sponsor of the tournament, rig the competition to prevent the Player from winning. The championship ends with a colossal time trial race around Oahu, where the Player becomes the ultimate winner of the Solar Crown.

Location

The game is set upon two islands: Ibiza (an island in the Balearic Islands, a Spanish territory) and Oahu (one of the Hawaiian islands; returning from TDU). Both islands have been modeled mostly accurately by using satellite data. Each island has both asphalt roads and off-road routes, translated to roughly two-thirds of all roads being asphalt roads, and the total length of road exceeds 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles). The racing of the game is similar with the previous game, and there are three championship cups, for each vehicle class, to win in the game (one in Ibiza and two on Oahu).

The islands have new challenges and races to earn extra cash, and the roads on Oahu have been modified to give the location a fresh look, especially for those who played the previous game. Oahu has also been renewed graphically to stay up to date for the new game, and each island features a 24-hour cycle and dynamic weather. The player can travel between the two islands by driving to the airport on one island, where a cutscene shows the character taking off as a passenger on a plane, and then flying to the next location on the other island. This air-commuting ability needs to be unlocked by reaching Level 10 in the game. The airports have modeled interiors which, like car dealerships and other locations, allows online players to interact with other online players in the same location. With the release of the second DLC, the player also has the option to instantly change islands instead of entering the airport. However, they can still choose to enter the airport if the player desires to do so.

Multiplayer

''Test Drive Unlimited 2'' has a similar online mode to the previous game; free roam driving. During free roaming, up to eight players can join a session at the same time. The ability to walk is also present in the new racing lobby, homes and shops. When waiting for every player to be ready to race, cars of the other players can be examined. Also, players can be in the seat of another player's car to show or be shown different shortcuts. If a player triggers a police chase, other players can also join in the chase, either as fellow racers trying to outrun the police, or as police officers trying to arrest the racers.

The game's online servers went offline in November 2018, disabling online multiplayer and the ''TDU2: Casino Online'' expansion. However, in 2021, modders restored the Windows version's online functionality via a mod titled ''TDU World'', which also includes additional content of its own.

TDU2: Casino Online

The game also features an additional paid DLC known as ''TDU2: Casino Online''. Accessible from the start of the game, the casino includes roulette, blackjack, slot machines, among other games. The player can transfer their TDU2 in-game currency to casino chips to play the games. Since the servers shutdown in November 2018, the Casino DLC is no longer accessible.

Development and marketing

Reception

''Test Drive Unlimited 2'' received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Destin Legarie from Destructoid gave a negative review of the game, awarding it a score of 4 out of 10 and commented that ''Test Drive Unlimited 2'' was "surrounded by a bug filled world, glitchy gameplay, and a core mechanic that doesn't function".

Oli Welsh from Eurogamer gave the game a score of 7 out of 10. In his review, Welsh called ''Unlimited 2'' "fantastic escapism", complimenting the atmosphere and multi-player components. Otherwise, he criticized the theme, commenting that "for a game so obsessed with image and lifestyle, TDU2 is hilariously, if endearingly, uncool" and concluding "it's just a shame it sometimes needs to escape from itself".

Matthew Kato from Game Informer praised the game, awarding it 8.5 out of 10 and complimenting the mixture of open-world and online interactions with the single-player competitions and the free roam, calling them a "cohesive experience". He finally stated that ''Test Drive Unlimited 2'' "might be lacking in most critical areas, but this is one instance where the sheer quantity of features prevails since their structure is thoughtful enough to make this game more than just a lazy vacation".

Jane Douglas from GameSpot was less enthusiastic with the game, awarding it a score of 7 out of 10, complimenting the open world and online interactions as "attractive", but stating that, as a whole, the game "doesn't do any one thing better than a number of more specific, less expansive driving games".

Rory Manion from GameSpy gave the game a score of 2.5 out of 5 stars. She compared the title to other modern racers: "Want exciting racing? Grab '' Need for Speed: Shift'', or ''Burnout Paradise'', or '' Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit''. Want the best driving model? '' Gran Turismo''. Best car customization? ''TDU2s piddly sticker shops don't hold a candle to ''Forza Motorsport 3''".

Ryan Clements from IGN was disappointed with the game, awarding it a mixed 5.5 out of 10: "This open-world driving experience is riddled with problems and even the driving itself is far from perfect". He did not like the "ugly character models" and voice acting in the game, considering that it "will annoy at first and then grow to intolerable levels as they're repeated constantly".

Jon Denton from ''The Daily Telegraph'' gave the game a score of 7 out of 10, naming it "another flawed gem" from Eden Games, and stating that "''Test Drive Unlimited 2'' teaches us that it's not just the open world you create, but what you do within it that really forms its identity".

Steve Butts from The Escapist also gave the game a 2 stars out of 5, calling the game "a wreck, burdened with a laughable economy, too much irrelevant content and weak multiplayer options". He also commented that the game "definitely has its moments", further concluding that he "can't deny the game's quirky charm".

According to BigBen Interactive, as of December 2016 estimated sales for ''Test Drive Unlimited 2'' were put at roughly 1.8 million units sold.

Technical issues

At release, the game suffered from a series of reoccurring bugs, particularly on PC, which can seriously affect gameplay, and which prompted the studio to disable the multiplayer functionality due to connection and server issues. General issues included: server blackouts, repeatedly dropped connections, inability to add friends in-game, and many other advertised online features malfunctioning or not functioning at all. Several patches have been released to resolve the issues, as well as several free or fee-based downloadable content packages and individual items (i.e., new missions, cars). The initial download is free but the virtual vehicles carry a real-world cost in the form of in-game 'tokens' obtainable for real money. For the PC version of the game, the price was set at 80 Atari tokens each, and the smallest amount of 'Atari tokens' available for purchase is a bundle of 400 tokens for US$5.

There have been many bugs reported in the game, and across all gaming platforms for which the game was released. These include, but are not limited to: corrupted saved game files issue which ultimately forces the player to forfeit all accumulated in-game assets and current progress by having to start the game anew under a newly created profile. Also reported frequently are issues with the multiplayer functions, such as players being unable to connect to each other. These server issues also prevent anyone trying to start the game in "connected mode" or connected to Xbox Live or PlayStation Network. A patch has been released to fix some of these issues, including the activation of the Club feature, which was disabled to correct exploits in the system. On the same day the patch was released for the PC, Atari sent console patches to both Microsoft and Sony for approval.

On 10 March 2011, Atari had announced that save corruption fixes for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 would go live on the next day. However, just as it was for the previous iteration of ''TDU'', the patches never did seem to be fully successful in addressing the issues and fixing the glitches and bugs encountered by players.

As of 8 October 2012, players across all platforms were still reporting problems. Atari also stated that additional patches for both consoles would be available 14 March 2011. After this update, Xbox 360 users began to have network and server issues. The PlayStation 3 patch was released three day later, giving access to MyTDULife and Clubs.

Sequel

A third ''Test Drive Unlimited'' game, officially known as '' Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown'', was announced on 7 July 2020. Unlike the two previous games, it is being developed by Kylotonn (under the name KT Racing) and published by Nacon. A teaser trailer dropped in April 2021, with a full trailer released in July 2021 which revealed that the game would release in 2023. The game's location is set to take place on Hong Kong Island.

References

External links

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Unlimited 2
2011 video games
Atari games
Open-world video games
PlayStation 3 games
Racing video games
Video games about police officers
Video games developed in France
Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender
Video games set in Hawaii
Video games set in Spain
Windows games
Xbox 360 games
Video games using Havok
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Eden Games games