This is my first Final Opinion article, a quick semi-review of a game that hasn’t earned or won’t get a full, proper review. Our first target is Test Drive Unlimited 2.
Test Drive Unlimited was a sneaky-fun game. Not a great game, maybe not even really that good of a game, but it had it’s charms. I liked the game world, I liked the cars, and I liked the multiplayer premise. Is it’s sequel a better all around game, or just another wreck of a game?
Despite my picture above, this game is not a total wreck. In fact, it has some things that I really like. For one, I love the avatar concept. Wandering around your home and various stops in town, seeing other people just has a charm that navigating menus can’t match. Customizing your avatar is also a favorite pass time of many a gamer, so there’s that too. I enjoyed walking around my car and those in the show rooms, opening the doors and just touring them in general. If you saw a car you liked, you could give it a test drive and put it through it’s paces.
The cockpit view is nice, and you can look around as you drive, control the windows and radio, or open your convertible roof, should you have one. At one point I was taking my driving test, listening to the instructor tell me what I needed to do. I took a peek to my right, and lo and behold he was seated beside me. I figured he was your usual disembodied narrator or coming over a speaker or something but he was actually in the car. This was a neat, unexpected touch.
Where it all goes to hell, and why I’m not doing a full review, is in the control. The cars are all too slippery-feeling in my opinion. They slide out of my control at any speed and therefore I’m unable to win races and therefore progress. I’m not a racing expert obviously, but I should do better then careening out of control in just about every turn. The accelerator is finicky as hell, too. I use an Xbox 360 controller when I play so I should have an analog gas pedal, but it usually doesn’t feel like it.
Without the ability to get past the early stages of the game, I cannot give this a proper review. I will, however, throw out there that I’m really disappointed with Atari. This could be a solid, fun game if they’d button down the cars’ control. Until then, it’s just another flawed racer on the market. Alphasim out.
