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(Above left) A Mercedes SLR McLaren on TDU (Above right) A Ferrari F430 Spider during a test drive on TDU Test Drive is a series of racing video games. Originally published by Accolade, which was later bought by InfoGrames, the first game was released in 1987 and has since been followed by several sequels. The Test Drive games are now published by Atari, the name which InfoGrames renamed itself to in 2003. There has been 9 installments in the series so far, and fans are waiting for 'Test drive unlimited 2' the long awaited 10th installment to be released. Here is a list of the games so far: >Test Drive (1987) >Test Drive II: The Duel (1989) >Test Drive III: The Passion (1990) >Test Drive 4 (1996) >Test Drive 5 (1998) >Test Drive 6 (1999) >Test Drive Overdrive (2002) >Test Drive: Eve Of Destruction (2004) >Test Drive Unlimited (2006) >(Not yet released) Test Drive Unlimited 2 (TBA)
We'll be focusing on Test Drive Unlimited, the latest installment in the series. In Test Drive Unlimited, the aim of the game is to get up the rankings from Rookie to Ace. You can choose from an array of different events like hitchhiker events, transporter events and much more. And if you just want to explore, you'll be glad to hear that you can still go up the rankings by exploring O'ahu and unlocking new roads. At the beginning of the game you can choose your avatar, then, after renting a car, you can buy a house and a car from selected dealerships including Alfa Romeo, Audi, and Saturn. Afterwards you will do your first race. In the game you will be able to buy different clothes for your avatar using coupons earned in special events. Customising your character may sound cool but customising your car is better! take your car to the correct shop to get it upgraded. There is a huge variety of cars to start off with, and after getting so far in the game, you'll unlock motorcycles!
Be careful! You may regret driving recklessly on the island because (Yep, you guessed it) you could be pulled over by the police. If you are caught (IOW: you didn't escape fast enough) you could face either: >A fine depending on how much damage you've made >Or if you don't have the money to pay the fine, you'll be jailed. Every time you go up a ranking, you unlock new things, new cars, new houses, and new races. The map is one the biggest of any racing game. With over 1000 miles to be raced on, to fully complete this game would take days. There are over 500 different races, over 80 cars (plus for pc, a mega pack is available and Xbox 360 there is cars available for download on the Xbox live marketplace) and about 50 different houses that can be unlocked. The races vary from short sprint races against the clock to the massive race around the edge of the whole island.
The cars also differ greatly, from classic US Muscle cars to state of the art supercars; from Pontiac Firebirds to Ferrari F430s. Every car has its own set of stats broken down into 5 catagories: acceleration, top speed, braking, handling and weight. Even the best cars on the game only do well in 2 or 3 of the catagories, meaning that handling and speed will be extremely realistic. On the subject of handling, on TDU you can choose how you drive and it will change according to that.
Overall, Test Drive Unlimited surprises by being better than Gran Turismo and Need For Speed, and having the endless system of roads and challenges to make sure you never get bored. |
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