Previous Next

The only thing missing is the crowd.

It's not often that a game's title can make such an implied guarantee (Bulletstorm notwithstanding). But Test Drive Unlimited 2 isn't hiding what it brings to the party: A huge interactive game world filled with cars to collect, races to win, luxury to buy and people to show it off to. And it gets almost all of that right.

Instead of jumping right into a race car, TDU2 sets the tone as an RPG right away through a choice of character and a little introduction to the lifestyle goals of the game. With barely the shirt on your back (which isn't even required) you're introduced to the road racing circuit and offered the blank canvases of a dumpy house, clunky car and sparse wardrobe. Time spent in TDU2 is spent exploring the island of Ibiza, racing, making money and then spending it to show off your awesomeness to everyone else.

There are three driving settings: Full Assistance is extremely forgiving, Hardcore is the most difficult to master and Sport Mode is somewhere in the happy medium. None of them feel quite like one would expect - it seems to be the cars that make the most difference, and they're pretty inconsistent. So each mode and car has its quirks to master, and once you do you'll tailor them more to your habits through mechanical changes in the garage and more cosmetic changes like stickers. All of which, of course, costs money.

Earning money is pretty obvious - win races. The more you drive, the more of the island you'll explore. The more you explore, the more you'll see what you don't have. Cars, clothes, and houses. There are oodles and oodles of it to collect. And doing so won't get old for a very long time. The island vistas are gorgeous and apparently modeled after the real deal. And it seems just difficult enough to build a lifestyle of wealth and fame. It might not be difficult enough for some, but the game includes all these things so you can buy them. TDU2 is not about denial.

Unless you tried playing online during the first few weeks of the game's launch. The Xbox 360 online features worked hardly at all, and when they did it was not pretty. Most of that seems to be fixed now, and TDU2 is fulfilling the promise that you can show off all your stuff to the world through challenges and character interactions in the areas that don't involve cars. With any luck, those that bought the game early are still around.

The title of this RPG/racing game fits nicely. While driving through one of the biggest open worlds we've seen, the mountains of unique challenges and items really do feel unlimited, most of the time. TDU2 is an incredible toy box full of racing, exploring, car collection and the lifestyle of the fast and famous. But the rough start has probably made the rest of the game's experience a lot less than it could have been.