Test Drive Unlimited Review (Xbox 360) By Wriggy

9 / 10
20 Jul 2006 at 22:44

Review by: Wriggy

Test Drive is not new to the gaming world with previous games including Test Drive: Overdrive - The Brotherhood of Speed and Test Drive: Off Road - Wide Open. Both of these were on the XBOX and PS2 but now Test Drive is back and it's Unlimited (get it?).

In Test Drive Unlimited you get to drive around Hawaii looking at detailed roads, houses, trees, rivers, skies and more which are meant to be identical to the real thing (but I've never been there so I can't compare).

Not only do you drive around but you build your status up. This can be done by winning races against other on road drivers. The money you win can be spent on things like clothes, cars, houses and more. Not only are there clothes, but designer clothes you may have heard of like Nike.

At first I wasn't really a fan of the game (as I am more used to Burnout style games) but after a few tries at it I found it really good and I was addicted. There's so much to explore and do.

Lots of cars are on the game including the Dodge Viper (which was only recently announced), Lamborghinis, Shelbys and loads more which all car fans will love.

There is online play making the game's lifespan even longer but unforunatley I haven't been able to try it out.

What really impresses me with this game is the detail. Little things like water ripples, sattelite navigation in certain cars (these can be seen at the view where you're in the car) and road signs make the game's graphics some of the best around.

The game runs very well but I feel some cars are slightly too hard to control.

I like how you can use the right thumbstick to look to the right so you can glance at certain things like road signs to see where you can go.

I think that the Police could be improved because a slight bump of he car means you get the Police after you which is annoying as you may want to mess around and try and get to places fast.

I love the feeling of driving the car from the in-car camera angle as it really gives you the feeling that you're actually driving but a steering wheel may spoil this game but as Microsoft are releasing a wiresless steering wheel in late 2006, it may be worth getting it.

Overall, for Test Drive Unlimited on the XBOX 360:

Graphics: 9 - Brilliant, some of the best graphics on any console.
Gameplay: 8 - Runs very well but lots of cars are hard to control but they can change it before its release.
Lifespan: 9 - Loads of roads to explore, lots of things to collect, online play, multiplayer and more. Is there any need to buy another game?
Online/Multiplayer: N/A - I may not have tried this out yet but when I do, I know I will love it like the single player as it is just so good.

Overall: 9/10 - One of the best games I have ever seen.

The game is also available on the PlayStation 2 and Sony PlayStation Portable so there's no reason not to have such a good game but I would recommend it for the XBOX 360 (even though it costs more) as the graphics are more jaw dropping and online play is by far better.

Expect to be playing this game for months to come and XBOX 360 owners don't have an excuse for not playing it as there is a demo on the XBOX Live Marketplace where you get fifteen minutes to explore Hawaii in a car of your choice out of the three.

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