Joystiq hands-on: Taking Test Drive for a test drive
Driving games are dime a dozen, in my opinion, so when one comes around claiming to be "different," your ears are forced to perk up. This is where the latest version of Test Drive comes in. It's your standard, every day driving game but with a twist -- one that Atari and the developers hope is enough to draw you in. Whether or not you're a fan of these kinds of games, Test Drive Unlimited is looking to add more than just cruising and racing to your experience. When the game drops -- first on the Xbox 360 on September 5th, with the PS2, PSP, and PC versions following in October -- all of them will offer some unique online capabilities.
So what's different?
Atari is billing Test Drive as a Massively Open Online Racing (MOOR) title. That is, it's similar to what a traditional MMO might be, but with no swords or orcs running around. In this somewhat open world that takes place in Oahu, Hawaii, players can see up to 8 players around them at any given time or join in "clubs" to see a group of up to 16 players total -- clubs are basically a glorified lobby system within Test Drive.
As you do drive around, you'll see other players in their own cars with their own customizable avatar. In fact, you can look over at the other vehicle next to you and see the other player's character sitting there waiting to be challenged. In order to challenge that player, you simply press the A button and map out the race path you two will be going. A built in GPS system is represented in the game and will show and talk you through your planned course.
The cars, it's all about the cars
What's a driving game without some sweet rides? Test Drive Unlimited features 90 cars to begin with, -- all licensed, real-life models -- with a plan to offer downloadable packs of 6 cars each month for a small fee (no specific price has been set yet) for 12 months total. The cars vary from SUVs to muscle cars to your luxury sports sedans. And yes, there are even motorcycles.
Customization seems to be the name of the game with most racers these days, but Test Drive scales that back a bit -- most likely to save room for all the other things in the game. Players will be able to change the color of their car, but that's about it. The real customization comes with your avatar. You can change the clothing, look, pretty much everything you can think of.
A look at actual gameplay
Of course, you can have all the cool cars and customization you want, but what it all really comes down to is how the game actually plays. The look and feel of the elements within the game are quite nice, with quick jumps between menus and areas. The drivability of the cars, however, is a different story.
It seems the developers of Test Drive Unlimited were going for an in-between mix of arcade and realistic driving physics. It may sound feasible, but really it's not. The actual handling of the cars and motorcycles takes some getting used to. They have a feeling of being stiff and not as responsive as I would have liked. The rumble feature when hitting bumps in the road is a nice touch, but trying to pull off quick turns is near impossible, even though it feels like you're in an arcade world. Like I said, it takes a little time to adjust.
The crashes and the way cars react are fun to watch; when you see an opponent ram another vehicle ahead, it really looks like you are about to enter into a real mess of a scene and must plan out in your mind how to avoid it.
Overall impressions
Look, I'm not a huge fan of racing games to begin with, but this open-world MOOR concept of Test Drive adds a nice twist that is needed in the genre. I find that racing games are either too stale for me or inherently unfair with the suped up cars going against the casual gamer. I simply don't have the time to spend hours each day unlocking every single upgrade or super-car.
Overall, the game is promising. There are some areas that need to be tightened up and refined, but at least the game is looking to improve upon the standard racing formula.
