TSA’s Top 100 of 2011 – #40 Test Drive Unlimited 2

Just about the time when people are sick to their back teeth of Gran Turismo 5’s endless tweaking, labyrinthine progression trees and go-faster decal stripes, Eden Games’ Test Drive 2 Unlimited will launch, dragging salivating petrol-heads back into the pit for more.

Comparisons with GT5 are a tad unfair, though. After all, the Test Drive series dates Polyphony’s benchmark by a full decade, Unlimited 2 the tenth in the established racing franchise.TDU2 also has SUVs. Yes, SUVs. Just be thankful Yamauchi-san didn’t see this article six months ago or you’d be still Googling “Gran Turismo 5 release date FFS.”

For its double-digit outing, Test Drive jets off to the sunny climes of Ibiza, the original island of Oahu unlockable when the player surpasses ten levels of the total sixty available. There’ll be dynamic weather, crash damage and a night and day cycle. All standard fare in today’s racing simulators but, unlike other racers, you will be able to actually – wait for it – get out of your car and walk around.

With over 3,000km of road, meticulously recreated from satellite imagery, Test Drive Unlimited 2 promises to offer a different flavour of a popular genre. TDU2 has its fans here at TSA, one staff member in particular wanting to go so far as to score the game an eleven. We didn’t let him. This is TSA. There are rules here.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 will launch on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Europe on February 11th.

15 Comments

  1. Feb eleventh! It’s a hint!

  2. This is the game I’m most looking forward to getting in the first few months of 2011.
    Pre-ordered it way back in June.

  3. Reading this has made me want to look into it, thanks TSA.

  4. The first TDU was utterly brilliant, had me glued to my 360 for weeks even despite the fact that it used to crash when trying to do the ’round the entire island’ Achievement.

    Really looking forward to this.

    • I remember the 120+ mile race around the island. CRAZY!

    • I had it on PC and my girlfriend navigated that for me. She was watching and calling out the upcoming bends for me as direction and severity, like a rally co-driver. Epic

      • easy right…. over jump…. hairpin good ol sega rally man

  5. After left feeling empty by GT5 I’m trying not to get my hopes up about this game to much.

  6. I’m hoping this is somewhere between Burnout Paradise and GT5. If it’s as open world as it seems to be, then it’s a pre-order from me.

    • It will be much closer to GT5 than Burnout, it’s much more about realism with only the openness touching on Paradise.

  7. Don’t let Polyphony Digital read this.

    • They can’t have it back now! Not until they pry it from my cold dead hands

  8. Really looking forward to this, I just want the freedom of being able to drive wherever I like.

  9. i’ve always liked Test Drive Unlimited fun game and yes it looks just as good as GT games.

Comments are now closed for this post.