There are other things for you to spend your money on in the game. You can
purchase certain properties such as homes or condos, but they are essentially
there to provide you with more garage space in which to store cars. If you find
yourself lusting over a new car but are out of room to store it, you can try and
sell or trade one of your existing cars online. This is another nice bit of
online integration in the game, but don’t expect to dump your starting car for a
huge profit. If you’re stuck deciding between two cars to buy, you also have the
option of renting cars in the game. Rent each model, put them through a thorough
test drive, and then buy the one that you enjoy driving more. There are over 90
cars available in the game, so you can expect to face these types of buyer’s
dilemmas regularly as you play.
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| Watch out for the cops. |
Clothing stores let you dress up your character in a wide variety of designer
label clothing, but since you spend the vast majority of the game inside your
car there are not that many moments for you to enjoy your new look.
The driving in the game definitely leans towards arcade racing rather than a
realistic simulation. However, you can feel the difference between the handling
of the cars in the game. You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to face your
share of challenging races thanks to the winding roads of Oahu and the traffic
sharing the road with you. When you do make a mistake your car won’t suffer from
it as there is no damage model in the game. The will be consequences in the form
of police attention, though. The cops apparently look the other way when it
comes to violating traffic laws such as lights, stop signs, and speed limits,
but they don’t take kindly to playing bumper cars on the freeways. Cops will
give chase if you start hitting other cars. You can try to outrun pursuing
police cars, but if you get caught you’ll have to dig into your bank account to
cover the fines you’ve racked up. Luckily there’s no jail on Oahu…
There is a lot about Test Drive Unlimited that is innovative and enjoyable,
but it’s not going to have a long lasting appeal to everyone. If you enjoy
building car collections, participating in some standard street racing, and just
going for long drives to enjoy the scenery, then you’ll probably really enjoy
the game. If you like your arcade racing to be intense or prefer more concrete
goals in a game beyond simply accumulating cars, you’d be better off renting
Test Drive Unlimited. You’ll have enough time to marvel at what it’s
accomplished, but not enough to grow bored with it.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
84%. Well worth taking for a test drive.
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