Test Drive Unlimited - X360, M.O.O.R., $39.99

[schild]

Just felt the need to point out something.

Atari quietly released a game while I was at AGC, Test Drive Unlimited (TDU). It was $39.99, featured the entire island of Oahu (and it's surrounding islets, or whatever baby islands are called), a ton of real-life, classic, and concept cars, and a whole lot of online love. The servers don't stay up all that often, seems this was an experimental thing for some tech Atari is working on (hence the $40 price point - $20 below your normal 360 3rd party title). But when the servers are up, there's a lot of neat shit going on. Basically, from what tiny bit of online play I've been able to experience, each section of the island is something of a shard. You've got all the players on the server(s?) driving around an area and you can pick fights/challenges on the fly for a race and bet. You can also trade, sell, and buy cars as well as join a Large number of multiplayer challenges. Everything online and off is persistant. You get a car offline, you automatically have it while online.

Gripes:
GIANT island...
...with a crazy number of races and missions that you have to drive to the first time before being able to warp (think Guild Wars).
Where the fuck are my frontwheel drive cars? On that note, Toyota/Lexus/Scion and Honda/Acura plz. I've heard rumors they're being worked on.
Who designed these player models? Bleh. If you can't have them look good, don't make them, the game is about cars for chrissake.
Server stability is totally wonky, but it does seem to have a live team.
Aren't enough 4WD cars.
Cops sure do charge you a LOT for nicking a couple cars.
Drifting is ass due to nearly every car in the game being rear wheel drive.

Pros/Kudos:
GIANT island with a crazy number of races and missions (with a large variety among those categories).
Despite being able to (eventually) drive 250 MPH, Atari/Eden Games has included a teleport system, after you've hit a hotspot (think Guild Wars).
Pure skill MMOG action. And anyone who doesn't consider this an MMOG is a damn dirty liar. Or Brad McQuaid.
Four Wheel Drive > Front Wheel drive.
Some of the cars are positively stunning.
Cars don't get damaged because they're all "real" cars. (Let me explain, this game [by and large] is an advertisement for these car manufacturers. Atari/Eden Games was given permission to use these cars, but in that agreement they also had to agree to not have the cars be damaged). This is a common agreement and has happened a number of times in the past. It's one of the only non-design decisions (something forced down by The Man) that I often agree with.
Crotch Rockets!
No added cost for online play (and I'll have no problem paying for some "special" content, particuarly new roadways and such - if possible).
Running red lights, stop signs, and breaking the speed limit do not cause the cops to chase after you.
Cheap!
Fun!

All in all, for $39.99, it sets the bar for budget titles. The production values are high (short of the player models which have OFS (Oblivion Face Syndrome). The sound for each and every engine is just awesome. Lots of virtual life type stuff, but nothing terribly intrusive. The online experience is pretty seamless. The only sort of disclaimer I have is the following: You must like racing titles (there's a whole lot of that here) and you must lbe willing to learn how to drive RWD vehicles - about 85% of the cars are like that. If you can get through both of those, it's a no brainer purchase.

Note: Didn't feel like making a frontpage story on this. At its core, it's a racer. Racers really don't need that much attention. But the tech here is pretty neat. Oh, and far as I can tell, online play is pretty flawless.

[Trippy]

Gripes:
GIANT island...
Where the fuck are my frontwheel drive cars? On that note, Toyota/Lexus/Scion and Honda/Acura plz. I've heard rumors they're being worked on.

WTF would you want a front wheel drive car?

Drifting is ass due to nearly every car in the game being rear wheel drive.

You can't drift in a front wheel drive car without using the handbrake (presumably not simulated in the game) or lifting off the throttle (which means loss of power). With RWD you can drift with power still going to the rear wheels.

[schild]

The handbrake is simulated in game. Driving Turning in a rear wheel drive car in this game is trash. Hence my want for a front wheel drive car.

This is a video game first and foremost. It's not a simulator. As such, they really should have worked on the turning. Drifting in a 4WD car is good, but not perfect. Ridge Racer still sets the bar for turning using a control pad on a console (in, once again, an arcadey game - not a simulator).

Edit: Just to make it clear, you can't really drift with any proficiency at all with any cars. The controller, dare I say it is overtuned. Everything is slightly too touchy. I've got pretty solid gaming hands and dexterity when it comes to using a set of buttons and triggers that rely on pressure, but even I bite ass at anything more than a 70 degree turn.

[Trippy]

The handbrake is simulated in game. Driving on a rear wheel drive car in this game is trash. Hence my want for a front wheel drive car.

If RWD is trash why would you expect FWD to be better? You think understeering is going to get you around the course quicker?

[schild]

The handbrake is simulated in game. Driving on a rear wheel drive car in this game is trash. Hence my want for a front wheel drive car.

If RWD is trash why would you expect FWD to be better? You think understeering is going to get you around the course quicker?

Stop trying to bring reality into this. There's nearly nothing realistic about the driving in this game other than the engine sounds. If I wanted realistic driving I'd have waited for Forza or picked up my barely played copy of Gran Turismo 4. To answer your question, yes, it will get me around the course quicker, it sure as hell did in Ridge Racer. And why do I say that? Because this game begs for that sort of gameplay.

Edit: I should note, I play this game like I'm expecting arcadey gameplay. And most of the time, particularly when weaving through traffic, it's what I get. But right when I hit a corner, I'm fucked. Because everything turns like a fucking muscle car. Well, that's not true, the 4WD RS32 I just picked up doesn't, but it sure can spin out nice.

[Trippy]

Edit: Just to make it clear, you can't really drift with any proficiency at all with any cars. The controller, dare I say it is overtuned. Everything is slightly too touchy. I've got pretty solid gaming hands and dexterity when it comes to using a set of buttons and triggers that rely on pressure, but even I bite ass at anything more than a 70 degree turn.

Are you saying it's too easy to spin out with RWD or it's too hard to oversteer with one?

[schild]

Edit: Just to make it clear, you can't really drift with any proficiency at all with any cars. The controller, dare I say it is overtuned. Everything is slightly too touchy. I've got pretty solid gaming hands and dexterity when it comes to using a set of buttons and triggers that rely on pressure, but even I bite ass at anything more than a 70 degree turn.

Are you saying it's too easy to spin out with RWD or it's too hard to oversteer with one?

Too hard to oversteer.

I edited my post to touch on spinning out in 4WD.

[schild]

I figured you'd post back before I decided to pass out. But you haven't, so I'll leave you with this.

Drifting, the typica way - via oversteering - which should be easy in a RWD car, just isn't easy in this game. Maybe I'm not dextrous enough. Maybe the controller is too touchy. I don't know who or what to blame. But it's hard. As such, I went to every car dealership in the game to find either a 4WD or FWD car, because I figured less is more. Understeering doesn't work well in 4WD cars. Neither does oversteering. It's best to just hit the break wide around the turn and go in tight in the 4WD cars - simply because it's prone to spinning out. That's right, drive kinda like a grandma.

Needless to say, the mechanics are a bit wonky. And I get pissed every now and then. But it's still a fucking blast of a game.

[Trippy]

I figured you'd post back before I decided to pass out. But you haven't, so I'll leave you with this.

I was too confused to reply :-D

[Strazos]

Maybe drifting is hard because....drifting is actually really hard? 

Have you simply tried driving the "real" way, like downshifting before the turn and stuff?

And as Trippy said, FWD is trash. All real racecars are RWD, with the occassional 4WD rally car or whatever.



Also, drifting with a 4WD car....how is that even possible?

[Trippy]

Also, drifting with a 4WD car....how is that even possible?

Very easily, just make sure you have any traction control systems turned off or minimized. I think you are being confused by the marketers. 4WD/AWD != can never oversteer.

[MisterNoisy]

Maybe drifting is hard because....drifting is actually really hard? 

Have you simply tried driving the "real" way, like downshifting before the turn and stuff?

And as Trippy said, FWD is trash. All real racecars are RWD, with the occassional 4WD rally car or whatever.

Also, drifting with a 4WD car....how is that even possible?

Every rally driver on the planet does it in almost every turn they take, except for some of the sharper hairpins on tarmac courses.  AWD cars can be made to powerslide/drift very nicely, either by entering hot, e-braking, or by flicking it slightly away from the turn just before turn-in to controllably unsettle the suspension.

That said, you're probably going faster if you're not drifting.

[Strazos]

I know Rally cars do it - they're built to. Street cars, on the other hand...

And I know AWD/4WD can oversteer, they're just generally built to minimize it.

[stray]

I was really looking forward to this a while back. Thought it'd be release on PC's too, not just the 360. Silly me. It's what I get for advocating console supremacy.

[Engels]

Well, there's also the point that rally cars are on dirt, so drifting is easier when you have less traction issues. Tarmac drifting is over done in video games, and not very realistic, but its fun to do. I personally prefer the art of cutting the curve just so, instead of just skidding about, but all of its good.

[Morfiend]

I tried the demo. I hopped on the motorcycle, and it was absolute ASS. I hated it. I wanted to try a car, but it wouldnt let me get back to the garage, and I kept crashing, I wanted to restart the demo, but it would only let me quit the game entirely. So I did, and deleted it. No thanks to this one.

[Nebu]

There's nearly nothing realistic about the driving in this game other than the engine sounds.

That kills any interest I had.

[stray]

Afterburner or Ace Combat had nothing to do with actual plane combat. Tony Hawk Pro Skater or ATV Off Road Fury had nothing to do with real skateboarding or four wheeling. Mike Tyson's Punchout had nothing to do with boxing. Still fun though.

I doubt it's even as arcade-y as the examples above, but if this is what Schild generally means, then I'm still interested.

[WindupAtheist]

This actually sounds really cool.  What's the car customization like?

[Nebu]

Afterburner or Ace Combat had nothing to do with actual plane combat. Tony Hawk Pro Skater or ATV Off Road Fury had nothing to do with real skateboarding or four wheeling. Mike Tyson's Punchout had nothing to do with boxing. Still fun though.

I doubt it's even as arcade-y as the examples above, but if this is what Schild generally means, then I'm still interested.

I understand what you're saying, but (as schild knows) I'm a hardcore sim guy.  I am glad there are games like this out there, they're just not my thing.

[schild]

This actually sounds really cool.  What's the car customization like?

Not much thus far. Performance packs and shit. But there's a rack of cars to play, so customization? Yea, buy a different car.

Edit: Oh yea, you can do rims and such on a handful of the newer cars.

[Strazos]

I would be impressed if the dumbasses who buy the oversized rims for tires with super-thin sidewalls could break their rims.

[TardKommando]

Also, drifting with a 4WD car....how is that even possible?

<Unlurk>

Tiff to the rescue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFoKicxAXr0

<Lurk>

[Falconeer]

I was really looking forward to this a while back. Thought it'd be release on PC's too, not just the 360. Silly me. It's what I get for advocating console supremacy.

It will  be on MY PC on October 24th.

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=646506

[Falconeer]

Waiting for the Windows version of this game, I had the chance to test it for about 180 seconds (sigh) in a videogame store today. Loved the visuals and the "concept", while I had some doubts about how driving the car feels...

Wondering if anyobody had the chance to try it with a steering wheel and if it's still stiff and unsatisfying with a wheel as with the Xbox pad...

On the other hand, of course, I am hoping they will be able to "tweak" the Win version to be more steering-wheel compliant and MAYBE just a little more fun to drive.

[Falconeer]

Windows version postponded to February 2007.

Crap.

Would like to know why too.

[stray]

I'm pretty sure I'll have a 360 before that.