TDU2 - What a load of...

[Baxie]

Wow.... So the day came and went, and finally Test Drive Unlimited 2 had been released. Nice. I was out of the country (Denmark) for the baptism of my nephew in England, when the game was released. So I had my girlfriend pick up the game on friday, and it was waiting for me monday, when I got home. Now it's been a month, (nearly) since I started the game up for the first time, and I've been thinking about a lot of things.

 

Now it's time to get these things out of my system.

 

I mean, this is the sequel to one of the best driving games in the world. So how does that measure up then?

 

Now don't get me wrong. I love the fact that Polyphony and Turn 10 are constantly battling for the position of the most realistic racing game in the world. And the sheer number of challengers is stunning, and keeps pushing the envelope, but when it came down to it, TDU had something else. It's no secret what, nor is it an X-factor. It's simply a matter of freedom.

 

The 1500 miles of roads ahead of us in the game were ours to roam in whatever car it was we felt like using. From affordable stable german made hatchbacks to the monstrous dreamcars of our wildest imaginations, these were handed to us to drive on one of the world's most beautiful and attractive places.

 

For a car-nut, this was a representation of heaven. The heavy summer-sun letting off on the heat as the night draws closer hanging heavy over the western coast of Oahu, while a group of million-dollar++ cars are racing down the Farringtown Hwy towards Makaha can easily pass for my idea of paradise.

 

And while this may be a hard act to follow, the components are easy to include. Freedom to drive where you want, how you want, what you want. A beautiful landscape and the ability to do so with your online-buddies. They did it once, and I was sure that they could do it again. As long as these three components worked, I would love TDU2.

 

Now it's been a month... do I love TDU2? Well... not really... and then again...

 

They did deliver two out of three, and as far as I understand, they are working hard on getting the third element included as well.

 

There are new roads, and an entirely new island to roam. While the graphics look much like the old ones. There are differences. More different modelling on buildings and a crisper feel doesn't however make it feel like a new game. And when online works... it will be fun to roam these streets with you guys again.

 

But these three things should have been the central elements of this game, and they are faulty, lacking or come at a cost.

 

The new graphics have pushed the engine of the game so hard, that pop-up has reappeared. (At least this is what I imagine causes the pop-up, since there wasn't any in the first game.) While the pop-up doesn't have any impact on how you drive, the effect ruins the setting as a whole for me. I've said so many time while playing the first game: "I am amazed at how much of this island I can see lying in front of me. Now trees magically appears in the distance and it does have an impact on my experience of the game, even if I can still see which direction I have to turn.

 

The streets that have been put in the game (As I understand it 800 km more), have made Oahu a much more lonely and desolate place. Check out the central city of Mililani in the first game, and now in the second. Okay... So it's nice to have more roads to drive, but I have preferred the same amount of roads but an entirely new location. Liek Gran Canaria.

 

I'll refrain from commenting on the fact, that I have problems seeing my friends on the streets of Oahu or Ibiza, since this is being looked at! (Oops, looks like I didn't do a very good job there.)

 

So what I got is a reheated version of the old game, with new roads, slightly new graphics and a shoddy multiplayer-system that's (hopefully) being worked on. This is nowhere near good enough. I've payed a rather large sum of money for this game, and I would prefer updated graphics, a more powerful engine, new places to go and no bugs.

 

But reality is, that you wont always get what you wish for.

 

Will I keep playing the game? Well... yes. As long as you people are around, I will be cruising and racing to make money buy new cars and enjoy myself. Because while the game is nowhere near enough to call it a sequel, it's still better than the old game.

 

Because there are some of the new things that are included, that we will enjoy, and that makes it a better choice than the previous game and some things that are a little weird, and then the downright nasty, horrible and shoddily done crap, that we have to live with.

 

The good:

1. Ibiza.... A new location. A new place to go and race.

2. New game modes. Awesome. Fantastic. Coop-racing. What a great idea.

3. New cars. Yay! This lineup is awesome. I love being able to thrash around in an Arial Atom and an Apollo Gumpert at high speeds. Almost as much as I love putting around in my VW Beetle at 12 miles per hour exploring. Fantastic.

 

The weird:

Lots of clothes make for a few more hours gaming for the collector's. I never bothered with it in the first game. I wanted to drive cars, not try on clothes. And this is just the beginning. Because the clothes-horse tendencies are turning the game into a Sims light, where you get to invite your friends home to the homes that they themselves have bought. But lo' and behold. Your table is Oak, where their tables are mahogany or birch... and you have a different blanket. Ok. Some people like to play house. And somehow this game allows you to play a weird version of grown-up house combined with Paradise Hotel.

It's great to have a way of trying to drive a Ferrari at 250 around the island of Hawaii, as only a select few will ever have this opportunity. But when you are playing a computergame about walking around a party, you need to put down the controller, put on your mumu and go out and meet someone.

 

Also... why do I need to do this to progress through the game?

 

Off-road-racing has been brought into the game. Now this should be a good thing. No really. It should. A certain percentage of the game now takes place on gravel-roads. High-speed racing involves a large amount of skidding around drift-racing through corners in SUVs. So what's wrong with that?

 

Well.... My first car in this game, is a Lancia Delta Integrale. This car doesn't do half the speed as the cars designed for "off-roading". Well... This is either the result of very poor research or a blinding indifference to quality.

 

The sort of racing, that takes place off the asphalt roads in TDU is called rally. High-speed racing on gravel-roads has through the ages been won by cars like the Toyota Celica GT-Four, the Audi Quattro or (incidentally) the Lancia Delta Integrale.

 

So why-oh-why must we be forced to drive the content of the soccermom-parade at 200 kph on a dirt road? Ok. So SUVs are now a class in TDU! Fine by me. But don't tell me, that these are the cars that Sebastian Loeb would choose over his front-wheel drive Citroen?

 

The Ugly

TDU 1 didn't have a storyline. The game was great. TDU 2 HAS a story-line. Though I really wish it didn't. This is, by far, the worst piece of writing I have ever seen. If 1.000 chimpanzees, with 1.000 typewriters has to spend 1.000 years to write a Shakespeare-play, I'm guessing that a spider-monkey spent 12 minutes on the story-line in this game.

 

*spoiler alert*

 

When you are rudely awakened by a poorly voice-acted woman, you are not sent to the unemployment-line, instead she enters you into the highly prestigious "Solar Crown Tournament", where eight other people, including this woman, and her father, are participants. I assume they are making a television show out of it, since there are several scenes, where she is speaking to a camera, but noone cares about the races. Other than her, where we are treated to one of four, maybe five, different speaks that start off each race. My favourites:

 

"We're back with the Solar Crown Tournament, with all your favourite drivers: Miami, the Wilder Brothers, Stuart...."

 

"The Drama! The Wilder Brothers have been squabbling with Stuart Again. The pressure of the tournament is really starting to show."

 

Oh. My. God!

 

It feels like an afterthought, and compared to the fact, that there are a million pieces of clothing in this game, the use of their time has been badly prioritized.

 

My clock says 18.30 NOW. Let's see what I can come up with in three minutes.

 

You are working as a Valet, and dreaming of the good life, you are disinterested, and get fired for sleeping on your job. The girl who has you fired is a famous street-racer, participating in the Solar Crown tournament taking place on Oahu and Ibiza, gives you a sullen look and laughs at you. You gather what cash you have, and buy a car, and start taking in smaller street-races. Eventually ending up racing against her in the Solar Crown Races.

 

There. Three minutes gone. You can keep the races as they are. Name them something else. Find one more person who is your contact for the street racing and skip the ridiculous voiceovers on the start of each race.

 

It horrifies me, and makes me want to hurt someone when I have to sit through it. Each leg of the tournament has a number of races. Six or Eight or so... I'd at least go for a new speak for each race.

 

It's poorly done, on all fronts, and the game is better off without it. So why.... why why why?

 

*Spoiler Alert Ending*

 

This game isn't bad.... but the first one wasn't bad either.

 

This game is just not anywhere NEAR enough to justify the expense of a separate game. Nor the fact that Eden spent FIVE years on it.

 

Will we keep playing it? Well... yes. Because it is the only game of it's type out there. So yeah... we'll keep playing it. But I seriously hope that TDU3 will be all-new island, new engine, better graphics, more stuff to do, and not just a new way of cooking yesterdays leftover steak.

 

P.S.: I expected them to take the ability to make your own playlist from the last game and put it in this. Or maybe just more than 11 songs on 2 radio-stations.

[Soundwave]

pfff i really need to take the time to read it, Lol XD :lol:

[CLR-GTR]

I like the game, so I'll be playing it not only because it's perhaps the best/only one in its kind, but also because I like it. The story is a bit lame but I don't think I've ever heard of a GOOD racinggame with a GOOD storyline, imo those two just don't mix, perhaps Planet of Death was one of the exceptions. I also am not really keen on the vocal announcements at that Solar Crown stuff, they could have left it away tbh and keep it for the biggest events.

 

I do agree however the next Test Drive installment needs to be a lot better. Imo it needs to be incredibly much better tested (since I have now noticed at least half of all the serious stuff and details have not even been looked at), better filled with better and quite a lot MORE content and details, than TDU2 is compared to TDU1, to keep the series in the top range. TDU2 ain't bad, but to bring it to the top it needs to be way better next time. You can be the only one in your kind, but if you won't push the limits and amaze everybody, it's going to be easy enough for others to become better.

 

And I do have my doubts if Atari and Eden can pull this off. Eden seems to be very very limited in the people they have, and what they can and can't, Atari doesn't have enough money and I have the idea they tend to be rushing stuff a lot.

[eXile]

Nice writeup dude and I agree with yah! + REP

[Northldn1]

Atari and eden should just sell the game rights off to rockstar games.

 

Tdu concepts and ideas + Rockstar games resources and funding=win

 

Tdu 3 Monte Carlo anyone?

[Dan G]

Wow I accidentally sat and read all that :cheeky:

 

Makes a few fair points though.

[Ryzza5]

If you use 5.1 surround sound, mute the Center channel and you won't hear the speach before races ;)

 

A decent write-up nonetheless.

[hpluls]

Great post, despite the lenght you've managed to keep it interesting :lol: I pretty much agree with what you've said, +rep.

[Fear Deer]

If you use 5.1 surround sound, mute the Center channel and you won't hear the speach before races ;)

 

A decent write-up nonetheless.

 

Gota try that :-D!

[Who]

I agree with a lot of the points, in fact I think they did miss a trick in offline races, as they could easily have themed the dirt races in a rally style, for example by making championships stage-based, with the end of one event being the start of the next, taking diversions for races/eliminators as and when. essentially making championships progress logically.

 

I'm all for the individual races, using solar crown as championships to enter once you're a bit more notorious.

 

Essentially, I think that what is wrong with the game is that no-one actually played it. For example I can't think anyone would program the stickers shop, test it and go 'yeah, this is fine, this doesn't need to be less twitchy, have less restrictive dimensions and have more controls than 'undo'. Or played the 'story' without thinking 'well, this is naff' or 'wow, maybe we should record more dialogue' or 'does every single class really need exactly the same license tests?'

[CLR-GTR]

The stickers shop is just awful, they haven't fixed anything in there, or making it more user friendly.

[Ryzza5]

Yeah, it's the worst mix of too inprecise and yet somehow too twitchy - but if you persevere and get it just right, the outcome is [usually] worth the effort and pain.

[Jusmar]

Tdu 3 Monte Carlo anyone?

 

For some strange reason I started drooling all over myself... Sadly its not an island... They could do something like Crete or something and include oahu and ibiza (funny I know how to spell that now)

[CLR-GTR]

Monte carlo is really way too small compared to what we now have, imo TDU isn't supposed to go downhill from now on by offering less cars, features and smaller locations, it needs to be more and bigger to keep the leading position they have now for online racinggames and stay the special game it is.

[DJdan]

If you use 5.1 surround sound, mute the Center channel and you won't hear the speach before races ;)

 

A decent write-up nonetheless.

 

 

well i cant seem to get 5.1 DB out of the game its stereo when i plsy it and i use a Logitech Z5500 with an optical cable to my PS3..

 

so i dunno if they have given the PS3 version a 5.1 Surround sound or i am doing something wrong...

[Ryzza5]

Cool - I have the same [awesome] speakers :p

[RazorX63]

Will we keep playing it? Well... yes. Because it is the only game of it's type out there. So yeah... we'll keep playing it. But I seriously hope that TDU3 will be all-new island, new engine, better graphics, more stuff to do, and not just a new way of cooking yesterdays leftover steak.

Nope, not really we won't. (Depends from who's "we", i already stopped.)

 

This game is worst, than the first one.

That subject's getting kind'a old, so i won't be bringing it again. You know the drill.

[eXile]

Nope, not really we won't. (Depends from who's "we", i already stopped.)

 

This game is worst, than the first one.

That subject's getting kind'a old, so i won't be bringing it again. You know the drill.

 

I wouldn't say its "worse" than the old one. It lacks a few things but it adds a lot of new other things that I like about it.

 

Many people complained but as people get together and organise cruises and fun events, sooner or later you ignore the "so crappy physics" and you start to enjoy it, trust me :) Its only boring if you don't have anything to do with anyone to do it. :cool:

[MclarenF1GTR]

Atari and eden should just sell the game rights off to rockstar games.

 

Tdu concepts and ideas + Rockstar games resources and funding=win

 

Tdu 3 Monte Carlo anyone?

 

AGREED