Baxie

My gamertag is Baxie

Yeah Sure. I'll join ;) But how about cars bought on the AH? Just got a Muira there for 20.000 :)

Ok. So I've been playing around on TDU2 tonight, and I have some more thoughts on the game. What I noticed right away is, that contrary to the previous game, there are a stunning lack of choices for the Story-line missions. I was cruising around looking for an A4 car to beat the second A4 cup with. These are the choices: Audi RS6 Avant Aston Martin Vantage Aston Martin DB9 (Coupé and Volante) Chevy Camaro Jaguar xk. Five cars. But with the Astons grouped together (The Coupe and Volante are identical in performance, and why choose the baby-aston, when you can get the proper one) this leaves four choices. Or as many as the original game started with. This is simply too little. I know that compared to the old game there are more groups, but four choices for mid-game content.... Seriously. I know there are cars, that are available through progress, and clubs and what not. But there are simply too few viable choices for the cup races. Looking over the specs of the cars, it's a pretty big no-brainer which car to choose, if you want to win, and which to choose if you want an increasing challenge. I wont bother with physics, as a lot has already been said. I've only got this to say: Too many races are lost, because these cars take off way to easily on the hilly roads. But only four cars? I say, let the DLCs commence, because noone in their right minds will choose anything but a DB9 for driving in A4-races. And who put the Aston Martin DB9 in the same group as the Baby-aston, while the Alfa Romeo 8C is in a class above it? In reality the Aston is faster, both in acceleration AND on top. Bookmarks.... Oh dear lord. Why oh why make bookmarks, when you can put identifiers on them. I was driving around Oahu area 1 today, for discovery-reasons. And I managed to scrape together nine wrecks for the Citröen. Each and every one of places are now logged as bookmarks. (Got the last off the web, because I wanted to see the car.) but I also bookmarked a nice bridge I passed, and a Photo-op. So tomorrow (or the next day) when I play the game again, how will I know, which is which? How will I take people to the places that I enjoyed? How will I help people find the wrecks? Right. That's the only (new) gripe for now. I am enjoying the game more and more. There are some staggeringly beautiful places. Sure it could do with a new engine, but the off-road tracks give us some pretty exciting things to discover. The implementation of the wrecks are a fun choice. I love driving around in my beetle and my 2CV, and I hope that there will be more old cars in the DLCs, like the Morris Mini, the Fiat 500 (or even better: 127), the Honda Civic and this Simca. I stand by my previous post, but I am finding more and more things that I like about the game. Once I get up into the higher classes, the choices will be more varied. If only there were as many cars, as there were pieces of clothes....

I wont repeat everything I wrote, but merely link to the post where I am typing up some of the thoughts of this game here

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.

ME! Mememememememememememe!!!!! Me please..... MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So... how many people are buying this game for the Xbox? I am, and I would like to cruise around the places like in the good old days. Any plans for a TDU-Central Club? Or something? I'm actually in England all weekend (Starting friday, but I got the gf to pick up the game, while I am away), but will be home tuesday at some point. Ready for some cruising :)

YES! Thanks HPLULS

I been trying to find out, what car this is all day. Anyone know?

So this one was easy :) HP you got them all right. The Jag is the XK120 as you can see on the lower doors and the chrome windowpanes. The first one however is a Cord L-29. Thought people would guess Duesenberg :)

Ok. So here are the answers: First one is correct: Buick Roadmaster Second one is tricky, as there are so many of these Streamliners from many different makers. This one is a Porsche "The Pup". Third is also correct: Mercedes AMG CLK GTR Fourth one Car Freak got. The Lola T70 Fifth is also, as Car Freak guessed correctly the Ferrari 250 GT LM The sixth is not a bugatti however. But the american counterpart: The Miller's 1931 Racecar. Well done Car Freak :)

So here comes another round of photos.... Can anyone guess it?

Ok. What cars are you seeing here? Can anyone guess them all?

I've been playing NV for a while now, and I have to say, that bar some glitches it is a great game. The most striking differences between Fallout 3 and New Vegas is the implementation of different warring factions. Brotherhood of Steel and Enclave were more of less the only factions, and they didn't give a .... how you acted towards them. Mow down several patrols of the Brotherhood of steel and they'll cheer you on and invite you to supper anyways. This has all changed. You choose a path, and you follow it. Even if some of the missions they require you to complete for them takes a toll on your alignment. I personally think it's great. The map is roughly the same size as it was in the previous game, however there are so much more to do. The sheer number of places to visit and people to meet. The world feels a lot more alive than in the first game. This is great for a lot of reasons, but it does hurt the feeling of being left alone in a dead world. My favourite change is the introduction of Hardcore mode. Other than just running around using stimpaks to heal and rad-away to clean your clothes from the nasty radiation, you now need to gather food and drinks, and you need to rest regularly. If you don't you get penalites in the form of lowered SPECIALs. And if you don't eat or drink enough, you will eventually die. Furthermore, food, drinks and ammo weigh something. So no longer can you roam around with 1500 missiles and a few dozen mininukes. You gotta unload the ammo for the weapons you don't use. Of course, this can be used to create ammo for the weapons that you DO use. It's a great game. So was the first. Storyline is different, but the game isn't. Doesn't matter though. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. If not... well... too bad. It's a great title.

I just wanna play the game.... on my Xbox.... and my 42" telly! And I want to SOON! :P