It's hard to identify the best and worst parts of "Test Drive Unlimited 2," mostly because the game has so many different parts.
Atari's ambitious racing game is part open-world drive-around game and part racing MMORPG, with bits of social networking and item collecting and even Grand Theft Auto built in. It's a game that is defined far more by its breath than its depth, a game with little purpose and yet plenty of fun.
"TDU2" takes place in the island of Ibiza, and you play as somebody trying to climb the racing ladder. The story is absolutely throwaway, but that's neither here nor there. The story simply serves to get you touring an extensive and detailed HD version of Ibiza.
The island looks exquisite, and developer Eden adds some brilliant effects. You'll see day/night transitions, even occasional lightning storms. You'll deal with some occasional pop-in and slowdown, and the draw distance isn't all that great, but Ibiza is still well-realized and plenty of fun to drive around. The island's lone shortcoming is that, aside from cars and the stores you can go into to purchase things, it looks completely abandoned.
Driving, however, isn't always the smooth ride it should be. You can choose from three driving modes – full assistance, sport mode and hardcore. Full assistance makes the game far too easy, while hardcore is challenging but not quite near realism. Sport mode is probably the most natural mode, the one that plays the best, but each driving mode plays unevenly. The handling isn't bad, but the cars don't always move with the appropriate weight, and turning can feel a bit sluggish.
Crashes – whether into other cars or random objects – are also inconsistent. Too many objects that you should be able to run over, things like stop signs, will stop your vehicle cold. And when cars crash, the results often seem more random.
Oddly enough, the driving physics don't detract from the overall game, perhaps because there's something in here for everyone. You have few required tasks in "TDU2," but there are a bevy of different ways to level up and earn money for bigger and better cars. You gain experience in four categories: Social, Discovery, Competition and Collection. Each is weighted fairly evenly, meaning you're essentially free to do as you please in Ibiza.
Want to drive around and enjoy the scenery? You'll level up in Discovery. Buy lots of cars? Collection. If you just want to make Xbox friends, you'll level up the Social aspect, while Competition takes care of those who really want to race.
There are also a variety of other missions, things like Car Delivery and Taxi. And much like GTA, enough traffic violations results in the police hunting you down. Police chases are an incredible event in "TDU2," especially when you take things off-road and wind up pursued by cops and helicopters in a frenzy of action.
What "TDU2" lacks is a sense of cohesiveness. Too often, things feel purposeless, and you're given little motivation to accomplish anything.
And yet you can still lose yourself in "TDU2." It's so overloaded with content that you'll find yourself playing for hours.
You won't understand why all the time, but you'll still have plenty of fun.
Reviewed on Xbox 360
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