Test Drive Unlimited 2
Developer:
Eden Games Publisher: Atari
Distributor: Namco Bandai Games
Genre: Racing
Platform: Xbox 360 (available for PC and PlayStation 3 )
Related Titles: Test Drive Unlimited (PC, Xbox 360), Burnout Paradise (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360); FUEL (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Hymn to the vagrancy
The odometer of the Delta Integrale - strictly purchased on the used market to save money - more than 100km mark after traveling for several hours (fictional) on the streets of Ibiza. I saw the night fall and I continued to travel under the cover star on its way to the sea after passing through the hills on a dirt road. I saw the dawn, took a picture to view in order to satisfy the request of a local shopkeeper and then I continued my wandering without bothering to eat nor sleep. Fortunately, the avatar does not have these needs, but can be dressed up as best I visit stores all over the city and even led by the plastic surgeon to change the connotations. At one point it started raining. Louder and louder, until a storm was unleashed in all its power: I turned off the radio - which never transmits quality music, here in Ibiza - because there is nothing better than driving away in his car under rain.
Taking advantage of the bad weather I hired an opponent who was in my instance of online game play in a match point to point, always under the storm. I do not remember if I won or lost, but never mind, my bank account a maximum of $ 1,000 would be relieved that I could recover some work assigned by the locals. Meanwhile, the rain stopped, my Delta red is reflected on the asphalt again and approaching nightfall. And then I realized that he had traveled for hours - real this time - with little or no change from the same place twice.
One example of the kind Massively Open Online Racing, Test Drive Unlimited 2 is really as unlimited as the title suggests, especially given that Ibiza is just one of two islands available. Get to level 10, in fact, open the airport to move to Oahu, Hawaii, where we expect more miles of roads, new race cars, shops, places of interest and above all challenges. The new work by Eden Games is not a radical change of gear from the first episode, but it represents the evolution in several respects. The most important is that the leveling of your character, built on four pillars: exploration, competition, collection and social development. Beyond the obvious, each of them including the objectives and sub-goals that make the gameplay interesting and customizable.
the possibility of discovering new routes, hidden scrap and new points of interest such as shops, dealers and scenic areas to photograph makes the exploration of the two islands a key component of single-player experience. In addition to the championships that advance the main story - entirely negligible to be honest - the competition element includes dry races started flashing their opponents and establishing what is at stake, but also creating their own challenges with an excellent editor. Participants pay a participation fee and the closing of the competition that can last days of an auction like eBay, the winner will receive prize money. With the amount of shops and dealers is easy to collect clothing and cars of all kinds, but Test Drive Unlimited 2 goes to the sale of houses and their customization with MyTDUHouse - similar to PlayStation Home, but not so deep - and then invite friends and show off their wealth thanks to a renewed third-person view. Finally, the component of community can join a club to challenge other groups of opponents, getting together on the track and send messages, making the semi-persistent world behind even more interesting.
experience on which Test Drive Unlimited 2 is indeed live forever: all the players live in same environment with, for example, by the same climatic variations and where you can meet players from entering and leaving his application at any time. The system is not perfect yet - it happens that some of the cars disappear for no apparent reason - but it is a good starting point for more than a new concept in online races. To this was added a considerable amount of content, including hundreds of side quests to accomplish, leagues divided into classes - sports cars, SUVs and classic - and a host of multiplayer options, including how "Follow the leader" and " Cops and Robbers ". The online component is working well, and although the menu is not always intuitive, allowed to have proved in most cases, reliable and stable.
Not all of the gaming experience, however, is idyllic, as Test Drive Unlimited 2 asks the player to make compromises in areas not really negligible. First there is a game engine that draws on the one hand and detailed open environments with plenty of effects - are spectacular as we anticipated climate change and the cycle day and night - but the other gives several points in terms of fluidity. Once in the city is being increased from 30 frames per second of less than 20 suburbs, with clear shots that make driving much less pleasant. We are also a model of on-road driving very particular, which requires a lot of attention in the dosage of the accelerator and brake, but that clashes with nervous behavior and exaggerated (almost arcade) cars, especially the lower class. Far more satisfying behavior on dirt, where an absurd Golf is more stable on the road.
this is a racing game, it seems almost unforgivable that Eden Games has neglected the basics of driving licenses in order to achieve such an ambitious project. Yet with a little 'perseverance is there to give them reason to appreciate what Test Drive Unlimited 2 has to offer without worrying over both the technical faults, the texture is not always equal, or the improved driving model. And you are immediately thrown into a world where all four wheels have fun with the amount of content available, or where simply being kidnapped by the evocative scenes of rare beauty, driving aimlessly for hours - virtual and real - the pursuit of a point panoramic or just to earn money by doing the hair the other cars. It is certainly not love at first sight, but when an outbreak is one that will last a long time.
Raffaele Cinquegrana
Pros: two islands to explore vast, captivating progression system, many challenges, the social component; climate change and alternation of day and night
Replay Value: better. Hundreds of challenges in single and multiplayer options, complete
Cons: unsteady flow, especially in city driving model improved, some problems in multiplayer, the menu is not always intuitive
In Summary: Despite the potential not always exploited duty, Test Drive Unlimited 2 provides a gaming experience unique
0 comments:
Post a Comment