E3 06: Test Drive Unlimited Preshow Hands-On

Test Drive Unlimited is shaping up nicely for its September 2006 release, and we were lucky enough to get hands-on with the game at a pre-E3 Atari event. Test Drive Unlimited is being described as a massively multiplayer multiplayer online racing game set in Hawaii, and it will potentially inhabit thousands of online players. Like in an online role-playing game, these players are free to explore their surroundings at will, or they can engage in races with other players in order to win cash and progress further.

At the start of Test Drive Unlimited you land on the Hawaiian island of Oahu with the intention of living the playboy lifestyle, making enough money for a beachside house and a top-of-the-range sports car. However, your paltry $200,000 starting fund will only afford a one-bedroom apartment and a modest Audi or Ford. Hopefully you'll have the driving skills to take you from these humble beginnings to afford not only an upgraded car, but also an upgraded lifestyle.

Thankfully, Test Drive Unlimited's massive island offers plenty of money-making opportunities. Oahu features more than 1,000 miles of accurately modeled roads to drive around in, all of which are populated with AI-driven vehicles. The map is also filled with showrooms, properties, and shops where you can spend the money you make in the races on new cars, houses, and accessories.

As with most games that feature cars, racing is the main activity here. You can challenge anyone on the road to a race, and you can choose the entry fee, prize, and course layout before you start. Taking a cue from games such as Driver and Grand Theft Auto, you can also indulge in basic missions in order to make money. These missions include driving from point A to point B, as your character is unable to leave the car. The missions that we saw involved the delivery of goods, the taxiing of passengers, and the movement of vehicles from one point to another. These missions can be done at any time by looking at the in-game map, and you can choose to have your favorite mission type highlighted while the ones you don't like will remain hidden.

While there's no story to drive the game forward, money will allow you to buy bigger houses that can store more vehicles, and the more you earn, the more you'll have of the island to race on. Therefore, there's no end to the game as such, at least until you own every property and vehicle in the game. However, the player-avatar selection is a big feature, as it will change the missions that you are offered. Choose a male character and a harem of hot female model friends will need picking up and ferrying around (you know, as happens in real life). Likewise, the female character will have male hitchhikers to pick up and take places (because every girl in Hawaii picks up male strangers in their sports cars).

Trivial diversions aside, the big reason to be attracted to Test Drive Unlimited is the online play, which we were lucky enough to see in action. A race was initiated by one player flashing his headlights at the other driver as he approached him. After deciding on the route and the amount of cash that we wanted to stake, the race was set up automatically. The map in the bottom left corner of the screen showed the route, but to make it less distracting during the heat of a race, the game marked out the turns at each checkpoint. Even though we were beaten hands-down by the other player, we were able to immediately challenge him to a rematch to try to win our money back. Needless to say, we were owned for a second time.

A game that professes itself to be inventing the MMORG genre better have the best set of online features ever offered in a racing game. The designers have created a clan-based system where groups of players can create what they call car clubs. These players will be able to meet up automatically at the armchair icons on the map, from which they can recruit other members, race each other, or challenge rival clubs to races. You can also trade or sell any of your vehicles online, so you might be able to save yourself money if someone is looking to make a quick sale. As usual, up to seven of your Xbox Live friends can be invited to custom races where you race for money or even offer your own car as a prize.

This is definitely an arcade racer at heart--there are no preoccupations with vehicle damage or servicing, and you certainly don't need to worry about filling the tank after a lengthy drive in the country. While the island is intricately modeled and the cars are statistically accurate, it's by no means a totally realistic simulation. The way the cars flew through the air even over the smallest bumps in the road suggests that the designers have played hard and fast with the physics, despite the fact that the game uses licensed Havok technology. There are still a few months of development left though, and any of the graphical glitches, like where car bumpers disappear into the road, will hopefully be ironed out before release.

There are car upgrades available, but the game is less concerned with the tweaking of individual components than it is with simply improving the performance of its 125-plus vehicles. Statistics such as engine size and break horsepower are accurate, but they're only presented if you go deeper into the menu system, and by default you are only given the most basic information about vehicle class and attributes. You can upgrade your vehicle instead of buying something else entirely, and there are three levels of improvements you can make to each vehicle.

There's also a selection of motorbikes for fans of two-wheel racing. As in real life, vehicle showrooms are organized by manufacturer, and one of the great features of the game is that you can take any of them out on a test-drive before you buy. You might not be able to afford a Maserati, but you can occasionally remind yourself of its greatness by taking it for a spin. If your funds are an embarrassment to the racing establishment and all you have is a Fiat when you really need a Ferrari, you can temporarily rent the vehicle you need in order to win a race.

The sheer size of the game is as daunting as it is exciting, so luckily there's an excellently designed map to help you out. Again, playing with the rules of time and physics, the game allows you to zoom out to a satellite view of the island (which looks very nice), and you can point to wherever you want to go. You and your car will then miraculously implement the technology of the future to be transported there immediately, Star Trek-style. At least it will save you the vast amount of time it might take to get from one end of the island to the other.

Aside from upgrading your car, you can also change your character's appearance, thanks to the licensed clothing that has been included. The in-game shops stock Ben Sherman and Mark Ecko clothing, and while you can't get out of the car and show off your new threads, you can roll the window down to flaunt your style, or even take an in-car view and move the right joystick to admire yourself.

Any game that has fast cars breaking the speed limit also has to have police involvement, and Test Drive Unlimited has a three-level threat bar to contend with. Cause too many crashes or destroy a few roadside objects and the local police will come after you. If they catch you, you'll also have to pay up for the speeding fines and damage. The only times you can avoid the police presence is during races and challenges, so if you're taking the tourist's tour of the island, you'll need to watch your speed and driving style.

Test Drive Unlimited's high concept undoubtedly signals the next evolution for driving games, and it will be a big attraction for Xbox Live subscribers. We have some concerns about the racing engine and feel like it might warrant more attention than the many supplementary features the game offers. Though, it's a hugely promising idea that we can't wait to try out online. There will also be PSP, PS2, and PC versions to follow, with more details announced at E3. We'll find out if it meets its own lofty ambitions when the game launches in September.