Customer Reviews

Test Drive Unlimited 2

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Got the game on steam. Just wanna make a review on this game.
I'll divide it into categories to avoid making wall of text :D. There maybe some spoilers. Don't say I didn't warned ya.
1st up is the GRAPHICS:
The game graphics is "good" in today's' game graphics standards. But it lacks a lil' bit on bloom effect like most recent NFS games. Everything is detailed from roads, grass, trees and houses. The cars were looking perfect in my eyes. Overall I'll give the graphics 4/5.

GAMEPLAY:
You race, rise in the ranks then race again just like every other racing games out there. No rocket science here :). The races were separated in 3 classes; ASPHALT - ( Sport Cars ) CLASSIC - ( Classic Cars, mostly RWD cars ) and finally OFF-ROAD ( SUV's ). Each classes is divided into 7 levels. And each level composing of at least 2 championship races. There's ALOT of racing in this game, they won't disappoint. There's also some mini missions. I won't spoil it. This game is online, though you can play offline if you prefer. 5/5

CONTROLS:
The very 1st race I've played... awful. Cars skid and under steer like it's their default movement. Though you can fix it in the options. There are 3 choices; FULL SUPPORT, SPORTS and HARDCORE. Don't try hardcore ( as the game is set to hardcore on default ). The sports one hits the spot perfectly ( though some cars still skid and understeer alot specially RWD cars ). Once you get use to it, you'll be a pro in no time. 4/5

MULTIPLAYER:

Like I said, this is an online game. But you really would ask yourself the moment you jump into the game: "where's the world chat? friend chat? or is there even chat capability built in-game? NO, if your playing the ps3 xbox 360 version then yes. But for the PC, you might use 3rd party software to get somewhere. Really, they were so proud to introduce online capability, BUT where is the multiplayer aspect? NONE - 1/5

BUGs BUGs BUGs... the amount of bugs on this game is gigantic, considering they did a beta before launch. I've had my 3rd New game now because the other 2 became corrupted. Now I'm playing, praying and hoping the this will be fix with upcoming patches, some bugs were already fixed.

OVERALL i'd score this game 3/5. Bugs is a huge letdown and there really is no way to interact with other people in-game.
If you like a good arcade racing game, this is for you. It could have been a good game but the issues overshadowed this game.
I think the reason why people is so negative about this game is because It was release after NFS- Hot pursuit overshadowing this game.

Overall, it's a good racing game once you get into it. Unfortunately it takes a little doing to actually get into the *racing* part of the game. The graphics are nice, the variety of cars is good, the variety of racing styles & missions is good, and it's great having a big open world to drive around and explore. What's annoying is how much focus is placed on doing other, non-racing stuff. You end up having to waste WAY too much time advancing your character by doing idiotic things like buying new clothes, changing your haircut, redecorating your home, etc. I mean, come on, this is a RACING game, not a SIMS game! I also don't like the new driving school requirements....you have to go to driving school and complete various lessons/tests before you will be allowed to actually enter races. Annoying! But once you get past those things, the actual driving & racing part of the game is quite good....just be prepared to spend a couple hours doing useless stuff before you can really get into the racing. If you liked the first TDU, you'll like this as well.....but in some ways it's a step backward rather than forward for the series.

There were so many negative reviews on this game I was surprised. I played TDU1 and enjoyed myself.
When the sequel came out everyone seemed to despise it instantly.
I did a little extra research - and I must say it was hard to find an unbiased review.

Youtube: Classic Game Room TDU2 -[...]
This was the most complete and honest review I could find.

The graphics and overall game quality is the most disputed aspect of this game. The graphics are amazing. They spent a lot of work on the environments and cars. The people - could use some serious help. But this IS a racing game. If you are interested in dressing up digital barbie dolls I suggest the SIMS. In TDU2 your "avatars" exist to help you interface and communicate with other players. They aren't super realistic, but I've seen worse.
It's also important to make sure your computer can handle the graphics of a game like this. Many people buy games and then complain about bugs and graphics. When it's all actually their computer system being overwhelmed by the amount of data. So please - check system requirements carefully.

There were some legitimate handling issues during the initial release. However, the recent patches have fixed the handling.
Currently, there have been problems with the TDU2 servers. Players have been hacking into the game to increase their levels and money supply. Thanks to their selfishness, the TDU2 servers crashed and new security protocols will have to be created before the servers can be made accessible again.

For some unknown reason there seems to be a lot of hate for this game. Yes - the cut-scenes and character models are cheesy. Yes - the plot-line is ridiculous. But the cars are amazing and it's packed full of fun racing. Isn't that what racing games are all about?

This game is good, however although the gameplay is interesting, and the graphics are very good, you need a good system in order to run this with all graphics options activated. I have an iMac with an Intel Core 2 Duo 3,06Ghz, with 8GB RAM and Nvidia 9400m with Windows 7 64bits and I can confirm you that in order to run this game fast you have to choose lower resolution and graphic options. I suggest to buy this for Xbox 360 or PS3 if you don't have an A+ system to run this game. Aside from the requirements, I think this game is a mixture of a car video game with the sims, and this makes it a valid choice for people who want something different from GT5 or Forza 3; however, it does get boring at some point (just as playing the sims) so be advised of that. The handling of the vehicules is not bad but again if you want something with that kind of feel you should look to other car games.

I bought this for the price and availability (direct download) and do not regreat buying it, however I think a console version will be a better choice for some people like me.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 (TDU2) is rated 2 stars overall and 4 stars for fun, because corrupted saves that still occur in the latest build (v021 build 8) can force a player to restart the game new. Corrupted saves occur when the game freezes and crashes during a save. Unfortunately, TDU2 has unresolved bugs that cause the game to freeze, and a corrupted savegame means the player profile becomes invalid, the TDU2 client only allows the player to create a new one, losing complete progress. Players who reach high levels in the game are forced to restart. Corrupted saves are known to affect all platforms, therefore this review is applicable for all platforms. Normally, this fatal flaw which has affect many but not all users, would rate the game only one star, however the game itself is really fun, and restarting from scratch may not be a completely devastating for some. For the pc only, there is an undocumented user workaround that may work if the profile has not been recreated.

Were it not for that critical issue, as a single player game Test Drive Unlimited 2 rates a generous 5 stars for fun, and 4 stars overall.
Ibiza and Hawaii are rendered well with convincing weather effects, and detailed terrain textures, that affect driving. Sound effects enhance, with the engines purring, gravel crunching, and the whoosh of other cars passing.

The player avatar has a generous amount of customization (though there are no makeup setting and hairstyles are limited.) There is a large amount of clothing available to be purchased with in game currency, as well as houses. There are as much aspects of the game related to exploration and other quests as there are racing.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 is not just a racing game. It is a complete open world experience.

Racing is not boring as there are a variety of different challenges/minigames, from one way, circuit, street, offroad, track, elimination, etc. The racing campaign is completed individually with full cut scenes and voice acting. Driving has options for easy, medium, or hard. Unlocking more licenses(more races) are locked to medium "sport" setting which can be quite difficult and may require many retrials. Handling in general is more forgiving than real life, but is still, or is for that reason enjoyable. Different cars do drive differently.
Cars look great with fully fleshed interiors and cockpits. Car customization is plentiful to create a really unique looking car. Performance tuning is there and adequate. There is more emphasis on individual customization, and the discovery of the vast and beautiful driving environment and its multitude of locations and challenges.

TDU2 Multiplayer at this time could be better in terms of match up ability and communication and thus rates a generous 3.5 stars. Currently, there is no way to globally chat or to privately chat to another player. Online community is friendly and international. Players can form clubs and compete against each other. There are still issues being resolved/features being developed in multiplayer. Cooperative missions are a very nice as well.
The optional Casino from a separate DLC purchase, allows from greater multiplayer experience in the form of poker matches and tournaments. As well, there are new clothes/cars/levels available that make the dlc great in general for those who like to play individually.

I bought this game thinking it will be a continuation of Test Drive Unlimited, that I love. It is not. The worst part for me, is that TDU2 is designed to be played with a gamepad, not a wheel: brakes and clutch are binary (on or off) and the force feedback does not work. I got bored of this game after playing for a few weeks and it has been in a shelf since then. I still play TDU1. So, if you haven't played Test Drive Unlimited 1 buy that one, if you played it already, you probably won't like TDU2.

tdu2 is a large world racing game that rewards exploration. along the way are some pretty cars and decent landscape graphics. there's avatar customization though I can't say I'm a fan of the dressing up to level up mechanics that go with it. objectively I'll say the voice acting was awful. the actual racing is very much arcade with some sim elements thrown in if you choose the expert handling option.

in short this game isn't for everyone. at least search this game on youtube before purchasing.

With a wheel it's not the easiest to navigate on my home theater. Have to switch back and forth from wheel to keyboard and mouse. Kinda clunky navigation and can be confusing to complete objectives. Racing gameplay is pretty fun and arcady. Would buy again for $5, not more though.

This is a very fun game as I love having the open highway and unlocking new cars. The discovery of Ibiza and Hawaii are fun and most accurate as you can google map some of the locations and see the resemblance. However when the servers go down you're just screwed. Atari/Eden won't allow P2P connections and you're constantly offline. Mine worked for about 6 days and now nothing. Yes they have all the walk throughs on port opening and UDP connections. I was online 6 days and haven't changed a thing and now nothing, not even offline mode works now. Also if you follow TDU and TDU2 forums as I have since 2008 then you'll see their servers stay offline for weeks at a time. Best bet in order to have any fun with this game is find a pirated version that will play offline. I mean...You're going to be offline anyway with their set up. I hope they allow P2P sharing as I been gaming for 12 years in every race game of NASCAR to This. Most games allow P2P becuse gamespy,steam and a few aren't worth a dime.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

As other people have stated the driving is not anywhere close to real. The graphics are low quality even on a high end system. If the roads are wet its like there is oil instead of water on the road. I think $19.99 might be a little much for this game. Wait till its less than $15 to buy it.