Released on 10/02/2011

• Two islands for the price of one in Test Drive Unlimited 2

  Forthcoming open-world racer Test Drive Unlimited 2 is offering an interesting package deal for holidaying drivers. You'll be able to cruise around the party island of Ibiza, and also charter a plane to return to the lush Hawaiian retreat of Oahu from the original game. Not only that, but the island has been redeveloped in the meantime, with new challenges unlocked and brand new roads to drive on.

  These new details were revealed by Namco-Bandai and developer Eden Studios at a Barcelona press event, along with further info about the game's chief setting. Ibiza will feature a number of off-road tracks as well as the miles of tarmac-based racing, while the single-player game has a storyline to follow, with experience points gained from winning races, performing impressive stunts, collecting items and other social activities.

  Drivers will be able to leave their vehicle to explore their island homes and garages, while finding a wrecked car will unlock that vehicle in the local dealerships. Day and night cycles have also been confirmed, as have dynamic weather conditions and improved crash damage.

  With significantly improved graphics and a new, more refined handling model, Test Drive Unlimited 2 is a must for motorphiles everywhere. Look out for it when it launches on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this September.

• Namco Bandai dates Test Drive Unlimited 2

  Namco Bandai dates Test Drive Unlimited 2

  If you're itching to burn around the dusty streets of Ibiza in a hot motor, good news: Namco Bandai Partners has a revealed the open world racer Test Drive Unlimited 2 will be coming out of 24th September for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

  Test Drive Unlimited 2 might be the most generous racing game we've ever seen, incidentally, with over 600 miles of roads on Ibiza to navigate, along with new cars to buy and houses, racing clubs, and even yachts to kit out with furniture and upgrades. On top of that, the game includes the entire Hawaiian island from the first game decked out with new tracks and missions as well. We're excited.

  Namco Bandai has also offered rough dates for some of its other forthcoming games: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is coming in October for the PS3 and 360, while this summer we'll be getting Puzzle Quest 2 for the DS and Ace Combat: Joint Assault on PSP. This autumn, 360 and PS3 owners can look forward to the gruesome horror remake Splatterhouse, which combines brutal grappling moves with the chance to wield a chainsaw on the undead. Something for everyone, then.

• Atari dates Test Drive Unlimited 2

  Atari dates Test Drive Unlimited 2

  Atari has only gone and announced the European release date for its racing lifestyle game Test Drive Unlimited 2! The game's revving up for a debit on 11th February, whether you want to pick it up for the PC, PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.

  And there's still plenty to mark this one out for itself even if you've already picked up recent racers like GT5 or the brilliant Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. TDU2 is all about the lifestyle of owning great cars: You'll get to stock up your garage, pad out your luxury house or yacht, visit car showrooms and lavish attention on your motors. Whether you're poking around in brilliantly modelled 3D interiors with details that go right down to the leather stitching, or engaging in fast-paced races across a variety of different environment types, you'll be immersed in automotive bliss.

  The game's absolutely massive too, letting you loose on the entire island of Ibiza, and then opening up the original Hawaiian location from the first game, which has now been extensively remodelled with new roads, tracks, and events.

  TDU2 also lets you get out of the car and walk around a bit - not that you'll want to when the cars feel this good to drive.

• Test Drive Unlimited 2 Review

  Island life

  Atari's French studio Eden Games is back for a second run at its unique spin on the driving game. Test Drive Unlimited, released back in 2006 in the early days of the Xbox 360, was the first always-online open-world racer, and it's still the biggest - or was until now.

  
  

  This sequel has the whole Hawaiian island of Oahu - all 1500 square kilometres of it - that featured in the first game. But you start out on the notorious party paradise of Ibiza, an entire second island that's a bit more compact but just as scenic, with the same wonderful combination of city streets, freeways, coastal highways and twisting mountain lanes.

  
  

  It's two drivers' paradises for the price of one, then, and once again you get to spend your time there playing through a huge single-player racing campaign, buying clothes and houses for your avatar, nosing around luxury cars in dealerships, racing and socialising with other players or just exploring and enjoying the open road.

  
  

  Heaven is other people

  
  

  Eden has always had aspirations for Test Drive Unlimited to be a persistent, massively multiplayer world for racers, and it's gone further towards that goal with TDU2. It's added a day/night cycle and dynamic weather effects, both of which are synchronised with all other players as long as you're online. It makes driving around these islands even more atmospheric and immersive than it already was.

  
  You can now explore the islands more fully, with the addition of off-road vehicles (replacing the first game's motorbikes) which can clamber around the countryside searching for wrecked cars to restore as well as take part in dirt-track races.

  
  

  And the all-important multiplayer options have been improved and expanded. You can still hang out in car clubs with your friends, upload and bet on time trial challenges and challenge anyone you happen to drive past to an on-the-spot race. The lobby-based racing and speed events are more stable and reliable; there are fun new co-op challenges and even cop chases where players can take both sides of the law.

  
  

  Test Drive Unlimited 2 is a dream playground for petrolheads, and has a tremendous variety of stuff to do. You can progress through its 60 levels by mixing and matching goals from sections headed Competition, Collection, Discovery and Community; you'll make progress whatever you get up to, and it's great fun to just explore the islands and see what you find, watch the GPS road map fill out as you go.

  
  

  A bumpy ride

  
  

  But trying to combine Gran Turismo, GTA and World of Warcraft in a single game is a big ask, and it shouldn't come as a surprise that Eden doesn't get everything right and can't get everything working as it should.

  
  

  Many complained about the car handling in the first game, and although it makes a good fist of a difficult job - the sheer size of the game and the maps means you'll be using all sorts of cars in all sorts of different conditions - it's manages neither the arcade thrills of a Need for Speed or the convincing realism of a GT or Forza. It just lacks a bit of feel.

  
  

  Meanwhile, the GPS interface is cumbersome and slow, there are far too many menus, and it's hard to figure out how to access a lot of options in the game - like the new co-driver and online chase modes. It's also a bit unreliable, especially when trying to stay with other players in free ride mode (you can track and instantly join all players, but only eight at a time appear in "your" world).

  
  

  TDU2 wants to sell you a glamorous lifestyle, but the terribly cheesy story and dialogue and unconvincing characters (who look like shop dummies come to life, only with less fashion sense) make it seem more comical than alluring. It's just a bit of fun though - it doesn't harm your enjoyment of the driving and does help tie it all together.

  Too unlimited?
  

  Just like the first Test Drive Unlimited, this is very much a rough diamond, and maybe it's a shame that Eden hasn't managed to polish it up more in the last four years.

  
  

  But it's still a diamond, and it's great that Eden hasn't compromised at all on its brave vision of an online world for car lovers. For anyone who loves the open road and the wind in their (awful, virtual) hair, TDU2 offers a magical experience like no other racing game. That makes its flaws very easy to forgive.

  
  

  Our Rating: 8.0

  
  

  Top Gear

  + Huge variety and quantity of stuff to do in a fantastic, gigantic open world
  + Lots of intriguing and unusual online and social options.
  + An open-road driving experience like no other.

  
  

  Needs A Service

  - Basic, lightweight handling doesn't do the cars justice.
  - Cumbersome interface is too slow for a game about speed.
  - Bugs, unreliable online performance and some rough graphics.

• Test Drive Unlimited 2 zooms into pole position

  Eden Software's open-world racer Test Drive Unlimited 2 has left Dead Space 2 choking in its dust in its cruise to the top of the all-format charts.
  
  The game, which allows players to drive around the islands of Ibiza and Oahu, glided past EA's survival horror, which had to settle for second place after a two-week reign at the top. FIFA 11 also fell one place to third.
  
  Chart stalwarts Call of Duty: Black Ops and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood rounded out the top five, while two Mario titles climbed to positions six and eight. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem and Mario Sports Mix both enjoyed a second-week sales bump thanks to prominent television advertising, as they sandwiched Wii hit Just Dance 2 at seven.
  
  Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition was the highest-climber in the list, rising 15 places to ninth spot, while LittleBigPlanet dropped five places to number 10. Publisher Namco-Bandai will no doubt be delighted to earn its first all-formats number one since acquiring Atari Europe. Sales of Test Drive Unlimited 2 were particularly impressive given the four year gap between the sequel and its predecessor, as it more than doubled the first-week tally of the 2006 original.
• Test Drive Unlimited 2 - Review

  
  

  

  Island life

  Atari's French studio Eden Games is back for a second run at its unique spin on the driving game. Test Drive Unlimited, released back in 2006 in the early days of the Xbox 360, was the first always-online open-world racer, and it's still the biggest - or was until now.

  This sequel has the whole Hawaiian island of Oahu - all 1500 square kilometres of it - that featured in the first game. But you start out on the notorious party paradise of Ibiza, an entire second island that's a bit more compact but just as scenic, with the same wonderful combination of city streets, freeways, coastal highways and twisting mountain lanes.

  It's two drivers' paradises for the price of one, then, and once again you get to spend your time there playing through a huge single-player racing campaign, buying clothes and houses for your avatar, nosing around luxury cars in dealerships, racing and socialising with other players or just exploring and enjoying the open road.

  

  Heaven is other people

  Eden has always had aspirations for Test Drive Unlimited to be a persistent, massively multiplayer world for racers, and it's gone further towards that goal with TDU2. It's added a day/night cycle and dynamic weather effects, both of which are synchronised with all other players as long as you're online. It makes driving around these islands even more atmospheric and immersive than it already was.

  You can now explore the islands more fully, with the addition of off-road vehicles (replacing the first game's motorbikes) which can clamber around the countryside searching for wrecked cars to restore as well as take part in dirt-track races.

  And the all-important multiplayer options have been improved and expanded. You can still hang out in car clubs with your friends, upload and bet on time trial challenges and challenge anyone you happen to drive past to an on-the-spot race. The lobby-based racing and speed events are more stable and reliable; there are fun new co-op challenges and even cop chases where players can take both sides of the law.

  Test Drive Unlimited 2 is a dream playground for petrolheads, and has a tremendous variety of stuff to do. You can progress through its 60 levels by mixing and matching goals from sections headed Competition, Collection, Discovery and Community; you'll make progress whatever you get up to, and it's great fun to just explore the islands and see what you find, watch the GPS road map fill out as you go.

  

  A bumpy ride

  But trying to combine Gran Turismo, GTA and World of Warcraft in a single game is a big ask, and it shouldn't come as a surprise that Eden doesn't get everything right and can't get everything working as it should.

  Many complained about the car handling in the first game, and although it makes a good fist of a difficult job - the sheer size of the game and the maps means you'll be using all sorts of cars in all sorts of different conditions - it's manages neither the arcade thrills of a Need for Speed or the convincing realism of a GT or Forza. It just lacks a bit of feel.

  Meanwhile, the GPS interface is cumbersome and slow, there are far too many menus, and it's hard to figure out how to access a lot of options in the game - like the new co-driver and online chase modes. It's also a bit unreliable, especially when trying to stay with other players in free ride mode (you can track and instantly join all players, but only eight at a time appear in "your" world).

  TDU2 wants to sell you a glamorous lifestyle, but the terribly cheesy story and dialogue and unconvincing characters (who look like shop dummies come to life, only with less fashion sense) make it seem more comical than alluring. It's just a bit of fun though - it doesn't harm your enjoyment of the driving and does help tie it all together.

  Too unlimited?

  Just like the first Test Drive Unlimited, this is very much a rough diamond, and maybe it's a shame that Eden hasn't managed to polish it up more in the last four years.

  But it's still a diamond, and it's great that Eden hasn't compromised at all on its brave vision of an online world for car lovers. For anyone who loves the open road and the wind in their (awful, virtual) hair, TDU2 offers a magical experience like no other racing game. That makes its flaws very easy to forgive.

  GAME's Verdict

  The Good

  • Huge variety and quantity of stuff to do in a fantastic, gigantic open world
  • Lots of intriguing and unusual online and social options.
  • An open-road driving experience like no other.

  The Bad

  • Basic, lightweight handling doesn't do the cars justice.
  • Cumbersome interface is too slow for a game about speed.
  • Bugs, unreliable online performance and some rough graphics.

  Published: 09/02/2011

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