Tauren
07/Dec/05, 03:17 PM
gonna be sssssssswwwwwwwweeeeet (http://www.gamesradar.com/previews/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=38261&subsectionid=2515)
Freedom can be a dirty word in modern games, not least because of its devilish alter ego: monotony.
It's a cruel irony that while streaming technology progresses to the point where virtual worlds can wholly justify that description, the demands of supporting elements such as textures and models increase to complicate their creation.
But a distracting world isn't necessarily the chief requisite of a game that touts freedom to roam as its prime commodity; the mode by which you roam can provide an alternative just as alluring, as our time with Unlimited increasingly reveals.
"Flooring the accelerator is believably rare"
We're encouraged during our hands-on to savour the opportunity to embrace the game's lack of boundaries and take to its rolling forests, but it's on tarmac where the weighty handling model excels.
Flooring the accelerator is believably rare, and the full thrust of the engine provides compensatory pleasure. A leisurely drive ends at one of the game's many hubs - a base camp featuring a living room and garage for relaxed online trading, communications and avatar editing.
This, we also discover, is the ideal spot for some automotive romance.
The two titles will happily coexist thanks to their differing ideals, but you could sit the production lines of PGR3 next to those of Unlimited and watch Eden's cars get driven away every time - the superiority in terms of pure pornography is remarkable.
Just as we were detecting a point of diminishing returns for next-gen car manufacture, here we find the immaculate modelling of high-performance machinery again providing a sensual hit.
This isn't the first time the concept of ownership has been placed at the forefront of a racing game, but while the signature you can apply in titles such as Forza and Gran Turismo is comprised of tuning decisions and decals, here it's endemic in the sheer beauty of your ride.
With approximately three months until its suggested release, Unlimited's 1600km of Hawaiian streets do, however, add up to a world of fixes left to implement.
While frame rate will inevitably be improved, it's still unknown whether the team is aiming for 30 or 60fps (it currently dances between and often below).
We've known for a while that the damage model will only affect AI traffic and not the pristine engines reserved for players, but it's the behaviour of cars while they're crashing that now worries us more than how they look afterwards.
Collisions in the current build have much in common with those of Double-STEAL, vehicles floating high into the air when struck with sufficient force - surely this can't be the intention.
Once Unlimited's final layer of polish (set to comprise HDR lighting and various post-processing effects) is applied, the game will look incredible. Perhaps not in the same painstakingly authentic manner as PGR3, but in various other ways that are nonetheless entirely (and arguably more) appropriate to a driving game.
Its online functionality again promises something different yet equally exciting, making this something of an irresistible prospect for racing fans.
Test Drive Unlimited is due for an Xbox 360 release in February 2006
Freedom can be a dirty word in modern games, not least because of its devilish alter ego: monotony.
It's a cruel irony that while streaming technology progresses to the point where virtual worlds can wholly justify that description, the demands of supporting elements such as textures and models increase to complicate their creation.
But a distracting world isn't necessarily the chief requisite of a game that touts freedom to roam as its prime commodity; the mode by which you roam can provide an alternative just as alluring, as our time with Unlimited increasingly reveals.
"Flooring the accelerator is believably rare"
We're encouraged during our hands-on to savour the opportunity to embrace the game's lack of boundaries and take to its rolling forests, but it's on tarmac where the weighty handling model excels.
Flooring the accelerator is believably rare, and the full thrust of the engine provides compensatory pleasure. A leisurely drive ends at one of the game's many hubs - a base camp featuring a living room and garage for relaxed online trading, communications and avatar editing.
This, we also discover, is the ideal spot for some automotive romance.
The two titles will happily coexist thanks to their differing ideals, but you could sit the production lines of PGR3 next to those of Unlimited and watch Eden's cars get driven away every time - the superiority in terms of pure pornography is remarkable.
Just as we were detecting a point of diminishing returns for next-gen car manufacture, here we find the immaculate modelling of high-performance machinery again providing a sensual hit.
This isn't the first time the concept of ownership has been placed at the forefront of a racing game, but while the signature you can apply in titles such as Forza and Gran Turismo is comprised of tuning decisions and decals, here it's endemic in the sheer beauty of your ride.
With approximately three months until its suggested release, Unlimited's 1600km of Hawaiian streets do, however, add up to a world of fixes left to implement.
While frame rate will inevitably be improved, it's still unknown whether the team is aiming for 30 or 60fps (it currently dances between and often below).
We've known for a while that the damage model will only affect AI traffic and not the pristine engines reserved for players, but it's the behaviour of cars while they're crashing that now worries us more than how they look afterwards.
Collisions in the current build have much in common with those of Double-STEAL, vehicles floating high into the air when struck with sufficient force - surely this can't be the intention.
Once Unlimited's final layer of polish (set to comprise HDR lighting and various post-processing effects) is applied, the game will look incredible. Perhaps not in the same painstakingly authentic manner as PGR3, but in various other ways that are nonetheless entirely (and arguably more) appropriate to a driving game.
Its online functionality again promises something different yet equally exciting, making this something of an irresistible prospect for racing fans.
Test Drive Unlimited is due for an Xbox 360 release in February 2006