Test Drive Unlimited - On this day

The Test Drive series of games has offered arcade racing from the very beginning. That didn’t change in 2006 either, but an iteration called Test Drive Unlimited took a turn. Instead of closed tracks, we got an open world where you could ride and race with others freely.

That world was modeled on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu and had over 1,600 kilometers of rolling stock. Licensed vehicles of numerous manufacturers such as Ferrari, Mercedes, Nissan, Jaguar, Chevrolet, and others were driven on Hawaiian roads. In addition to cars, the game also had ten motorcycles, also licensed.

Driving in Test Drive Unlimited was a central part of the gameplay, but not the only activity. We were able to buy clothes for our character here and invest in real estate, similar to the GTA series. The game also had an online multiplayer component for a while, but its official servers were shut down in 2012. 

Test Drive Unlimited was exclusive to the Xbox 360 when it came out. It was one of the first games made for the "HD generation" and it looked quite impressive at the time. A year later, PC and PlayStation 2 versions followed. 

The PC version did not make PC gamers happy with its optimization, while TDU on PlayStation 2 was an unrecognizably different game because it lacked many things - from individual vehicles and missions to support for steering wheels, rearview mirrors, etc. In addition, the game on the PS2 console was significantly inferior in terms of visual presentation.

Test Drive Unlimited met with good reviews after its release. At a time when Need for Speed ​​was going downhill, TDU was a recommended game for fans of virtual driving until the release of Burnout Paradise. 

We got a sequel five years later, and although it offered a return to the island from the first part, for some the original TDU remained in better memory. A group of fans modified the PC version called TDU Platinum with over 800 vehicles and various other updates.