The player of Test Drive Unlimited can select one of several characters, both male and female, who are currently waiting at an airport to check in for their flight to their Caribbean fantasy island O’ahu, which is located in Hawaii. The characters do not have impressive statistics; that distinction is reserved solely for luxurious and licensed vehicles.
After the player has purchased his first home and car, he has the option to either drive around the island and hunt for events or load up the map and jump immediately to the site of a race, a car seller, or other destinations in a manner analogous to that of Need for Speed Underground. The entire island is accessible from the start of the game. Every vehicle can be purchased with an integrated navigation system narrated by a female character. This system will lead the player to their destination, which can be chosen by the player or determined by the game.
Over 125 distinct automobiles and motorcycles are available, and their prices span a wide range. From the Audi TT and the Jaguar XJ200 to the McLaren F1 and the Kawasaki Z1000, the protagonist, a young man or girl with excessive amounts of disposable income, can access anything that he or she could desire. Although each vehicle possesses its own unique and accurate set of attributes, such as speed or handling, they all have the quality of having an extremely detailed appearance and interior.
The protagonist begins the story with $200,000 in his wallet; however, after making initial purchases of a vehicle and a house, he will have no money left over. It will be necessary to compete in various races, from checkpoint challenges to time trials, to accumulate additional cash. The money can be spent not only on purchasing new residences and cars (as well as doing some minor customization to those items) but also on purchasing new clothing for the avatar.
The online play component is essential to the experience of Test Drive Unlimited. Players can join the official TDU server as soon as the game has been loaded by logging into their GameSpy accounts. When you go online, you’ll find that you can access new options, such as a meeting lounge where you can look up other gamers’ statistics and appearances. Additionally, it grants access to player-created matches displayed on the map interface. Creating a race in this section will also function in the single-player versions of the game. The beginning and ending points of a race can be selected at any place, as can the category of competition, the types of automobiles and motorcycles permitted, and the participant limit for the event. If not all of the available spaces have been taken by other participants, artificial intelligence will take over those that remain.
The PSP and PS2 versions have a poorer overall visual quality. They are missing a few features and components, including manual transmission, avatar customization, certain automobiles and all motorcycles, dealership and tuning shop non-player characters (NPCs), the vehicle interior camera angle, and specific objectives. They come with Master Points and Auto GPS, in addition to a few default vehicles that are only accessible for the Xbox 360 version via downloadable content packs.
