Test Drive Unlimited 2 – review

Imagine a free-roaming adventure such as Grand Theft Auto, but without the wit or the plot. Imagine a driving simulator such as Gran Turismo 5, but without the programming stringency to deliver a realistic driving simulation. Imagine a social networking website entirely populated by 14-year-olds, where your moral worth could be measured simply by how many pairs of trainers you own. Imagine a bloody, high-speed collision between all of those concepts. Chances are you'd come up with something not unlike Test Drive Unlimited 2, although your version's probably more smoothly rendered.

If you're familiar with Test Drive Unlimited, 2006's inexplicably popular forerunner, you'll be hard pushed to spot the differences. The action is transplanted from the Hawaiian island of O'ahu to Ibiza (with the net result that the scenery is less spectacular and the roads are marginally narrower). Two-wheeled test-driving has been binned in favour of off-road test-driving – and that really is about it. In every other respect, TDU2 is just as superficial an experience as TDU. There's a modicum of redemption in the online racing, but that's assuming you can tolerate the numb, dislocated driving feel for any length of time. Of course, if you want a driving game that requires you to buy lots of sunglasses in-game if you're to make any progress, jump right in.