The initial set-up sees the player choosing their avatar, buying their first house and a car to place in the garage; from here it is out onto the open road, looking for that first racing challenge. The aim of the game is to own as many cars, motorcycles, houses, and clothes as possible, and beat everyone else racing on the island. In order to do this, a bit of mission-grinding for cash is required, and here the game forces exploration of the island, but not in an obvious or intrusive fashion. Key locations are displayed on an extremely slickly presented map, accessible at anytime by hitting the D-pad. Doing this zooms out from the current location to an overhead view, in a very Google Maps way.

It is possible to teleport to a location that’s been visited before, but if not, it must be driven to. This means roaming the island can take up a huge amount of playtime, though this isn’t as mundane and boring as it sounds. The amount of variation of scenery and road types makes any new trip a voyage of discovery. In fact, a journey to a race location may end up with a detour down a different road, just to see what the bends are like; it’s also likely that a mission will be driven past whilst puttering about, which can be entered with a single button press. Couple this with the level of detail of inconsequential things, such as ships sailing on the ocean, planes traversing the sky, and birds circling above the mountains, and it further enhances the ambience with the noticeable, yet subtle, sound design; it all adds to the sense of being there on this living breathing island.

There are many different mission types to attempt, though obviously all require some degree of driving. As well as the more usual first-across-the-line and timed runs, there are speed trap challenges, hitch-hikers, shopping deliveries and car-moving missions; the latter bringing much in the way of fortunes. Some of these challenges can be short and easy, others can be long and difficult. With a spare fifty minutes, the hundred-plus mile “Tour of the Island” race is there for the taking; a lengthy adrenaline-infused trip through plenty of the coastal landscapes that Oahu has to offer. As the player races more, experience is earned and ranks up from Novice to Ace, thus unlocking further and more difficult missions.

As the miles clock up on the odometer, it becomes clear that this is a pretty game to look at. The dynamic lighting effects are great; this is shown off particularly well when driving through the very Ridge Racer-esque tunnels (which also make engines sound nice and meaty). There are some issues with scenery pop-up, and the occasional very slight hiccup in frame-rate when data is streaming off the game disc, though this doesn’t adversely affect the racing aspect. View distance has a decent level of depth, but it can still be difficult to pick out junctions; the mini-map in the bottom corner of the screen often doesn’t give a high enough resolution to work out which way the road ahead veers, leading to last-minute corrections. Given that the network of roads is absolutely vast, it’s nigh-on impossible to learn every single road layout, which in fact makes racing all the more unpredictable and fun.

The car models are very nicely done: Ferraris, TVRs and other exotica are there in gleaming polygonal colour and buying a new one can be a cool experience. There are several different showrooms across the island, and although the number of models in each can be somewhat limited, there is often a cluster of dealers close together, and any of the vehicles can be test driven for a limit time. The showrooms (or owned garages) themselves aren’t quite as virtual as could be possible, in that they can’t be walked around as offered in PGR3. It is possible to manipulate the potential purchase; doors and windows can be opened, engines started and horns blown. It’s also possible to sit in the car and look around the virtual driving seat. Customisation is somewhat limited however; paint colour, interior fabrics and wheel rims being the only options.

There are some handling issues: the early-class cars can feel a bit lardy after experiencing any of the higher-group race-bred stuff, with a tendency to understeer a lot of the time. This appears to be down to the driving aids, as switching them off improves things by a large percentage, and is well recommended; losing control at high speed suddenly becomes all the more realistic.

The massive area of the island means there’s the potential to get a little lonesome. However, the player is not on their own in this fantasy tarmac universe; this is where the MOOR part kicks in. Along with the computer AI, other Xbox Live participants, identified by the Gamertag above their car, share the concrete structures, industrial areas and rural roads. Meeting other drivers can happen by chance, and by flashing the car headlights, ad-hoc one-on-one races can be initiated there and then. Should the challenged opponent reciprocate, a route can be chosen, agreed and five seconds later you can be bustling for first place in a fierce battle for online ranking. Winning these, particularly in an inferior car, is most satisfying.

These challenges can be a great distraction from whatever else is happening in the game world, but the online aspect doesn’t stop there. Together with the more formal street races and speed trials selectable via the world map, are player created timed and speed runs, available via the diners. Entering a diner allows the browsing of the routes and locations that can be raced in, which, for an entry fee, can bag a lot of cash. Any player can create them (there’s even an achievement for doing so), but should a punter beat the contest, the winnings come out of the hard-earned bankroll.

Not only does TDU promote inter-player rivalries, it also caters for team rivalries. Anyone who has the game can create a car club, though it isn’t cheap to do so. The club-president can then invite in other drivers, and challenge other clubs for pots of money.

There is a huge amount on offer in this title, and it could have been very confusing and disorganised had no thought been given to how the player interacts with the world. Fortunately all of this is wrapped up in a well-considered interface, a few button presses giving access to all the required information, which together with the island map and GPS system makes getting anywhere easy and simple, and there’s pleasure to be had from simply driving about.

Inevitably there were going to be some issues with the game; finding friends on the island is one such bugbear. Even though it’s possible to see them on the big map, spotting them on the road can be as difficult as chewing toffee with dentures. Another issue that becomes more noticeable with extended play time is repetition. Although driving in the game is great fun, earning money to purchase what are expensive houses and cars takes a lot of time. The one-shot, lucrative, quick and easy missions eventually dry up, forcing the replaying of long and difficult expert races, which are easy to fail at the last moment. These problems are relatively minor, but should not be overlooked.

Test Drive Unlimited doesn’t have the same thoroughbred racing pedigree as present in PGR3, nor does it have the clinical precision of Ridge Racer 6; instead, what it provides is a complete driving experience and a real sense of ownership, seamlessly fusing both single- and multi-player gaming; it’s more than the sum of its parts. Where some driving games are the hard slog of a daily commute, Test Drive Unlimited is that joyful Sunday drive on open and empty roads that everyone longs for.