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13 years have passed since the last installment of the Test Drive saga, it seems incredible, right? The direct sequel to Test Drive Unlimited, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, has already arrived on Xbox preceded by controversy for two intrinsically linked reasons: first, the constant connection that the game poses KT Games and Nacon, and on the other, the failure in the servers that players had in the early days with early access that prevented them from being able to enjoy the title, precisely because it required a constant internet connection.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown bears the heavy responsibility of is the title that revives an iconic franchise in the world of video games. ANDl Need for Speed of a generation that sat in front of their computers and enjoyed an arcade racing game via floppy disks and typing MS-DOS commands that were burned into their minds.
Does it achieve its goal? Well, that is one of the many questions I will try to answer from my humble point of view in these lines. Fasten your seatbelts, we are heading to Hong Kong to conquer the (now Chinese) city with our friendly clan at full speed. Come with me.
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Technical section
KT Racing has always been one of my favorite developers when it comes to racing game capabilities. We’ve seen what they can do with games like the first two TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge games and their rally adaptations, but this, however, They seem to have taken a step back in this episodeperhaps due to the scale of the game which far exceeds that of other titles they have worked on, but for the sake of fairness I will explain in a little more detail.
The city of Hong Kong, with all its landscapes, is very well recreated, even though I have never been there in real life. The city has a very elaborate look and is a large-scale map, which is a brilliant bet in itself, even if, despite being one of the most populated metropolises in the world, it sometimes seems almost empty. However, during my analysis on my small Xbox Series S, I noticed on several occasions the effect of to take a jump of textures and other annoyances, but what bothered me the most were the mirrors. The reflection of the mirrors seems to be taken directly from the first MS-DOS tests that I talked about at the beginning and, beyond the aesthetics, they make us lose their main function, which is to know where the rivals are from this point of view. Honestly, I don’t understand how they missed this detail.
On the other hand, the design of the vehicles is very well done, do not expect a Forza, but it can easily fight The Crew in hand to hand and even surpass it. The design of the avatars is another story and seems taken from the previous generation or even a previous one, the same goes with the cutscenes where the characters seem even bigger and the problems are more visible.
Performance-wise the game is pretty stable, but sometimes the drop frames It can be appreciated a lot, especially in races. off road with rain the game engine seems to be doing its best not to explodealthough the developers may release a patch to improve this aspect in the future.
The sound is very well maintained and with interesting details like the echo of the speakers when the vehicle passes under the bridges, the car radio offers a wide variety of options for lovers of different types of music ranging from classical to modern with many intermediates. Balance.
The location of the title allows us to enjoy it in Spanish both in the menus and in their dialogues, although you can always revert to the original language of the game itself without having to change the console language, which is always welcome and should be standard.
Gameplay
The goal of the game is not too complex from a theoretical point of view: reach the top of the Solar Crown championship and become the leader of a faction of illegal racers. For which you have two options (which you can change over time if you are in the mood to betray) the Sharps, executive types who see life through money and prestige, and the Streets who tend to be more hipster and slovenly and see power as a means of generating happiness.
We are at a time in our society where everything is immediate, which is reflected in the constant anxiety of the new generations, in the need for everything to happen from one moment to the next. Even in the way people identify themselves to find a partner by simply moving their finger on an application, but in this title KT Racing wanted to go back in time and things really cost the player effortsomething that can be highly celebrated by some and something terrible for others.
The structure of the game takes the player to explore the vast territory of Hong Kong with big cities, small towns, beaches and mountains. The map It is available in its entirety from the start of the game. to discover its streets, avenues, highways, meeting points with other players. These also serve to change vehicles, gas stations that add repairs, different dealers to buy new cars and other surprises like the discovery of abandoned car parts all over the map, there are 28 of them.
Even though the territory is available from the start, the developers’ idea is that first take advantage of small sectors before moving forward. These 14 sectors are full of activities to do from regular sprint races, domination races in which you have to score points at each checkpoint, time trials and even speeding in front of certain speed cameras spread throughout the map.
The results in the various competitions grant money, reputation to level up and other bonuses, but not too excessive, which motivates the player must constantly strive and compete to upgrade the car or buy new vehicles or even cosmetic items for your avatar.
Money isn’t enough to buy everything you want. Car upgrades, events, and even the cars themselves They are unlocked when you level up.which means that you may have money, but not enough experience, which can only be remedied in one way: by playing. For example, you can only buy clothes for your avatar from level 5, car upgrades are enabled at level 10, and you can only join a clan at level 12.
As for handling, don’t expect anything close to a simulator like Forza Horizon, but expect a different driving experience from Need for Speed, and in my opinion, more complex. Each vehicle (there are over 100 of them counting the different variants of each) feels different to the controls with the addition of an action wheel in which you can roll down the windows and other unnecessary but nice things.
One detail to note is that while the available vehicles are from all eras, there is a notable absence of cars from the 80s and 90s and many others from the 2000s era onwards. Something that could be fixed with post-launch content, but will leave motorsport fans from the aforementioned eras wanting more.
The AI is pretty good, sometimes bordering on unfair, so I recommend you always enter competitions with the maximum allowed capacity, otherwise winning will be quite difficult.
As an MMO, you can find players from all over the world on the map with the opportunity to take on an instant challenge. Events can bring together a mix of human participants and AI-driven cars, but even if there are no human players, it’s important to note that there is no option to go back or restart the race until crossing the finish line, only to abandon it and return to it if things go very badly.
Duration
Thanks to the work and grace of the developers, we are faced with a game that must be enjoyed. you have to spend many hoursThe title invites constant exploration and constant participation in competitions in order to add experience and money to buy parts and more cars.
Patience is key to being able to enjoy the game, but it is one of the racing titles on which we are going to spend the most time, and besides, it is an MMO, of course.
Conclusion
It can be debated for a long time whether the 13 years of waiting between the last titles were worth it, but I consider that Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown fulfills its mission, perhaps without too much excess, perhaps with some flaws in its mechanics, but that, I believe, fans of the genre will appreciate. Of course, be patient, it can be a bit tedious to start from the beginning and add levels, but once you do, it becomes interesting.
Walking around Hong Kong, the game, without being a Forza, He offers a lot and has big plans for the future which makes betting on it pay off in advance.
Gabriel Ignacio Fuentes
The good
- Map size
- The effort required to obtain upgrades and cars
Bad
- Many graphic details should be more polished
- AI can be very unfair
- Performance sometimes drops significantly
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