Test Drive Unlimited 2

Test Drive Unlimited 2 from 2011 by Eden Games is an open-world racing game set on the island of Ibiza that combines realistic driving with elements of an online MMO and lifestyle simulation. The player creates their own character, buys houses, garages, and cars, and besides classic races also engages in car collecting, tuning, and social activities with other players in a shared open world. The car roster included a wide range of brands from ordinary sedans to supercars, each with its own driving behavior, and the game distinguished between on-road and off-road driving, so handling had to adapt to both terrain and vehicle type. The island of Ibiza was rendered as a vast, seamless territory with no loading screens, which at the time of release was among the game's most technically ambitious features.

On PlayStation 3, the game offered a vast open world with changing weather and time of day, although its technical execution suffered from some shortcomings at launch, including bugs and unstable online components that required additional post-release fixes. The sound design and music score supported well the atmosphere of luxury lifestyle that the game built around racing and collecting possessions. Social features, such as riding together with a group of friends around the island or visiting other players' houses, were among the things that set the game clearly apart from classic racing titles.

Reception was mixed — players praised the ambitious scope of the open world and the social features but criticized the technical problems at launch. Even so, Test Drive Unlimited 2 built a loyal community that appreciated its unique blend of racing game with online RPG and lifestyle elements, which was a fresh concept at the time. Today fans remember the game as an ambitious, if not flawless, experiment in the open-world racing genre, whose ideas later appeared in other online-focused racing games.

Why play it: For players craving a fresh blend of racing with online RPG and lifestyle elements in an ambitious open world, despite the technical problems that plagued the game's launch.