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Ever wondered what it's like to be a character in a Bret Easton Ellis novel? Neither have we. But if American Psycho's Patrick Bateman were on the proper meds (we're talking a cocktail of anti-psychotics that would put an elephant into a coma) he'd fit into the world of Test Drive Unlimited perfectly. That's not to say that Atari's massively multiplayer racing game is some kind of serial killer simulator. It's nothing of the sort.  The game is the ultimate virtual playground for car lovers – a sprawling world that lets players plot their own course as they collect exotic automobiles and hone their driving skills.

Auto Erotica

Players start the game as a handsome yuppie with a rental car and a pile of money burning a hole in their pocket. After the initial shopping spree for a first car and a house to store it in, the game is the player's to plot. There's no story in Test Drive Unlimited. Just lots of options. There are races to run, cars to deliver and, on the Ted Bundy tip, hitchhikers to pick up. All of these tasks earn money, which feed the player's consumer hunger. Cars, real estate and haute couture are expensive. And in the world of Test Drive Unlimited, the McLaren F1 is the equivalent of an epic mount – pricey, but well worth the coin.

Bright Lights, Big Island

This treadmill of acquisition would be fairly dull if it wasn't for Test Drive Unlimited's unique venue. When played connected to Xbox Live, the game's enormous setting (a scale reproduction of the entire island of Oahu) is populated with hundreds of other players. The Hawaiian streets are abuzz with life. It's not uncommon to witness a player-led high speed chase or fabulous collision while going about one's business in Honolulu. And the cool thing is, these other guys aren't just there for show. At any time players call pull up alongside one another, flash their headlights and improvise a race.  All this is done under the semi-watchful eye of the fuzz, who will chase you down, toss you in jail and eventually impound your car if you're not careful. But who cares about Johnny Law when you're rich, invulnerable and slightly anti-social?

Hardcore and Casual

Races, whether created on the fly, or selected from the game's enormous selection of pre-fabricated trials, are played offline, safely away from the shenanigans of other players. And they're as diverse as fans of racing games are. Test Drive Unlimited does the admiral job of catering to both the hardcore and the casual. Those who enjoy the punishing difficulty of Gran Turismo, will find plenty of precision-oriented runs. Fans of arcade-style action like Burnout can just climb into their coupe and race in balls-out contests that don't punish the driver for collisions or straying off the asphalt. The coolest races are those that take unique advantage of Test Drive Unlimited's massive map. One unfurls across the island, stretching for over a hundred miles. The marathon run takes just under an hour at law-breaking speeds. This over-the-top rally isn't for everyone, but the fact that such excess is possible, somehow makes the game that much more appealing.

That New Car Smell

Test Drive Unlimited is a triumph in packaging. It wraps a familiar suite of racing objectives in a appealing shared space and gives players the tools to socialize in this enormous setting. Not all is perfect in this motorama. The game's labyrinthine system of menus and displays can be a trial to operate. Tons of additional cars will have to be purchased via micro-transactions on Xbox Live Marketplace. And it's frequently difficult to find opponents in the game's location-based online races. But these speedbumps do little to slow down Test Drive Unlimited's momentum. With so much to do and so many ways to do it, there are few audiences that the game won't lure. After all, who doesn't like to get a  little car crazy every now and then?

Article by: Gus Mastrapa
Video produced by: Tim Jennings