Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown Needs Work 

Cool looking physics. Didnt see a single pedestrian - no wonder a city feels a bit dead

Just the fact that they no longer have the gauges on the HUD modelled after the car’s actual gauges (like they did in the old games) shows how little care was put in this game compared to the old ones.

One of my biggest complaints is how hamfisted this cyber-futurism aesthetic is in game. Part of the draw of TDU was it felt like a grounded experience for the most part. The locations felt like places i could go to, like the events in game could hypothetically take place along side our own reality. Now its holograms on every building, drone taxis, sterile uniformity of every interior. This representation of HK barely feels like a place I can go and visit, incredibly detached from our own reality.j

Jimmy summed up perfectly how I feel about this game. The driving actually feels really good, but the world is off, feels empty and all the futuristic bs just DOESN'T work and to me looks cheesy. And then there is the performance issue, TDUSC has half of the quality of Forza 4 and 5 but runs at half the fps that FH does

That game has a vibe. A vibe of a freemium mobile game. Just without the hook to keep you wanting for more

When you're saying it's not as good as its predecessor (TDU 1), which is EIGHTEEN years old, something has gone horribly wrong. This is a low budget asset flip that they've slapped a known name on. The driving may feel fun and good. But that's likely the result of a couple of devs that take pride in their work and worked harder than they needed to for what they were paid!!

This game is the equivalent of a runway fashion show. Disconnected from reality just enough to make us ask why.

It seems like it's not a TDU Game. No garage limits, no houses, stores and the dealerships don't look anything like a dealership lol

It really really needs offline mode and some car sound tweaks!

The Airbag on 7:16 reeeeally got me 🤣

The gameplay feels exactly like those Mobile driving "sim" game you usually find at the app store, but with better graphic and car sound design...

The main thing to me is it doesn't look like a real place, it just looks like they made some weird neon futury city thing and said "trust us, it's hong kong"

This game looks like a shell of a game.

The biggest problem with TDU Solar Crown is that it isn't a TDU game. Small car list compared to their competition, always online recuirment, weird inconsistent AI and and lacklustre driving physics. It's a live-service racing game with a battle pass, that doesn't feel like a finished product. It would not surprise me if they'd pull the plug within a year or so.

This game highlights the emptiness in a lot of recent open-world driving games. They should be experiences, with memorable themes, locations, characters, cars, etc. and also make us want to keep progressing

'Needs work' is a gross understatement.

The driving itself is ok, but the presentation, structuring, pacing, etc., is so "we have forza horizon at home" it hurts, and FH's formula has been tired af for a few years now

A big issue with this game is that it''s always going to be compared to an almost 20 yo sibling in TDU1. Yeah, TDU1 had one of the worst UI and menus ever but the gameplay was solid. The island was very detailed and was large but not so big that driving around it was a slog. There were cool little easter eggs around like accessing the airstrip or finding the teleport onto the little island to the east. Hell, the DLC in TDU1 felt good. Getting to finally drive a countach after playing the game for 2 years for $5 felt worth it because that was the only TDU for 2-3 years. The multiplayer actually worked and you would see lambos, bugattis, saleens just rocketing down the street. A goddamned auction house with player owned cars, showing their driven mileages. Solar Crown has a godawful drag and drop "future-tech" sleek menu that is clunky and has no identity or flavor. The map just seems lifeless or 1 construction company builds the same building across the city. The details are put in the wrong places, often creating unnecessary roadblocks and obstacles on races. The AI drivers are just not it.

Wow this game looks incredible! It was released in 2007 right?

The game is lacking a lot of features still but overall, I am still enjoying the game. One thing I want to point out is that they really got the sense of speed down with the cars in this game which most racing games seem to never get right and also the car sounds are pretty well done. I also think leveling to get car upgrades is a cool touch since most racing games you get it right off the bat and that makes you wanna keep progressing to get those upgrades. Once they add more features coming up here in season 1 I think it’ll turn out to be a good game, if they stick to their word.

5:28 That outfit looks like something Lewis Hamilton would wear

"I'll. Leave. You. To. Compete. Against. The. Other. Participant." Why does the lady at the beginning talk with a period between each word lmao

I tried the beta, same as many others loved TDU2, think you pretty much hit the nail on the head, the steering wheel input as driver view reminds me of far cry / gta. Large open world driving games have been redefined by the Horizon series and this has completely missed that bar.

hey jimmer, dont be more present here on youtube, just be present, be a dad, racing driver or whatever you want and take us with you along the way like you are already doing and im sure you ll hit multiple million subscribers you have a very unique style in your videos and you can see that with the irl content you are bringing us atm. Dont force yourself pls, enjoy it! You earned it :)

Weird on the relatable thing, you were actually a relatable youtuber once, now you another rich one doing things only a few can hope to. You made it

I've been having fun with this game, and yeah it needs work. Glad to see a review that takes a more open approach and isn't just a bash because it's online only (which I agree is a big problem). I think that, after missing the original planned 2023 release date, the publisher cracked the whip on the devs to get this game out. A lot of the aspects of the game feel almost like placeholders, the devs have highlighted the steering wheel movement as something that wasn't quite ready for launch. There's enough to call it a game, and looking at the road map you can really see what was held back. Hopefully the game gets enough success to see the features that the devs want get added. Also, if you find the steering twitchy at low speeds, try adjusting the axis for the steering. There's a button in each of the left and right axis, separate binds, that changes the range from -1-1 to 0-1 and the latter is what you want on an XBox controller. Not sure why that isn't the default but it helps greatly. I'm also a big fan of TDU and TDU2, the "influencer" aspect is almost a continuation of TDU2 which was very "lifestyles of the rich and famous" and that culture has kind of been superseded by influencers and techbros in the modern day, so it makes sense to me even if it's a bit grating. The thing that TDU2 did with that story, though, which I think would appeal to people more nowadays, is in TDU2 you started as a nobody, you were a valet who came into the group of rich & famous and kicked their teeth in through dubiously legal motor racing. TDUSC has you start as one of them, so you're no longer the outsider who's come in to upend things.

The handling model is based on a WRC game, isn't it? I agree that the vibe is off - I haven't played it, but from this video the city feels like a liminal space almost. Like it should be vibrant and lively and full of action, yet it isn't. But the original TDU was kind of similar IMO - It was a lonely island where the only people you saw were car dealers, random supermodels and weird package recipients.

I think part of the problem is that this game feels like it's the kind of deal where I should be able to pull up outside like a bar or a nightclub, get out the car and walk in, and pick up a sidequest for a hill climb or something from some dudes in the corner of the bar.

THE AIRBAG EDIT 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Nacon : Give it a fair shot Jimbo on the intro : WTF 🤣🤣🤣

Thank Nacon for sponsoring, and Thanks Jimmies for doing a video. I'd still get the game on PS5 if I could. The physics, Engine sounds, and car detailing all looks very nice. I just wish they'd add more stuff to the game like random pedestirans that just jump out of the way. Some airplanes that occasionally fly over the city loudly, blimps, realistic heavy weather like heavy rain storms with puddles or heavy winds. Some Streamer friendly music so it's not so.. lifeless. It would be extra nice to see some stuff from the older games appear like music and clothing store brands etc. and.. i feel like the game actually may need just a little of that weird grease filter that most indie games are doing now.. just something to make daytime not so.. static looking. and lower the exposure during the day. and honestly.. I may be the only one here.. but I kind of wish they'd just get rid of the futuristic stuff.. It really makes no sense when theres passanger drones and all this odd stuff when we're just only driving cars from 2020s and below.. when the tech looks like it's possible 2030-2050+. And I wish Nacon would revisit the older games to just remake and try to capture what the older games had.

Loving her white & gold solar crown outfit

Despite the name of the game this is not a Test Drive Unlimited game, and it should have been called Solar Crown Racing or something like that just without the Test Drive Unlimited game. It is missing everything that the previous TDU games game, and it just doesn't even feel like TDU game either. I also don't think or have any confidence in these devs to provide the needed amount of patches/updates to actually make it into a real TDU game. The sad part I had really freaking high hopes for the this TDU game, but all of my hopes disappeared as soon as I starting playing the game. Such is life this is depressing, and I didn't need more of that in my life... oh well.

This should be played with a wheel! TDU was and is good on wheel. Too bad it lacks proper physics, the feel is great.

I wonder if we are too old for these games. I remember as a poor kid these games was what one could get in terms of looking these cars from inside, driving them, listening to them... maybe that is still true for kids. Now older, you can buy some niceish car and have that experience to your belt and if you don't have this possibility, simulators are the next best thing.

If they dropped the price to like 20 bucks I’d buy it on console. But for 60 no freakn way with all these problems!

Test drive unlimited was amazing back in the day

Editor cooked with the funnies this video

i remember playing this game waaaay back on my 8800GTX sli rig, was fun racing round the island

I`ve put 1d 3h 42m into this game as of right now, and I honestly can`t disagree with Jimmy`s impressions of the game. The game`s main saving graces are the handling and the map itself (even if visually it is vary rough around the edges), which means that the game is currently at it`s most enjoyable when you`re just driving around at varying speeds and exploring) The solar crown itself is just an excuse to get you racing, and the whole clan thing is just stupid Imo. The TDU DNA is also only half there, and the TDU elements that did make the cut feel like they were largely added to tick boxes of what TDU is known for. The overly futuristic aesthetic makes no sense, and the dealerships also feel visually out of place to what a TDU should be, because they seem to be more focused on visually matching the aesthetic of the Solar hotel, than to mach the brand identity or theme of the cars they sell. The dealerships themselves also feel pretty empty (alot of empty space between cars), which is crazy considering the amount of repeated cars per dealer (the Asian specialist only has 3 models). My assumption is that they will replace repeats and move the layouts around as new cars are added, but it still makes of an underwhelming experience as of right now. Also the car list is oddly small, and strangely lacking in veriety, even compared to the OG TDU (the OG TDU had a better and more varied selection of low end cars, as well as classics, and with less of a focus on just high end supercars and hypercars) To be fair though, none of these shortcomings have been hurting my enjoyment of the game too much, and I have been enjoying the game for what it is, with the race layouts being pretty fun (thanks to the map itself being good), and the economy being fine as far as I`m concerned (I made well over a million and got to basicly level 15 just by exploring, and I`ve only discovered 30% of the roads)). Also, I can say pretty confidantly that I`ve been enjoying TDU more than I did Motorfest, as I`ve already put more time into TDU in the last week and a half, than I did in Motorfest since it came out (I have 22h in Motorfest,)

Test Drive Off Road was the first racing game I owned. Can't say I've seen or played anything in the series, since.

"Hi, I'm a lisp" Alright test drive, no need to get personal

I havent even watched a few secs of this video but yeah, TD:U was AWESOME! I had it on PC and it was just so fun to cruise around the island with 10 others! ...and yeah, I played with controller, too!

Unforgivable to have a game so focused on the world, its people in it, cutscenes and all that stuff, and then have Mass Effect 1 era face models.

Its a very mediocre game, just like need for speed for last decade, but unlike need for speed and cod, they do not have diehard fanbase that will buy the game no matter how crap the game is

No lie, this is probably the funniest thing out there today.

I can't get over the fact they've reusued TDU2 car models, which weren't good back then, let alone now.

I love this game. It needs work but I'm having a blast with the experience how it is. I'm eager to see how it improves over time

I played the beta and was positively surprised by wheel support. It was not realistic like Assetto Cirsa etc. but still fun to drive.

Also the older games had much bigger map, was good for going for a long relaxing drive

We need more clips, Jimmer! Also, devs: GIVE US STEAM DECK SUPPORT!

Ya boi's been taking fashion lessons from Lewis Hamilton! And I could count at least three potential entries for the latest FailRace episode...

Test Drive was groundbreaking back in the C64 days!

It's sad, because i got so excited for this game (played the 2 back in the day and it was the best open world racing experience ever. Despite the physics, as far as my memory can go, cruising felt so enjoyable. - don't think we would have Forza or Crew without TDU/2). But once I started seeing the more recent trailers, I knew it wouldn't be a good game. And now that it launched, i decided to buy Motorfest instead, granted I have a lot to dislike in that game, but man if it's fun. I'm not a fan of the idea of GT making an open world game as many people been asking.. But maybe if they ever do, we'll finally have a nice TDU experience again.

TDU was a cool game. I don't mind too much the futuristic aesthetetic they went for, but the character interactions look iffy at best. That dead eyed woman barely looking in your general direction with zero facial expressions gives me 2000s vibes. Extra props for the editing, 7:15 got me, thanks editor-chan

The problem is that games are released before they are finished. TDU, gran Turismo, Forza motorsport. All these games have the potential to be great but they are just incomplete

Midtown Madness visual vibes

TDU was legenday. I remember hanging out in parking lots and a lot of messing around. Honestly forza could have taken notes

I'd see a trailer for this game without any prior knowledge of the series and I'd fully expect touch screen controls because this looks like Asphalt 9 except with a story.

I havnt baught it yet but sense of speed and sound design is good

If you come back to it later, there will be no one playing it.

Absolutely kills my computer, not hating on the game at all because I’m sure it’ll be great after some tlc. I was always a massive fan of TDU when I was little. I can’t wait to see how they improve on it.

Reminds me a bit of SRP on asseto corsa , with wheel you can map your blinkers and crap,lol

This just ain’t TDU, the series is built on attention to detail and grounded realism while this is just some cyberpunk crud.

The fact that they say they'll add houses etc later says a lot to me. The lack of personalization options feel like really don't understand the charm of TDU. It's less about being yourself and more about flashing your big cash. Nothing but sports cars too, barely any interesting cars

One problem I see is that all the menus, cars, and that sort of thing feels and looks futuristic, but the actual world itself looks like current day with a few fancy signs. It just doesn't fit together. It's as if they've only half finished it. The world just doesn't feel alive, it feels like the rapture's happened and there's only a few people left.

Mum: You're not getting Forza Horizon, we have it at home. The Forza Horizon at home:

Don't worry. You didn't miss much by stopping where you did, except not being able to experience all the bugs.

If you liked the og TDU on xbox360, then you should definitely play TDU Platinum on pc.. you'd be surprised how awesome that game is..

Can you put the livestream back up on the channel? I was part way through😅

Ive played TDU once since it came put and put 20 hours into Car X Street in basically the same amount of time. Thats a problem when Car X is a 1/3 of the price

"I have faith in you. You'll be fine."🗿

player numbers on steam db are still dropping.... they need a sale + fixes. else this game is dead. even the ppl who have don´t play anymore. i really wish it was good :(

Jimmer effortlessly making his guy look like Leclerc😂😂

The city feels empty because it is devoid of people! There is no life around, barely any cars in what would otherwise be a bustling metropolis with millions of inhabitants. I understand that there are limitations for a videogame, even limitations due to the genre of the game, as TDU cannot afford the possibility of allowing the player to ram into pedestrians at high speeds, unless they made them jump out of the way at the last second a la Driver 2 or Midnight Club LA. What is undenyable is that population would make the streets feel alive, like it happened in Sleeping Dogs or GTA, but the player would have to be restricted from murdering pedestrians by protecting them with unbreakable bollards or barriers. This would limit them from driving recklessly onto the sidewalks though, unless they were pretty confined to alleyways or balconies, but even this would be an improvement.

8:42 Feels like PS1 era again

I just don't get what the devs don't understand when it comes to scale. Half of the vibe, style, sense of speed etc issues can be fixed by not having massive fuckoff stroads and everything always being driveable. Even in the densest part of the cities in games nowadays, the alleys and shit, they're super fucking wide.

Question is would you buy solar crown or the crew motorfest?

Test Drive Off Road Wide Open was top tier on the original Xbox. So much fun. Shame how mediocre so many of these continued IP’s have gotten. They feel like half assed money grabs. Test Drive Off Road was excellent in terms of cars & extra features like free roam including on the moon + split screen. Such a blast.

Thus game kinda looks like a mix out of NFS/Forza Horizon and one of the Asphalt games

I've never actually played a TDU, but I've gotta say, I'm not gonna start now.

Test Drive Unlimited 1 stands alone..

Fair assessment I'd say! Like everything else these days, it's just not up to scratch 🤷🏾‍♂️ Also Can somebody please help me ID the funky house track playing in the background from 11:00 onwards. please and thank you

TDUSC Could do a PlatinumConfigurable version with ghostable AI for an extra £hundo and double their returns. It drives better the better the motor.

When was this streamed and how did I miss it?

Needs Work But definitely a fun game

Did your avatar rob Louise Shamilton's wardrobe?

I got this game to play with my brother and we can’t even seem to get in the same lobby . Smh 🤦🏾‍♂️ 😂

all this game did was make me go back and play Test Drive unlimited

there is literally no more lore to the street vs sharp than what you saw already. you hit the nail on the head with what you said. it has potential, but it is BURIED underneath whatever they tried to make new with TD. no unique vehicle HUD gauges. the "1 for 1" map is literally just a map. the actual environment feels lifeless and dull. the AI is horrendous. i could careless about the obstacles slowing you down if it did the same for the AI. currently they can just drive through anything with max grip and torque while your struggling with the realistic handling. the handling is not bad, its just not competitive with the arcade like AI. and for a full game release it needs so much optimization still. gold edition owners myself included have had probably as equal of a let down as the launch of concord. TDU needs a major turn around, or to just refund the players. always online doesnt work when the servers cant support that.

As someone who mostly plays on my own nowadays it’s getting annoying that so many games are so multiplayer focused, it’s going to take a lot of people away from those games.

This game is substandard even by 2014 standards. I'm really not sure what they were thinking releasing this in 2024. Did they get stuck in a cryogenics chamber for a whole decade?

The game is online-only and is 30 fps on console, thats probably all you need to know

10:00 my guess to why it feels empty is because in a city there's normally pedestrians walking around

More like "Test Drive Limited Solar Clown Login Error" aka Concord Racing Game

What's with street racing games making roads like 2 cars wide, that's literally the no 1 sense of speed killer

one problem is that this is allegedly supposed to be Hong Kong... everyone knows this place has 7 mil people in a small city and so this looks uncanny valley... did everyone die?

I was gonna buy TDU Solar Crown, i added it to my cart on Steam, I kept scrolling through the store and saw The Crew 2 for $1 lol .... Ya i got The Crew 2 instead

Ironically, this made me re-install The Crew 2

Not played it, but it looks like they made changes for changes sake, when they already had the right core game and vibe in their own TDU2 :/ They literally had it right there.