- 880
- Chesterfield
- DEKOWOLF
This is something I've been meaning to write for some time now, but was hesitant on how to do it or even where to do it. But I believe the loving GTPlanet community would appreciate my story. This is the story of how I ended up buying an Xbox One, despise the fact I've never been interested in one. But before we get into that, allow me to set the tone for a crucial point regarding gaming industry and their respective fans. Be warn, this is long read and English is not my native language.
PlayStation VS Xbox.
My very first game console was a Super Nintendo. Don't have many memories of that as I was only a small child. I then moved up to a SEGA MegaDrive. Don’t remember much of that either. But on Christmas 1998 came the console that really marked my childhood (and made an enormous impact in my life), the original PlayStation. And since then I own every console and every Gran Turismo title to date.
I didn't choose to remain with PlayStation because I think it's the best. No. I remained with PlayStation because I'm familiar with the way Sony products work. This goes beyond the PlayStation. Every major entertainment appliance in my house has always been a Sony branded product. Since a young age I've been handling Sony products and I'm just comfortable with them and I know my way around them instinctively. But I digress...
Until this day my views on Xbox have remained fairly neutral. Never once in my life I've condemned those who chose an Xbox over a PlayStation. It doesn't bother me one bit. Who am I to tell them where to spend their money on? It's got nothing to do with me. After all is said and done, it doesn't matter which you choose because as long as you're happy with it. Don't follow trend and just get what you want.
With that out of the way, let's get started. Enter...
Test Drive Unlimited.
The year is 2006 and this beauty of a game just shook the racing game scene. Sure there had been other open world racing games prior to its release, but nothing like this. An entire gigantic Island at your disposal. You had had to actually drive for miles to reach the starting line of a race. The hottest cars available at the time. You could put your windows down. The car doors could open in the showroom. Buy multiple houses to store different cars. You could drive bikes on the same game. Socializing with other players. Racing wheel support. It was every car enthusiast dream. It was (for the most part) a civilized experience. Where most games at the time where heavy sims or street racing style, TDU remain a gentleman's club experience.
I first came into contact with this game at a friend house. He had it set up on a laptop with the then new Driving Force Pro that he also used for Gran Turismo 4. I had a go at the game for a few hours. And I was hooked! I had never experience anything like this before! It was also my first time using a racing wheel on a game! The experience was exhilarating!
Those few hours I had with TDU marked me until today. I returned home wanting to play some more, so I browsed through my collection of racing games. I could choose from the usual suspects, varying from sims to arcade. But guess what? There was absolutely nothing that could come close to that experience. Not only in my collection, but on the market itself. TDU was unique. There wasn't a single game on the market entirely dedicated to just drive around for the fun of it. Sure the Grand Theft Auto series has large maps and several cars to choose from, but they weren’t car dedicated games, cars were seen a way of transport.
Getting a copy for myself wasn't easy either. You see the game was available for four platforms at the time. PC, Xbox 360, PS2 and PSP.
The PSP version although very good for the system, it wasn't the experience I was looking for. So I thought PC, but it wasn't good either. I only had a basic tower PC clearly not meant for games. So that was out too. In the end I went for the PS2 version. But something was missing...the graphics had been massively downgraded and I couldn’t use a wheel. The Xbox 360 version was graphically superior to the PS2, I could also use a wheel and there was several other features not available on the PS2. However feedback at the time pointed to a poor handling system compared to the other versions. And besides, I didn't consider buying another console when I could just get the game for the system that I already owned. So despise the setbacks, I stuck with it because I wanted that experience so bad. I ended up completing the entire game still craving for more.
Finding a replacement
In the years that followed I kept pursuing for that experience again. To have that fix one more time.
Burnout Paradise was another incredible open world car game. I had fun playing that game and spend several hours online. It was truly a fun game. But it wasn’t TDU. It didn’t even had licenced cars so I couldn't compare them both.
Later on in 2012 Criterion games (creators of Burnout Paradise) made Need for Speed Most Wanted (2012). The promise was a similar experience to Paradise. Only it had licensed cars. Could this be the TDU experience I’ve been craving all this time? No. Most Wanted (2012) felt more like Paradise than TDU. In fact, it was entirely Paradise style fun.
TDU 2 was then released in 2011. I was going through some tough times back then so I had to put buying games on a break. Besides, I was still enjoying Gran Turismo 5. A game I ended up logging more than two thousand hours online. Crazy.
I went through an entire console generation without having that itch scratched!
Moving on to the next generation of consoles and things are looking promising. The Crew gets announced. Many things were said during its reveal, but what caught my attention was the team behind the project. Ivory Tower is a team with members that worked on TDU and V-Rally 3. I immediately thought The Crew was going to be a great sucesores to TDU. Boy. Was I wrong?!
The Crew failed miserably in many aspect, but ultimately it fail to give me that experience only found in TDU. The horrible driving physics, a gigantic map with nothing to look at, questionable car selection and a pathetic excuse for a story mode. This were the major points that made me cringe every time I played it. But you know what? I stuck with it. Because if you squint really hard and hold your breath long enough, you can almost see TDU somewhere in there. Knowing that there was a trace of TDU in The Crew I kept pushing forward. But the more I played the game, the more I hated it and the more I craved that experience. I ended up completing most of the game before its major update that tweaked the physics and gave the game a fresh visual upgrade. But it still wasn’t enough to make up for that initial disappointment.
What finally pushed me over the edge of failing attempts was actually TDU2. I got it for cheap in from a second hand shop. Insert the disc in my PS3 and after the installation and such was done, I immediately felt disappointed. Again. The game just wasn't up to the standard of the first one. Cheesy characters, pre-instagram lifestyle, casinos? Forget about it!
Forza Horizon.
By now Forza Horizon 3 is in the market and everyone goes crazy for it. Up until now I've been avoiding major Forza related content because I had intentions of buying them some day, and I didn't want my experience to be tainted by reviews and other people opinions. I chose to stay away from them mostly because I didn't had an Xbox to play them.
But I then come across that epic E3 trailer of Forza Horizon 3. And holy mother of sweet Jesus! That hit me so hard. I felt that I could experience TDU again. The song was also meaningful. A cover version of “Wicked Game” sung by Annaca. The lyrics go something like "I don't want to fall in love with you". And this spoke true to me. I didn't want to fall in love with this game, because if I did I'd be heartbroken, I didn't had an Xbox so that meant I couldn't play it! It was quite frustrating.
Besides that trailer and very few pictures I knew very little about Horizon 3.
Since Horizon 3 release I discovered podcasts. One I listen to quite regular is The Smoking Tyre Podcast. I bet some of you are already familiar with the, but if not you should check them out! Long story short, these guys are sponsored by Microsoft and Forza. Beside the Forza adds halfway through the show, the hosts would mention Horizon 3 quite regularly (not because they had to, but because they could) and it was a recurring topic of conversation with guests. They promoted the game extremely well and the more I they talked about it, the more I wanted to play it. Hearing these guys talking about it just made me wanting it more
Having gone through The Crew I was saturated. Tired and exhausted of looking for that TDU experience I so much wanted. TDU 2 sent me over the edge and I just went out and bought an Xbox One S bundled with Forza Horizon 3.
One last push.
My experience with the Xbox wasn't great. It's been a month and it still hasn't gotten any better. Truth be told, I don't like it one bit. The entire process from opening the box to me starting the game was painful and resentful.
But then the game starts. I see birds flying across a beautiful sky. The camera then pans to a Lamborghini Centenario. I must have watched that intro screen at least three time in a row. I was just mesmerized.
I hit the button and everything just felt right again. They say the first impressions are important. Well, Xbox first impression was terrible, but Horizon 3 was magical.
I'm driving this amazing car on a beautiful road with incredibly detailed scenery. Then other cars joined me and suddenly it's not just one amazing car I get to look at. The road opens up and I notice it snakes down to a dam. I can see a lake and the sunlight reflecting on water. We race down the hill, crossing the dam. The road then takes us to a rain forest. Sun shining through the trees. Water on the road reflecting the car and scenery. We then go through a water splash. The car is now wet. There's water on the screen. It's magical. The road opens up again and suddenly I'm on a beautiful beach! The sun shines bright on the screen reflecting the car shape.
I've experience these effects before in other games, but, never quite like this. Never presented to me in such a way. And suddenly, I feel that TDU experience all over again.
I believe Forza Horizon 3 is the spiritual successor of the original Test Drive Unlimited. I got the same TDU experience modernized to today's standards. An up to date vision of what TDU started.
My favorite aspects of the game are the highly detailed liveries that players shared through the game. I first got a taste of this in Need for Speed 2015. Players were creating highly complex and detailed visuals for the cars. But Horizon 3 took it a step further and it’s simply incredible.
Replicas of original liveries, and original ones. Anime style liveries mashed up with actual racing ones. As a fan of anime and cars, the Itasha culture is close to me and I am happy to have that represented in such a great game.
And this translates into the game. The game presentation is terrific! Voice over from car journalists and race drivers walk you through the game. You feel immersed in the game and rewarded for being a car enthusiast before you even get to drive any car at all.
The car physics is not what impressed me, although really good, it was the simple fact that I can see the ABS working. Other games you hit the brakes and that's it. Nothing happens other than the fact the car slows down. Your brakes don't lock, that's pretty much it. But here was the first time I saw a game recreating ABS so accurately. Suddenly I'm breaking earlier end changing gears smoothly.
I then go too far and hit a gravel trap. And the car just, stops! That blew my mind. Previously in other games if I hit a gravel trap the car would slow down, not stop, simply came to a slow stop. I believe this is designed so that the player can easily make its way back to the track, which is understandable. You don’t want novice players giving up out of frustration simply because they can’t keep the car on the track. But here the car just stopped, just like it should have!
I then experienced my first wet race. No big deal, all I got to do is watch my corner exit, right? Easy on the throttle, make sure the wheel don’t spin, all good.
Nope. Aquaplaning! Another thing I've never experienced before. Caught me by surprise and I just giggled to myself because it was so great! I now have the extra stress of watching for bodies of water on the track, something I never did before in other games.
With all these subtle details I wasn’t prepared, I was just racing like I did in other games. So it’s no surprise that I crashed against other cars quite regularly. And that was something else that I liked. No, not crashing, the way other cars react.
I’ve seen AI react to players, but I’ve never seen an AI make non-scripted mistakes. They brake late and miss the apex. Go too far on the run off areas. They block you from passing and even trade paint with you. And they are actually tough to beat.
Conclusion
Once again, I don’t believe in console wars. I’m just happy to have both major consoles available in the market, which means I now get to experience the best of both worlds. I get to play my favorite game of all time and it’s main competitor. I can’t see myself buying any other games for the Xbox because truth be told, there isn’t anything else I want other than Forza.
I’m still not happy with the Xbox. But that’s irrelevant because I get to experience the Forza games and enjoy being a car enthusiast.
There's so much love and dedicated put into these games that it's almost a sin to have them locked to their respective consoles.
This was a story of how I've spent years looking for the ultimate TDU experience, and this journey led me to a great game. I wanted to share this in hopes that people can stop picking sides and give up childish behaviours in this "console wars" thing.
PlayStation VS Xbox.
My very first game console was a Super Nintendo. Don't have many memories of that as I was only a small child. I then moved up to a SEGA MegaDrive. Don’t remember much of that either. But on Christmas 1998 came the console that really marked my childhood (and made an enormous impact in my life), the original PlayStation. And since then I own every console and every Gran Turismo title to date.
I didn't choose to remain with PlayStation because I think it's the best. No. I remained with PlayStation because I'm familiar with the way Sony products work. This goes beyond the PlayStation. Every major entertainment appliance in my house has always been a Sony branded product. Since a young age I've been handling Sony products and I'm just comfortable with them and I know my way around them instinctively. But I digress...
Until this day my views on Xbox have remained fairly neutral. Never once in my life I've condemned those who chose an Xbox over a PlayStation. It doesn't bother me one bit. Who am I to tell them where to spend their money on? It's got nothing to do with me. After all is said and done, it doesn't matter which you choose because as long as you're happy with it. Don't follow trend and just get what you want.
With that out of the way, let's get started. Enter...
Test Drive Unlimited.
The year is 2006 and this beauty of a game just shook the racing game scene. Sure there had been other open world racing games prior to its release, but nothing like this. An entire gigantic Island at your disposal. You had had to actually drive for miles to reach the starting line of a race. The hottest cars available at the time. You could put your windows down. The car doors could open in the showroom. Buy multiple houses to store different cars. You could drive bikes on the same game. Socializing with other players. Racing wheel support. It was every car enthusiast dream. It was (for the most part) a civilized experience. Where most games at the time where heavy sims or street racing style, TDU remain a gentleman's club experience.
I first came into contact with this game at a friend house. He had it set up on a laptop with the then new Driving Force Pro that he also used for Gran Turismo 4. I had a go at the game for a few hours. And I was hooked! I had never experience anything like this before! It was also my first time using a racing wheel on a game! The experience was exhilarating!
Those few hours I had with TDU marked me until today. I returned home wanting to play some more, so I browsed through my collection of racing games. I could choose from the usual suspects, varying from sims to arcade. But guess what? There was absolutely nothing that could come close to that experience. Not only in my collection, but on the market itself. TDU was unique. There wasn't a single game on the market entirely dedicated to just drive around for the fun of it. Sure the Grand Theft Auto series has large maps and several cars to choose from, but they weren’t car dedicated games, cars were seen a way of transport.
Getting a copy for myself wasn't easy either. You see the game was available for four platforms at the time. PC, Xbox 360, PS2 and PSP.
The PSP version although very good for the system, it wasn't the experience I was looking for. So I thought PC, but it wasn't good either. I only had a basic tower PC clearly not meant for games. So that was out too. In the end I went for the PS2 version. But something was missing...the graphics had been massively downgraded and I couldn’t use a wheel. The Xbox 360 version was graphically superior to the PS2, I could also use a wheel and there was several other features not available on the PS2. However feedback at the time pointed to a poor handling system compared to the other versions. And besides, I didn't consider buying another console when I could just get the game for the system that I already owned. So despise the setbacks, I stuck with it because I wanted that experience so bad. I ended up completing the entire game still craving for more.
Finding a replacement
In the years that followed I kept pursuing for that experience again. To have that fix one more time.
Burnout Paradise was another incredible open world car game. I had fun playing that game and spend several hours online. It was truly a fun game. But it wasn’t TDU. It didn’t even had licenced cars so I couldn't compare them both.
Later on in 2012 Criterion games (creators of Burnout Paradise) made Need for Speed Most Wanted (2012). The promise was a similar experience to Paradise. Only it had licensed cars. Could this be the TDU experience I’ve been craving all this time? No. Most Wanted (2012) felt more like Paradise than TDU. In fact, it was entirely Paradise style fun.
TDU 2 was then released in 2011. I was going through some tough times back then so I had to put buying games on a break. Besides, I was still enjoying Gran Turismo 5. A game I ended up logging more than two thousand hours online. Crazy.
I went through an entire console generation without having that itch scratched!
Moving on to the next generation of consoles and things are looking promising. The Crew gets announced. Many things were said during its reveal, but what caught my attention was the team behind the project. Ivory Tower is a team with members that worked on TDU and V-Rally 3. I immediately thought The Crew was going to be a great sucesores to TDU. Boy. Was I wrong?!
The Crew failed miserably in many aspect, but ultimately it fail to give me that experience only found in TDU. The horrible driving physics, a gigantic map with nothing to look at, questionable car selection and a pathetic excuse for a story mode. This were the major points that made me cringe every time I played it. But you know what? I stuck with it. Because if you squint really hard and hold your breath long enough, you can almost see TDU somewhere in there. Knowing that there was a trace of TDU in The Crew I kept pushing forward. But the more I played the game, the more I hated it and the more I craved that experience. I ended up completing most of the game before its major update that tweaked the physics and gave the game a fresh visual upgrade. But it still wasn’t enough to make up for that initial disappointment.
What finally pushed me over the edge of failing attempts was actually TDU2. I got it for cheap in from a second hand shop. Insert the disc in my PS3 and after the installation and such was done, I immediately felt disappointed. Again. The game just wasn't up to the standard of the first one. Cheesy characters, pre-instagram lifestyle, casinos? Forget about it!
Forza Horizon.
By now Forza Horizon 3 is in the market and everyone goes crazy for it. Up until now I've been avoiding major Forza related content because I had intentions of buying them some day, and I didn't want my experience to be tainted by reviews and other people opinions. I chose to stay away from them mostly because I didn't had an Xbox to play them.
But I then come across that epic E3 trailer of Forza Horizon 3. And holy mother of sweet Jesus! That hit me so hard. I felt that I could experience TDU again. The song was also meaningful. A cover version of “Wicked Game” sung by Annaca. The lyrics go something like "I don't want to fall in love with you". And this spoke true to me. I didn't want to fall in love with this game, because if I did I'd be heartbroken, I didn't had an Xbox so that meant I couldn't play it! It was quite frustrating.
Besides that trailer and very few pictures I knew very little about Horizon 3.
Since Horizon 3 release I discovered podcasts. One I listen to quite regular is The Smoking Tyre Podcast. I bet some of you are already familiar with the, but if not you should check them out! Long story short, these guys are sponsored by Microsoft and Forza. Beside the Forza adds halfway through the show, the hosts would mention Horizon 3 quite regularly (not because they had to, but because they could) and it was a recurring topic of conversation with guests. They promoted the game extremely well and the more I they talked about it, the more I wanted to play it. Hearing these guys talking about it just made me wanting it more
Having gone through The Crew I was saturated. Tired and exhausted of looking for that TDU experience I so much wanted. TDU 2 sent me over the edge and I just went out and bought an Xbox One S bundled with Forza Horizon 3.
One last push.
My experience with the Xbox wasn't great. It's been a month and it still hasn't gotten any better. Truth be told, I don't like it one bit. The entire process from opening the box to me starting the game was painful and resentful.
But then the game starts. I see birds flying across a beautiful sky. The camera then pans to a Lamborghini Centenario. I must have watched that intro screen at least three time in a row. I was just mesmerized.
I hit the button and everything just felt right again. They say the first impressions are important. Well, Xbox first impression was terrible, but Horizon 3 was magical.
I'm driving this amazing car on a beautiful road with incredibly detailed scenery. Then other cars joined me and suddenly it's not just one amazing car I get to look at. The road opens up and I notice it snakes down to a dam. I can see a lake and the sunlight reflecting on water. We race down the hill, crossing the dam. The road then takes us to a rain forest. Sun shining through the trees. Water on the road reflecting the car and scenery. We then go through a water splash. The car is now wet. There's water on the screen. It's magical. The road opens up again and suddenly I'm on a beautiful beach! The sun shines bright on the screen reflecting the car shape.
I've experience these effects before in other games, but, never quite like this. Never presented to me in such a way. And suddenly, I feel that TDU experience all over again.
I believe Forza Horizon 3 is the spiritual successor of the original Test Drive Unlimited. I got the same TDU experience modernized to today's standards. An up to date vision of what TDU started.
My favorite aspects of the game are the highly detailed liveries that players shared through the game. I first got a taste of this in Need for Speed 2015. Players were creating highly complex and detailed visuals for the cars. But Horizon 3 took it a step further and it’s simply incredible.
Replicas of original liveries, and original ones. Anime style liveries mashed up with actual racing ones. As a fan of anime and cars, the Itasha culture is close to me and I am happy to have that represented in such a great game.
Discovering Forza
I then later purchased Motorsport 6 and Horizon 2 in a bundle. I haven't got much to say about Horizon 2 other than it feels like a less polished Horizon 3.
Motorsport 6 though has also left a good impression in me. However, it was the small little things that I liked the most. As you can imagine I'm a massive Gran Turismo fan (aren’t we all?). It has been (and always will be) my favorite game series of all time. But Motorsport 6 showed me something that Gran Turismo never did.
The way it presents itself. One thing I've always admire Americans for is their marketing skills. Only they could make NASCAR so entertaining to watch. If you break it down it really is just cars going in a big circle. I absolutely hate ovals in racing games. But that's not what NASCAR is about, It's the show they put on.
The on track entertainment. The on screen information constantly being updated. Multiple cameras that capture every inch of the action, including cameras inside and outside each car that can be controlled to show every possible angle of the action. The fans. I believe this episode of top gear described it pretty well.
I then later purchased Motorsport 6 and Horizon 2 in a bundle. I haven't got much to say about Horizon 2 other than it feels like a less polished Horizon 3.
Motorsport 6 though has also left a good impression in me. However, it was the small little things that I liked the most. As you can imagine I'm a massive Gran Turismo fan (aren’t we all?). It has been (and always will be) my favorite game series of all time. But Motorsport 6 showed me something that Gran Turismo never did.
The way it presents itself. One thing I've always admire Americans for is their marketing skills. Only they could make NASCAR so entertaining to watch. If you break it down it really is just cars going in a big circle. I absolutely hate ovals in racing games. But that's not what NASCAR is about, It's the show they put on.
The on track entertainment. The on screen information constantly being updated. Multiple cameras that capture every inch of the action, including cameras inside and outside each car that can be controlled to show every possible angle of the action. The fans. I believe this episode of top gear described it pretty well.
And this translates into the game. The game presentation is terrific! Voice over from car journalists and race drivers walk you through the game. You feel immersed in the game and rewarded for being a car enthusiast before you even get to drive any car at all.
The car physics is not what impressed me, although really good, it was the simple fact that I can see the ABS working. Other games you hit the brakes and that's it. Nothing happens other than the fact the car slows down. Your brakes don't lock, that's pretty much it. But here was the first time I saw a game recreating ABS so accurately. Suddenly I'm breaking earlier end changing gears smoothly.
I then go too far and hit a gravel trap. And the car just, stops! That blew my mind. Previously in other games if I hit a gravel trap the car would slow down, not stop, simply came to a slow stop. I believe this is designed so that the player can easily make its way back to the track, which is understandable. You don’t want novice players giving up out of frustration simply because they can’t keep the car on the track. But here the car just stopped, just like it should have!
I then experienced my first wet race. No big deal, all I got to do is watch my corner exit, right? Easy on the throttle, make sure the wheel don’t spin, all good.
Nope. Aquaplaning! Another thing I've never experienced before. Caught me by surprise and I just giggled to myself because it was so great! I now have the extra stress of watching for bodies of water on the track, something I never did before in other games.
With all these subtle details I wasn’t prepared, I was just racing like I did in other games. So it’s no surprise that I crashed against other cars quite regularly. And that was something else that I liked. No, not crashing, the way other cars react.
I’ve seen AI react to players, but I’ve never seen an AI make non-scripted mistakes. They brake late and miss the apex. Go too far on the run off areas. They block you from passing and even trade paint with you. And they are actually tough to beat.
Conclusion
Once again, I don’t believe in console wars. I’m just happy to have both major consoles available in the market, which means I now get to experience the best of both worlds. I get to play my favorite game of all time and it’s main competitor. I can’t see myself buying any other games for the Xbox because truth be told, there isn’t anything else I want other than Forza.
I’m still not happy with the Xbox. But that’s irrelevant because I get to experience the Forza games and enjoy being a car enthusiast.
There's so much love and dedicated put into these games that it's almost a sin to have them locked to their respective consoles.
This was a story of how I've spent years looking for the ultimate TDU experience, and this journey led me to a great game. I wanted to share this in hopes that people can stop picking sides and give up childish behaviours in this "console wars" thing.
