Here’s a nice surprise. Test Drive Unlimited is a huge game for PS2, and we thought there was no way it would all fit into the Mini Cooper-like confines of PSP, so as it was loading up an imaginary list was drawn up of presumed shortcomings. The game world would be smaller, the online racing would be crap and there’d be far fewer cars you could drive.
As it turns out it is, give or take the number of players you’ll be able to compete against and a few rougher edges around the visuals, this is a faithful recreation of its bigger brother. It’s probably, with the exception of GTA: Vice City Stories, the biggest game you’ve ever played on PSP.
Taking place in around 1,600 lush, green square kilometers of Hawaii, Test Drive is easily the biggest pure driving game around for PSP. There are well over 200 events littered throughout, ranging from simple races - with three stages of difficulty, earning you more cash as you increase the challenge - to standard time trials. Some of the more interesting events are to be found in the various “clubs” of the game. As you win single races, you’ll find invites to various racing organizations winging their way to you, one-on-one affairs which see you promoted to club president eventually. When this happens you gain, say, a sought-after car or a free performance upgrade. It’s not exactly groundbreaking gameplay, but it certainly adds to the feeling that you’re driving through a real place, complete with its own elite clubs.