LYON, FRANCE - 5 May 2006 - Atari today announced that the jet-set automotive luxury of Test Drive Unlimited is coming to Sony's PlayStation?2 and PlayStation? Portable consoles in addition to the Xbox 360? video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC, and all platforms are scheduled for release in Autumn 2006. Packed with the most desirable vehicles on the planet, one thousand plus miles of open Hawaiian roads, a challenging single player game and a wealth of online features, Test Drive Unlimited is racing reinvented.
Currently in development by Atari's Melbourne House studio, the versions of Test Drive Unlimited for PS2? and PSP? retain most of the core gameplay features of the Xbox 360 and PC games, including seemingly endless miles of streaming Hawaiian roads, server-based online play, over 70 luxury supercars rendered in painstaking detail, solo challenges, player-created races, car upgrades and downloadable content. The version for PSP is one of the first ever genuinely online games for the console, making impressive use of Wireless and stepping way beyond simple LAN gaming. In addition, enhancements have been made to the single player game with an Arcade Race mode for snack-sized play.
"Test Drive Unlimited represents the evolution of racing games, and to bring all of this to PS2 and PSP alongside Xbox 360 and PC is an incredible achievement," said Cyril Voiron, Marketing Director, Atari Europe. "For Melbourne House to put the streaming open roads of Oahu with full online play into the hands of PSP gamers is no mean feat. This game, much like the incredible vehicles featured in it, will turn heads."
The action in Test Drive Unlimited takes place on the open roads spanning the Hawaiian island of Oahu. In solo mode, players complete challenges and pit their wits against realistic AI opponents to gain points, unlock further tests of their skill and open up more of Oahu's diverse tropical road system. With the massive online component, which allows racers across the globe to challenge others in the virtual paradise of the game's persistent online racing world, Test Drive Unlimited offers one of the most comprehensive video game racing experiences to date.
The Xbox 360 and PC versions of Test Drive Unlimited will also be released in autumn in order to fine tune the gameplay and vehicle handling, and to ensure the enormous technical demands of implementing the game's original concept and technology will be met in full. For regularly updated information, screens and trailers please visit www.testdriveunlimited.com.