This is more of a complete screw-up rather than a missing feature. The original Test Drive Unlimited (TDU) had an ignition switch meaning you could turn your engine on/off and differentiate between the two for how long you wanted. Now, why was it convenient? Well, for realism purposes, you could "turn off your engine and save gas" when parked. On top of that, the engine sounds get annoying and create a low bass sound (then your father will whip you for making too much noise at midnight). That is no fun.
Now here is the question: why did Eden Games take out this feature when it was already-implemented into the first game? Considering TDU2 is newer, better, and more fun... they should have just added the feature. I mean, technically it's not a big deal but this feature added to the experience for me. It's up for you to decide, however.
One thing that angered me when I found out was the lack of user-controlled manual lights. In contrary to that, the lights turn on automatically when you enter a tunnel or when night-time falls. This is extremely impractical because what if you want your lights on anyways? The reason doesn't matter, whether it being you like the glare of light, want to warn another person, or whatever your mind chooses to do. We should be able to manually turn on our lights.
In this picture, it is clear that the headlights are on. However, you can see that it is night time. This is how the game works, the lights only turn on/off during the cycles of the game. Now, this is no driving simulator, but do you know how many more people would consider buying TDU2 if it had this among many other small-time features? Probably dozens more, maybe hundreds.
It is quite simple. The game has functioning turn signals (corner markers, blinkers, etc) yet there are no hazard lights. For those of you who don't know what hazard lights are, that is when both the left and right turn signals are activated. Now, why are hazard lights needed? Well first off, any automobile/commercial vehicle with blinkers most likely has hazard lights. Since TDU2 mostly consists of real-time road cars, they are equipped with hazard lights. Secondly, hazard lights would be beneficial for TDU2. For example, if you want to pull over during a cruise to get a glass of grape juice in real life, you can turn the hazard lights on to let people know you are halted/AFK (away from keyboard). In general, it is a good addition to the other features TDU2 possesses.
That is my verdict about hazard lights in TDU2. What shall I criticize next?
(That means prologue + blog in one word)
Welcome to Test Drive Unlimited 2 Outlook, your one (and possibly only) source of a unique revision process of Test Drive Unlimited 2 (TDU2). My reviews will be unorthodox compared to some other major reviewers, such as GameInformer, Gamestop, and even some small-time Bloggers. What makes my blogging style distinctive from others is the amount of criticism and super-specific subjects pointed out.
Many people lurking the internet will find my blog boring because of the writing style, but that's all okay because I am making this blog to educate those who want to be educated.
A little more about myself: I am living in in the United States but of Serbian descent. I have been playing computer games (driving games in particular) ever since I was 4-5 years old. I started my love for automobiles with combined contributing factors. First off, I played Need for Speed: III endlessly with my Microsoft Sidewinder Joystick (which I still use to this day, even for TDU2). Nowadays, I play Rigs of Rods, Live for Speed, Test Drive Unlimited, Minecraft, and a few more games here and there. Another element that lead to me loving automobiles is my very own father. From Maseratis to Mercedes', and from Volvos to Toyota Prius', he has a deep passion for automobiles (up until he bought the Prius, that was just a big mistake). He also owned an auto shop earlier in his life where he worked on various cars, European or American. These included Jaguars, SAABs, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Chevrolets, and much, much, more. However, this is remotely relevant to what my blog is going to talk about.
The most important facts about me is the fact that I was accepted into the Test Drive Unlimited 2 Beta program. I was more on the excited side when I received the email to be invited. Oh, did I mention I'm not supposed to mention this? Anyways, I was very stoked about the game until I played it. The physics were horrible, amongst many other things (we will be covering this in the future). Another thing that you must take into account is that I am an intermediate game modder so I know a little more about video games then little 11-year-old Timmy that buys TDU2 at his local Wal-Mart.
Judging from these characteristics, hopefully I make a proper review of the game TDU2.
