Test Drive Unlimited was a pretty big Xbox 360 title when it came out in 2006. It was a prime example of the potential of Xbox Live online multiplayer, allowing the player to see other drivers playing the game online, dropping in and out of races on the fly. It was a little buggy, sure, but we liked it.

Now Eden and Atari team up once again for Test Drive Unlimited 2, giving players a whole new island and features that should make this second installment far superior to the first. Weather effects, a day and night cycle, and vehicle damage up the ante in the sequel, with a revamped single player narrative mode that you can play both on and offline.

“After the highly successful Test Drive Unlimited which redefined the genre with massively open online racing, Test Drive Unlimited 2 will be an innovative evolution in racing games, expanding its unparalleled multiplayer experience and immersing players in a world full of new online content and lifestyle customisation.” said Jeff Lapin, CEO of Atari, SA. “The game fits squarely into our strategy of moving online and generating new revenue streams while maintaining our current retail business.”

Test Drive Unlimited 2 is due out this fall on the Xbox 360, PC and the PlayStation 3.

EA will be slowly trickling out the full car roster for the game over the next few weeks, and I definitely like what I see so far. Yeah, it’s all cartoony, but some of us like cartoony. Some of us still maintain that Beetle Adventure Racing for the Nintendo 64 is one of the greatest racing games of all time. Some of us have issues.

Luckily, LEGO Indiana Jones 2 does it right. Not only is it adding a gameplay element that you’d kind of expect based on what went down in the movies, it’s actually really fun. And entirely made of LEGOs.

What Is It?
LEGO Indiana Jones 2 is a complete rehash of the first LEGO Indiana Jones game — as in, no re-used levels whatsoever. It also adds the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie, the new Builder Mode where you can go nuts putting together endless LEGOs and also driving segments.

What We Saw
I was allowed some hands-on time with just the driving portion of the game on an Xbox 360 build. I think we were playing in a car chase scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark because Marcus Brody and Indy were there. However, like all LEGO games, you can replay levels with any characters you’ve unlocked. So it could have been from The Last Crusade, I suppose…

How Far Along Is It?
The game is out November 17.

What Needs Improvement?
Nothing: No, I’m serious. I didn’t find any kind of actual fault with the way the driving levels are designed or executed in LEGO Indy 2.

What Should Stay The Same?
Easy Controls: The left analogue stick makes the car go, B is the break and can be used to back the car up if you get stuck and A will pop the car up if it falls over or needs to make a jump. Not a lot to keep track of and everything works right when it’s supposed to.

Excellent Physics: Like most LEGO levels, pretty much all of the setting is destructible in the driving segments. You can ram your car into carts, buildings and other cars to cause huge explosions of LEGO pieces and blue pick-up pieces. You can also drive your car right over a cliff and bail out just before it, too, explodes in a shower of LEGOs. The car will just respawn right at the edge of the cliff so you can keep on wrecking stuff by driving into or over it.

Everything: I can’t believe just how fun the driving section felt. Maybe I’ve just been shell-shocked by too many poorly-made driving segments, or maybe LucasArts drugged my water cup. But I do strongly consider the possibility that this part of the game is just so well made that it deserves to be enjoyed by everybody. Even cynical critics like myself.

Final Thoughts
LEGO Indy 2’s driving section may be incredibly fun, but it’s not the majority of what you’ll be doing in the game. This is as it should be – because it’s an adventure game with a driving segment in it, not the other way around. If the rest of the game (which I didn’t get to play) is as fun as the driving section, then we’re all set. If not, it’s going to result in the tragic reversal of my adventure-game-plus-driving-segment anxiety.

SF Gate reports that a driver who played used the “brain-training software” game called Jewel Diver narrowly avoided a car accident when another driver ran a red light at intersection. The driver, W. Larocca, says:

“I was thinking it was just like the (software) game,” he said, remembering his near-miss. “I was looking straight ahead – I didn’t expect this car on the left. I can’t prove it, but I’m 100 percent convinced that if I hadn’t taken the course, I would have been hit.”

Jewel Diver is one of five “exercises” in a program called InSight, developed by Posit. The game asks players to focus on red jewels that are then hidden behind swimming fish. The goal is to keep your eye on the fish hiding the gems while a bunch of other identical fish swim around a coral reef. When the fish stop, the player has to click on the fish that contain the jewels.

Posit says the game helps users improve visual processing, like divided attention and peripheral vision. According to SF Gate’s article, Allstate is using the program with its over-50 drivers as an experiment. If the program shows results, Assistant Vice President in Research and Marketing Tom Warden says, they might use high scores in the software as a way to lower insurance premiums.

The insurance company is still sifting through data from the experiment, which began in October, and is looking at ways to use the software. If it’s shown to work with young people, for example, Allstate could use Posit to appeal to different age groups, Warden said.

I played the demo on Posit’s site. It’s actually way harder than I thought it’d be and it’s pretty fun. Could use some better sound effects, though…

Software designed to make older drivers sharper [SF Gate]

“It’s my first time driving” he said, “but I learned from watching dad and playing at the video arcade.”

Police in Gifu prefecture received a call on Monday morning from an anxious pedestrian who had seen a car apparently with no driver – the little sod was sitting on the very edge of the seat, straining to reach the pedals and peer over the steering wheel.

The real question of course is What game did he practice on? Knowing if there are junior GTA players on the loose could be a very different prospect to under-age Mario Kart re-enactors.

Boy, 9, sets off on drive in family car after practicing on video games [Mainichi Daily News]

The mitigating factors that saved this guy’s job: he had an otherwise exemplary employment record, was once named a bus driver of the month this fall (before the incident, one assumes), and a bunch of passengers circulated a petition of support on his behalf. The driver denied playing the game even though someone snapped video of him doing so. I mean his both hands are on the PSP, no doubt about it. Bus policy bans drivers from using electronic devices of any kind while operating a city bus.

The woman who got that video is, quite understandably, furious.

“We could have been killed or seriously injured and then what would the bus company have done? Suspend him again?” Waltz said.

Still no word on what he was playing. The bus company had no comment, offering the usual chickenshit “This is a personnel matter,” garbage that helps public authorities repeatedly avoid accountability for the behaviour of their employees. But I hope someone at least asked the question, just to fuck with them.

You can get a look at the video here.

Driver Suspended Over Video Games Accusation [KITV-TV at MSNBC.com]

Why don’t more cars come with a beer tap? Oh yeah, the whole wasted morons killing people thing. Well Dream Arcades has just released the next best thing to getting wasted and hitting the road with the Octane 120, a custom built driving arcade cabinet featuring a 120 inch HD projection screen, a 5.1 audio system, a home theatre PC complete with 12 classic racing games, a PlayStation 3 compatible steering wheel, and of course, dual beer taps, front and rear. Of course you don’t have to put beer in it…you could easily fill it with Jack Daniels.

The Octane 120 doesn’t come cheap, however, and with a price tag of $US6,995 you might just be better off with your beer can hat and a nice old recliner. Still a very good alternative to getting drunk and actually driving, and if it keeps modestly wealthy boozed-up idiots off the streets then more power to them.

Dream Arcades Taps Into Fun with the Octane 120 Beer Arcade

Ultimate Arcade Driving Cabinet Features a 120 HD Projection Screen, Dual Keg Taps, a Dozen Classic and Modern Driving games, Home Theatre PC, and a PS3 Compatible Steering Wheel

Sacramento, CA Oct. 15, 2008 Dream Arcades (http://www.DreamArcades.com), announces the launch and immediate availability of the Octane 120, the ultimate home arcade driving cabinet. The Octane 120 is the ultimate in home arcade gaming, and combines three things every adult gamer wants: classic arcade games, arcade-style racing, and a beer tap to get your favourite beverage without having to get out of the seat!

“We designed the Octane 120 to feature everything that a guy could possibly want in a home arcade racing cabinet (or Home Theater!), including a beer tap, PC and PlayStation 3 compatibility, and a whopping 120 projection screen,” says Michael Ware, owner of Dream Arcades. We even have the user interface hooked up to YouTube and Hulu.com, so you can watch 80 s classics like A-Team, Air Wolf, Star Trek, and The Fall Guy with friends between races.”

Octane 120 Features:
120 HD DLP Projection Screen
Dual Taps for the keg Dashboard and Rear
12 Classic and Modern Arcade Racing Games PlayStation 3 Compatible Steering Wheel Home Theatre PC
5.1 Audio System
Links to Hulu.com and YouTube to watch awesome classic 80 s TV shows, movies, and viral videos
Keg Tap supports any beverage available in a keg, including root beer, and sparkling apple cider for those gamers under 21.

Dream Arcades does not condone drinking and driving. The Octane 120 is designed for entertainment purposes only, we hope that it will demonstrate the extent to which alcohol can impair judgement and educate people on the dangers of drinking and driving.