Test Drive Unlimited is currently the best looking driving game on the PC by a mile. The game, set on the Hawaian island of Oahu, is bursting at the seams with gorgeous beaches, massive high rises and sleek rides.

The action starts with you selecting a character who boards a Jumbo jet for Hawaii. It is all very slick and sets the glamorous tone for the rest of the game. You then buy a house, select a new car for your garage and head to the streets looking for a challenge.

This is when things get serious. Test Drive Unlimited can be played in a standalone fashion, but playing online delivers a lot more variety. You must have a GameSpy account to play, but once you connect you get all of the single player challenges, while also being able to hoon about the island and meet other online drivers at the same time. It is a pretty neat idea, as the game is always connected.

The rides on offer include basic sports cars right up to some of the most coveted exotics on the planet. Names like Ferrari, Maserati, Pagani Zhonda and Lamborghini are among the top level toys on the menu. There are also bikes too, and while these are usually a ton of fun in the real world they just don’t feel right in the game.

Indeed Test Drive isn’t really blessed by the gods of good vehicular dynamics, as the handling could have been sharper. This is exacerbated if you are brave enough to play the game using the keyboard. Controlling the cars with rapid frantic taps on the directional keys and brakes isn’t really the way to go. Hook a joypad or wheel up to your PC and things improve immeasurably.

That said the cars still behave strangely at times. They can get ‘bogged’ in scenery and finding reverse quickly during a race is not always possible. So you spend frustrating second hammering the keys and trying to get back on the road again when you just clipped a bush that seems to be made of granite!

There are some good points too though. The Google Earth inspired map system that lets you set your own race courses, is really clever. The game also has a layered achievement system with many different missions and online players can visit the drive theatre in to organise competitions among clubs, an innovative idea that will hopefully take off over time.

All in all, promising even if it is not quite on pole position.