Driving to Unwind - No Low Ego Here

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm a sucker for driving. I have had fairly decent commutes these past few years although there are the occasional SNAFUs where I'll get stuck in traffic for a long while but it's never for too long. I usually pump up the music and try to zone out. Given all the activities I have going on you'd think I'd try to take things easy at home as well. And for the most part I do. I'm like most any other person in that once I get home I'd like to do something to relax and unwind. For some, it means a glass of wine and some food, for others it's hitting the gym. For me? I jump back in my car and hit the road!

What? After all that talk about sitting in traffic I turn right around and purposely drive into it? Well, no, not exactly. You see I recently got "Test Drive Unlimited" for the XBox 360 and let me tell you, this is exactly the way you drivers out there can unwind after a long day. The game has digitized and rendered almost the entire island of Oahu in Hawaii. You can literally drive from one end of the island to the other in real time. Now following the speed limit is okay but where's the fun in that? The game can be played either offline or online via XBox Live and although I have not actually played it online, I can already see how much fun it would be. I have been playing in single player mode simply because it allows me the freedom to move about the island doing my own thing, with the occasional race or courier mission thrown in to earn some virtual cash.

But how does this help you unwind? Well, I have a wheel and pedals and I usually pull my chair up before the screen in order to play the game with as much of the sensation of driving as possible. The wonderful thing is that you don't have to drive through traffic; cops are about but generally leave you alone unless you're causing excessive mayhem and destruction; and best of all, your car can easily be repaired (and it won't take weeks!). So the call of the open road is there and you can respond to it to your heart's content. With all manner of sports car and super cars available to you, you can literally drive to the limits. Highways abound on the island so it's possible to build up a good amount of speed.

For instance, last night I had a bit of time so I decided to drive to the various dealers around the island and take some cars out for a spin. As in real life, you can't afford to buy these super cars straight away. You must first earn enough cash to buy them. But of course, that doesn't mean you can try them out. The game is called Test Drive after all, isn't it? Over the past few days, I have managed to take an Enzo, a couple of Lamborghini's, a pair of TVR's, a McLaren F1, and so many more with nary a glance at my insurance cards, credit cards, or heck, even my driver's license. As much as I want to, I can't drive at top speed in my car on the way too and from work. Although, as in the game, I am close to the highway, there are just somethings that you can't do. Hitting the pause button is definitely not one of them. So after driving 20 miles to get home, my real home that is, I hopped in my virtual car and drove another 30 miles to get to the nearest Ferrari dealership. Of course, it didn't take more than 10 minutes seeing as how I wasn't limited by the posted speed limit! Now if you'll excuse me, there's a Ferrari 360 with my name on it.... well... virtually.