Test Drive

UPC: 742725226425

Platform: Xbox

Publisher: Atari Interactive, Inc.

Developer: Pitbull Syndicate

Category: Racing

Style(s): Sports Car Racing

Synopsis: The long-running series of realistically presented high-stakes driving comes to the Xbox with this 2001 release of Test Drive. The game takes place across several urban courses patterned after areas of London, Monte Carlo, San Francisco, and Tokyo. Skilled players can gain access to over two dozen cars to race through the cities. Though attention is devoted to offering a realistic presentation and believable challenges, the game is not a strict simulation and features a more forgiving interface designed to balance the excitement of real-life street racing with the comfort and freedom of console gaming. This edition of Test Drive is also designed to make use of the technical power of the Xbox, with lots of environmental details, shadows, reflections, and cars made up of over 4,000 polygons. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Package Contents: 24-page Instruction Manual

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad, Steering Wheel

The manual is woefully short on everything, with just a few scant pages devoted to the modes of play. It is in color, however. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Each of the four cities is well represented with notable landmarks and sufficiently detailed streets. The Xbox version is sharp and sports a number of details such as shadows, lighting effects, and reflective surfaces. Colors seem washed out, however. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

One of the more interesting battles in the racing genre has been Test Drive versus Need for Speed. Both franchises originated in the 1980s and have had success in delivering arcade-style action, scenic real-world environments, and the exciting element of police chases to those disenchanted with realistic driving simulations. And both franchises have the distinction of making their next-generation console debuts in 2002. Test Drive's multi-platform release comes first, but whether the end-result was worth the two-year wait is debatable. While the Xbox version improves upon the PlayStation 2 release in a few key areas, the core gameplay remains the same. Test Drive fails to excite on nearly all levels. The graphics are more polished than the PlayStation 2 game, although colors still seem to be a bit washed out, and the re-created vistas in San Francisco, London, Monte Carlo, and Tokyo offer nice lighting effects, variable weather, and reflective surfaces. The problem comes with everything else. Arcade-style racing titles live and die by the sense of speed, which is inexcusably absent in this choppy title. Without the sense of thrill going down San Francisco's famous steep hills or across London's narrow streets, it's hard to get involved. Unfortunately, the single-player Underground mode requires you to do just that, with an emphasis on repeating the same dull races over and over again. The mode comes off as silly right from the start, with a paper-thin story element that tries to convince players they are part of an illegal street racing circuit akin to those found in movies like The Fast and the Furious. It's all talk, however. An impressive amount of poorly acted dialogue was recorded for this filler between races, whose scenes are depicted in a small fuzzy window mounted inside each car's dashboard while players sit patiently in a garage. Bypassing this takes players to the basic racing action, which is more annoying than enjoyable. The Xbox version has the added "benefit" of featuring in-game dialogue (more like inane, repetitive banter) that makes use of the same small video displays that pop up whenever an opponent is near, which is quite often. Each race is broken into three or four formats in an earnest attempt to create some variety. The low point of the racing action is the Navigation mode, where you are forced to react at the last second to bright blue arrows that suddenly materialize out of thin air to point you where you have to go. This format isn't really about demonstrating racing skill against your computer opponents -- the challenge simply involves knowing where you have to go at any given moment. This means players should expect to re-race tracks again and again to commit each sudden turn to memory. Computer AI does seem to adjust according to your overall abilities, so drivers who consistently crash early on will still be able to overtake most opponents within a lap or two. Yet most rivals exhibit an irritating tendency to ram into your car for no apparent reason other than to cause uncontrollable spins. Rather than beat you legitimately by showing superior technique, computer cars during later races are extremely aggressive and would rather smash into you. Some may think this adds to the excitement, but the periodic slowdown that happens during these sequences is anything but pleasant. The police pursuit aspect is also unsatisfying, with none of the realistic radio chatter found in earlier Need for Speed titles on the PlayStation and PC, taking a huge amount of personality and fun out of playing. The police here are not much different than computer opponents in that they are simply objects meant to be avoided. Being pulled over results in a simple three-second penalty rather than the game ending or stiff fines being paid (while you earn money in this game, you never use it), and the police are not as creative in setting up roadblocks or in calling for backup as they should be. And since the game moves sluggishly at times, the sequences lack a sense of urgency. Despite being one of the longest running racing series in video game history, Test Drive has been in a downward spiral ever since Electronic Arts removed the car cover from their Need for Speed franchise. The core element of what makes these types of games fun -- racing at insane speeds across country roads and busy cities against challenging rivals -- has been stripped from this 2002 version of Test Drive. When even outrunning police becomes dull, you know it's time for a gameplay tune-up. Factor in the obscene loading times, basic modes of play, and surprising lack of customization, and it won't be long before players find themselves asleep at the wheel. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Placing first on each course earns players bonus cars, and they can race certain characters for their pink slips during the Underground mode. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Poor voice acting in between and during the races gets on the nerves, but the music features a selection of tunes from such notable artists as DMX, Ja Rule, Saliva, and more. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The game lacks the polish one would expect from an established series. It's not particularly fast, and the modes of play aren't particularly exciting. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad, Steering Wheel.