Test Drive
Test DrivePlatform: Xbox
ESRB Rating: Everyone
ASIN: B00005V9O3
Check price @ amazon.com
Features:
• High-impact street racing mayhem
• Rocket through crowded cities
• 20+ licensed sports cars
• Fully interactive environments
• 1-2 players
Product Description: Word on the street is that Dennis Black is a small-time street racer who is recruited into a high stakes underground racing league that goes by the code name: Test Drive. A mysterious member of the circuit, Donald Clark, sees potential in Dennis and provides him with the cold cash and hot cars he will need to succeed. As Black races the fastest street cars in exotic locations all over the world, he begins to realize the game may not be what it seems. Follow Black to Monaco, a location perfect for showing off, loaded with tricky private roads that surround an actual Formula 1 racecourse. In San Francisco, you'll need to put all your skills to the test as you navigate the winding hills and bridges for high-stakes action. London is the third leg of the test-drive circuit and the rain, fog and crowded city streets will challenge the most skilled drivers, while Tokyo is jammed with freeway mazes and back-alley shortcuts that make this the ultimate driving playground. In the end, it will take all your talent to win, and all your instinct to survive in Test Drive.
Customer Reviews:
Board, November 11, 2002
Reviewer: boby boy bimby
I bought this game because I like muscle cars a lot. The game has some strong points like drag racing is cool exept that it gets boaring after a wile. Underground racing is not bad. The graphics are not the best, XBox could have dont better. The one big problem with this game is that it gets boaring after you play it for a wile.
Difficult to play, August 7, 2002
Reviewer: hbj200 from New York, NY United States
I still remember the very first Test Drive game, for DOS. It had EGA graphics and all you had to do was press the up, left and right arrows, and it was TONS of fun.
Later versions of Test Drive for PC added better graphics and better physics, but otherwise remained the same. This Xbox version is more or less on the same track (no pun intended). The graphics is good but not much better than the PS2 version. The gameplay is basically the same -- let's race and outrun the cops! -- although there's a mode ("underground") with a storyline and another where you play the cop and tag the six racers to "arrest" them. There are four cities to choose from, and a seemingly large number of tracks.
What frustrates me about this game is, in the basic racing mode, you have to be #1 to win the race and unlock the goodies. And this is very difficult to achieve, because the AI competitors are unforgivingly fast (even though at times they seem a little "stupid" as they crash into walls and other cars -- eventually they always beat you). Plus, it's very easy for you to crash into walls and other cars -- the car physics model is somewhere between arcade and serious simulation -- and if you do this once in a race, there's pretty much no way you can finish 1st; so you'll need start the race over.
The designers could have made the game more accessibly by simply allowing a 2nd or 3rd finish, even if that earned fewer goodies. I played the same tracks over and over again, and after two hours, I simply came to *hate* this game. It's sad how un-fun the Test Drive series has become.
So, in short, PS2-level graphics and difficult gameplay make this game at most a rental title... unless you are a diehard racing sim fan.
A very fun, realistic game where you are in control!, July 27, 2002
Reviewer: An 11-year old gamer
This game is very exciting. You can be the bad guy or you could be the cops, with three different police cars to choose from. In Project Gotham Racing, you can't be the cops. In Test Drive, if you do a circuit, linear or quick race, you can choose your car and the color. You can also customize your car with your own colors and shininess. If you buy Test Drive don't spend more money for a steering wheel, the car is very easy to control without it. The graphics are as good as can be. The cars look real, the scenarios look real, EVERYTHING LOOKS REAL! You can choose from four different scenarios: London, Tokyo, San Francisco and Monaco as you unlock them during the game. It is also very fun playing 2-player mode. You can't play with more than two people. The ONLY negative part about this game is that you can only choose between two cars in Underground mode. Buy it, it's a great game!
Best Game Ever, July 23, 2002
Reviewer: Dylan Lang from San Francisco, CA, US
I don't know what these other guys are saying. This game rocked. So what your car doesn't get all beat up when you roll it into a bus! This game has more guts than any other racing game out there. The single and multiplayer modes are much different from previous racing games and much more fun: head-to-head races, drag races, cop chases, laps... The single player can be frustrating at times, but that just adds to the excitement. The cars are beautiful and keep you hooked on the game in order to win better and cooler machines.
Just stop reading this and buy the game, you can thank me later...
A good racing game for all, July 15, 2002
Reviewer: Mike C from Boston , MA USA
This game is a must have. The graphics are good and you can customize your own car and it is a blast. alos the street racing is cool becaus it is like the movie " THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS " which is a good movie too. Also the soundtrack is good becase it is just like in the movie. So get this game i rented it but i like itso trust if you rent i you wil like it
A very good Game, July 11, 2002
Reviewer: Robert Attanasio from Newtown, ct United States
Test Drive is a very exilarating game. All of the sorroundings can be interacted with. The only downfall with this game is that when you crash the cars that you hit go flying and you may aswell but the appearence to the car has not changed. The cars don't actually get damaged.
Test Drive, July 5, 2002
Reviewer: A gamer from New York,USA
Test Drive comes off like an extremely mediocre arcade game that, yet again, suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. I'm not sure if the physics were arcadey and the gameplay was too much like a driving sim or if it's the other way around, but the two don't synch up the way they should. With so many other racing options already available on the Xbox and more on the way before the end of 2002, it's hard to find a place where Test Drive truly belongs. Test Drive's career mode is the strongest element and worth a look, but Burnout does pure arcade action better, Rallisport Challenge simulates driving better and Project Gotham Racing straddles the fence better than Test Drive does. I'd recommend it as a poor man's version of PGR, but that penniless gamer has to cough up the same [price] to play it so it's not really an option.
game is worth more as a frisbee., July 5, 2002
Reviewer: megan Bradford from california
When i bought this game i thought it would be like gotham racing but with more of a variety, but i was wrong, it has less variety. No damage on the cars and the lighting sucks. Almost every level i have been to(which is as far as the 4th level on underground mode because i just gave up cause it was to damn long and hard.) is in the night which is anouying. Also you cant get a lead on the computer they are always right there. The cops are also anouying especailly when they pull you over right near the end of the level. Also the computer can knock you into oblivion but you cant even knock them off course, and characters are anouying, they say the same thing every time. This game isnt even worth renting and definantly do not! i repeat, do not buy test drive! Its an exspensive frisbee. In fact i am turning it into funco land.
Good But not the best, July 4, 2002
Reviewer: taylor_k from Calgary
In ways this game can be fun but in other ways in can be as frustrating as hell!.
First, in underground mode you can only race as two cars?!.
Drag races get pretty boring after a while.
Cop chases are great but why do you always have play as the cop,
why not be able to run from cops?!!.
Most of the music is good but some [disappoints].
And finally graphics are great, as usual with XBOX.
So rent it before you buy it.
Nothing special, July 3, 2002
Reviewer: Doug Welzel from Kirkland, WA USA
As far as driving games go, Test Drive offers nothing particularly compelling. It sets itself apart from other driving games in that it attempts to wrap a story around the races. Seeing where this story goes makes for interesting gameplay, but that's about it.
The driving itself is pretty fun, with courses ranging from twisting urban environment to rurual settings where you can really open it up. You have a variety of cars at your fingertips, ranging from classic muscle cars to modern Italian supercars.
The biggest downside to the game is that there is no damage model whatsoever. If you get into a head on at full speed you'll see some impressive physics as the other car goes flying, but no cars sustain any damage. All you loose is time.
Test Drive is worth a rent, but there are better driving games out there for the XBox (such as Burnout and Project Gotham).
| Xbox Games |
| Action & Adventure |
| Racing & Flying |
| Sports & Outdoors |