- 1 or 2 Players.
- Rated E.
- Split Screen Head to Head Racing.
Product Description
-------------------
Forget driving overpriced cars up and down Car Lot Avenue all
weekend long--stay at home and take the ultimate test drive.
Strap into a car built for speed, open the throttle, and
experience the engine's muscle as the gorgeous scenery blurs by
in Test Drive 6, the latest version of the accled car racing
series. Buckled behind the wheel of the latest and greatest road
machines, drivers push the limits on 11 new tracks set in such
exotic locations as London, Paris, Maui, Rome, Ireland, Tahoe,
and Egypt.
Each track offers loads of challenges and thrills. Wicked jumps
give drivers a chance to test the car's air speed. Drivers must
avoid or simply plow through obstacles, including park benches,
signs, and the occasional cross traffic. Hidden shortcuts shave
seconds off lap times. Official-looking cars with flashing lights
escort you on your adventure, or attempt to heed your progress,
depending on your point of view. Before each race, drivers bet
against other nents. Winning earns cash that can be used to
purchase, upgrade, and stockpile cars. A split screen,
head-to-head mode allows two players to compete for the car with
the most zip.
Review
------
With the current glut of racing titles on the market, it's
rather hard for a particular title to gain distinction. Released
in this inrtune era, Test Drive 6 will have a hard time
competing, especially given Gran Turismo 2's looming shadow. TD6
does offer a host of features, including the requisite
single-player mode, tournament-style races, and extras such as
cop chases, but, in the end, there are many other titles that
offer similar modes, executed much more successfully. TD6's
single-player mode belies the illusion of depth. While the
arcade-style gameplay lets you easily become a competent driver,
it undermines the game's more "serious" customization/simulation
aspects. The analog controls are the only way to go with this one
game, the left stick functioning to steer, the right to
accelerate and to brake. The intuitive nature of this scheme
multiplies the "arcade" feel a thousandfold, making turns at
obscene speeds amusingly easy. During powerslides, very little
speed is compromised, making it relatively simple to speed
through even the most convoluted courses. The single-player mode
is broken down into single races, tournament races, challenges,
and cop chases. The single and tournament races pit racers
against five other cars in their class, of which there are four.
To advance up the automotive food chain, you must win races to
score enough cash to buy rides in a higher class. Before each
single and tournament race, you must put cash down in a pot,
which each computer racer will match; the three drivers in the
winner's circle divvy upthe sum, each share relative to the order
they placed. The challenges have you race through a predetermined
course, and rewards are earned if the race is completed withina
set time. The challenges can be played again and again, with the
reward being paid each time the previous record is broken. The
single-player cop chases are harshly limited; you can only play
as the cop, whose job it is to hound around the racecourses and
bust the racers to get ticket money. Cash earned by ticketing is
transferred to your account, where it can be used to purchase new
vehicles or upgrade existing ones. The actual courses consist of
either standard autocross or closed-circuit racing. Obstacles are
littered around the cityscapes, and mundane traffic is your worst
enemy. Race into the site lane under an overpass, and you'll
run into a veritable wall of oncoming traffic; stay in the proper
lane, and you'll be gridlocked by Sunday drivers. It's relatively
easy to maneuver around bystanders most of the time, but,
especially at intersections, things can get pretty ed. The
AI for the civvy cars seems rather haphazardly scripted. You will
often see them ramming into each other at intersections or stuck
in the middle of the road, idling next to some obstacle. The cops
also rampage throughout the courses. Throughout many courses,
units will put forth a halfhearted attempt at impeding
your progress by standing in the way of a busy thoroughfare -
lights flashing and sirens blaring. Many courses also feature
semibranching paths and shortcuts, which let you gain a quick
edge on the other racers, if used well. As far as graphics go,
TD6 is merely adequate. Most of the vehicles effectively resemble
their physical counterparts, but few effects are used that'll
make you look twice. The frame rate is passable, except during
busy thoroughfares and intersections, where things get a mite
choppy. The textures used are rather bland and muted, nothing
positive or negative to chime about. The lighting effects used
during night courses seem almost like an afterthought, as they
appear to integrate poorly with the rest of the environment.
Infogrames has apparently decided to go with the "street cred
soundtrack for a car game" convention, including cuts from
artists like q-burns abstract message, Eve 6, and Lunatic Calm.
Fear Factory's cover of Cars borders on blasphemous. The tracks
are looped during play, making some of them get old faster than
they should. In the end, TD6 should be treated as a light snack.
With Gran Turismo 2 on the horizon, it's daft to invest in any
other racing game in the near future. TD6's mock-serious approach
to arcade-style racing should warrant nothing more than a rental;
to humor its illusion of depth would mean a sizable investment of
time for a truly shallow return.--Miguel Lopez--Copyright © 1998
GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in
part in any form or medium without express written permission of
GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot Review
