Test Drive 4 is an arcade racer
that includes 10 exciting cars.
The game vehicles are: '98
Jaguar XJ220, '98 Dodge
Viper, '98 Corvette, '98 TVR
Cerbera, '95 Nissan 300ZX,
'66 Shelby Cobra, '69 Corvette
ZL-1, '70 Chevy Chevelle
SS454 LS-6, '71 Plymouth
"Hemi" Cuda, and the '69
Camaro ZL-1 COPO 9560.
Each vehicle has its own
performance characteristics
such as: speed, handling, and
acceleration.
There are 5 race tracks: San
Francisco; Keswick, England;
Bern, Switzerland; Kyoto City,
Japan; and Washington D.C.
The Options screen allows you
to race with or without traffic.
Racing in traffic and getting
chased by the police is pretty
exciting. Also, you can turn
checkpoints "On" or "Off" and
select either a "manual" or
"automatic" transmission.
The 6 racing options are: Single
Race, Challenge Cup,
Championship Cup, Pitbull
Cup, Masters Cup, and Drag
Race.
The graphics are good but there
are a number of annoying
problems such as clipping and
occasional game pauses. The
cars look like they're floating
above the track similar to hover
craft. Also, the other cars in the
race seem disproportionate in
size compared to your car. Skid
marks look cool until you notice
they aren't permanent and seem
to follow your car like smoke
trails and then disappear.
There's authentic engine sounds
and other game related special
effects. Nothing really
spectacular here in the sound
department. The soundtrack is
your generic racing music which
unfortunately won't make the
Top Ten list on any music chart.
The game does support analog
controllers. The steering is
touchy making it a little difficult
to control your car. Some
practice is required before you
feel comfortable behind the
wheel.
Test Drive 4 has a low learning
curve so you can quickly jump
into the game. There aren't any
set-ups for your car or much of
anything else to adjust. Simply
select a type of race from the
menu, a car, a locale and then
get behind the wheel and race.
After you've completed several
races the game begins to feel
repetitious. Replay Value isn't
that great because there's not
enough here to keep you
coming back for more. Racing
fans who enjoy playing against
human opponents will find some
redeeming value in this game.
Bottom Line: Test Drive 4
provides some limited thrills and
excitement for arcade racers
looking for a 2 player game.
Hard-core racing fans will most
likely be disappointed.
Definitely rent first before
buying and judge for yourself.
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7.5
Learning Curve: Easy
Difficulty: Easy
Control: 7.5
Manual: Average
Replay Value: Low
FINAL SCORE: 7.6
