‘Test Drive’ has big bangs, but little else

Fri., Sept. 17, 2004

The Spokesman-Review

“Test Drive: Eve Of Destruction”

•• (out of four).

Atari for Xbox (also available for PlayStation 2), $39.99.

Rating: T (Teen).

I love games that let you blow up cars. Xbox Live players will tell you I play “Project Gotham Racing 2” this way, and the “Burnout” series holds a special place in my permanent game collection for the incredible over-the-top car damage totals.

So I approached “Test Drive” with twitchy trigger fingers ready to cause some mayhem. It’s a demolition-derby game with a couple dozen types of races, including traditional last-car- moving contests and a battle mode that lets you send fire- exploding chickens at your opponents. But alas, though the first couple of hours spent with this game are a lot of fun, it gets to be a grind over the long haul.

“Test Drive” suffers from a number of drawbacks. The courses, while varied, don’t offer the kind of variety you’ve come to expect in modern auto games. Your cars are frequently damaged during the races (of course), and some of that damage is irreparable. You can fix up your rides, which was fun, but I found myself having to switch models just frequently enough that it was annoying.

But the biggest deterrent is the lack of any online multiplayer mode. Unless you’ve got people in your home or friends who can come over to play, you’ll play against the console forever.

“Test Drive” is full of great ideas, but the execution could have been better. Here’s hoping the next sequel takes the series to a higher level.

– Heather Newman, Knight Ridder

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