Test Drive is a cross-platform racing game released by Accolade in 1987. It is the first title in the Test Drive series of racing games and has been followed by numerous sequels.
Gameplay
The player chooses one of the five presented supercars to test drive on a winding cliffside two-lane road whilst avoiding crashing on traffic as players has a limited number of "lifes", as well as outrunning police speed traps with the aid of a police scanner.
The course has five stages, with each being separated by gas station pit stops which players will pull off at the end of every stage and be presented with their statistics and recorded stage time.
If players reach the final stage, instead of a gas station they will pull off in a dealership and will be greeted with a "win" screen stating that they "can keep the car and go home".
Vehicles
In Test Drive players are allowed to choose between five sports vehicles available to test drive within the game;
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Chevrolet Corvette (C4) |
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Ferrari Testarossa |
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Lamborghini Countach |
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Lotus Turbo Esprit |
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Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3 (930) |
Differences
All releases of Test Drive keep intact the same gameplay, although graphics and audio differ depending on the system, with the Amiga version having the most detailed visuals and audio.
Reception
Computer Gaming World stated in 1987 that Test Drive "offers outstanding graphics and the potential to 'hook' every Pole Position fan". Compute! praised the excellent graphics and sound, but noted that the game only had one course. The game was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon #132 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 41⁄2 out of 5 stars.