Even though the different play modes are seemingly standard on the surface, each race has unique objectives, some of which aren’t as simple as they appear. Basically, you race for position and have to reach each checkpoint before the timer runs out. Along the way, there are ramps which have the dual benefit of allowing you to jump ahead of opponents while gaining a few seconds of bonus time. The courses can be difficult, with some sharp, unexpected turns. These can be hard to anticipate especially the first few times, but none of them seem excessively long or difficult, so they don’t dissuade you from replaying them after failed attempts. The rival racers are fairly aggressive on the street, so don’t expect to sit on a lead. You’ll have to battle for every position fiercely but the good news is that the AI controlled players occasionally mess up and smash into something, which is something you can easily use to you advantage.

In the underground mode, there are 10 races in each city and once you meet the requirements, you move on to the next one. However, in these levels you’ll have to avoid the other cars, and the police. A collision with the police will cost you time but there’s an onscreen radar detector, which helps to let you anticipate where the police are. Another cool feature of the game is that it’s not all street-to-street, standard racing. There are also some interesting Drag Race sequences where you can battle head-to-head with another racer. This is quite challenging because you have to you the manual transmission, which means one wrong move seals your doom. However, once you get the hang of it, the drag racing can be quite intense. The most singularly weird element of Test Drive isn’t the actual game, but in its load screens. While it’s being published by Infogrames, it’s been labeled as an Atari product, which apparently has become that company’s brand label for its ‘extreme’ sports titles. This leads to the oddity of being able to play Pong in between races. This just doesn’t seem to fit the dark edge of the title at all. Since beating the computer apparently has no effect at unlocking anything, playing the first electronic game between rounds is disconcerting.

As you’d expect, Test Drive features a nice lineup of tricked-out sports cars from the state-of-the-art to vintage muscle cars to choose from. There’s a decent selection at the beginning depending on which mode you choose but more become available as you progress with 16 available in all. However, those expecting a realistic simulation of these will be disappointed since Test Drive takes a distinctly arcade approach. This means that the physics are exaggerated with huge crashes, giant jumps and more. Luckily, the cars don’t show damage which means you can mess up multiple times without fear. You can however, upgrade your cars to increase performance but don’t expect anything too detailed.

Test Drive controls well and takes good advantage of the Xbox controller, with all operations easy to perform on either the standard controller or the new smaller one, though as a racer, it benefits immensely from the standard controller’s comfortable shift buttons. The responsiveness of the vehicles is tight and responsive with cornering and braking easy to perform, you can even perform the occasional power-slide if you have enough skill. The course designs are decent enough with plenty of jumps and turns to keep you challenged throughout. Crashes and getting turned around in the wrong direction aren’t fatal because you can recover from them easily, and this forgiving nature makes the game more enjoyable. From a graphics standpoint, the game doesn’t take advantage of the console’s processing power, and it definitely looks a little rough around the edges. There were some disappointing technical flaws, such as occasional jaggies and some pop-up that made the fact that this game is coming out on multiple consoles all the more apparent. Additionally, the car models lacked in detail and paled in comparison to the beautiful vehicle designs seen in other Xbox racers. A high-octane soundtrack featuring aggressive hip-hop, metal and techno tracks set up an appropriately underground feel to the title, but none of the songs were really that memorable. The voice acting however, was another story entirely, with characters that espoused cliché upon cliché and were really grating, especially the obnoxious California surfer dude character. Developers should really come up with more original characters one of these days.

While there are some cool elements, there are also some bad moves mixed in, making Test Drive a mixed bag that will appeal to some gamers but will also turn off others. Its simplistic controls and exaggerated physics make for an enjoyable arcade-style racer that won’t tax your patience. While Infogrames has not aimed to make Test Drive the deepest racing experience ever made, the quick learning curve allows you to jump right in. Test Drive’s attempts at catering to the contemporary edge gamers want these days seems half-hearted and is more annoying than anything else, more because it detracts from things. The graphics are decent but you can’t help but to feel that you’re playing a quickie port of a PS2 game, not something optimized for the Xbox. The multiple styles play enhance the experience and make for a well-rounded package. Highlights, as mentioned earlier, are the challenging drag race and police chase modes. The deeper underground mode gives the game a little more depth, and increases the replay value somewhat. Despite all these missteps, this is a solid game for what it is, and if you don’t expect that much beyond simple racing, you’ll have fun.