Test drive 4

Test Drive 4 is an arcade racing game made in three-dimensional graphics ^{[2] [3]} .

The game has several different modes, including single player race, championship and drag racing . The game has 6 tracks available: Keshwick, San Francisco , Bern , Munich , Kyoto and Washington . There are 14 licensed cars from world famous manufacturers such as Dodge , Chevrolet , Nissan and others, as well as an additional unlicensed Pitbull Special car, which is a modified Rover Mini and opens after winning all races ^[2] . During the race, the police may follow in the pursuit of order on the road; if the police car is in front of the driver’s car, this leads to a smooth stop, and after a complete stop the player starts moving from this place. In the version for the PlayStation there is a multiplayer mode for two players by connecting two consoles with a special cable, and in the version for computers there is also a network game for up to six players ^[3] .

Test Drive 4 was developed by Pitbull Syndicate, which joined Accolade , the publisher of the series. Compared with the previous parts, the concept has been changed in the new game: instead of racing on the picturesque suburban tracks in Test Drive 4, the competitions are held on the streets of big cities, the game itself has acquired a more acrid style, but driving is balanced between realism and accessibility, and a detailed description characteristics of models in accordance with their real counterparts preserved. The soundtrack in Test Drive 4 contains electronic music from Orbital and Younger, Younger 28's. The game was also on display at E3 1997 .

The game was released on September 30, 1997 in the United States, November 3, 1997 in Europe, and April 2, 1997 in Japan.

Test Drive 4 received versatile, but mostly positive reviews from critics. On the GameRankings website , the average score is 71.32% in the version for PlayStation ^[4] and 69% in the version for PC ^[5] . At E3, the arcade received an award in the category "Best Racing Game of 1997."

IGN columnist Jez Signal left a generally positive comment on the game, rating it at 7 out of 10 possible. The critic liked the variety of tracks and cars; techno-music in the game was called “boring”, but sound effects, according to the reviewer, save the situation. The main drawback Rignall noted sensitive and inaccurate control, especially when viewed from the first person, but in conclusion Test Drive 4 was called a "good, but not great" game ^[2] .

Glenn Rubenstein from the GameSpot website gave the game 5.5 points out of 10. Despite maintaining the game features of the previous parts, beautiful graphics with “smooth” animation and a variety of cars, the critic was disappointed in the management, the workability of the tracks (but noted the fun racing in the streets), as well as the secondary gameplay, in comparison with other racing games, and spoke about the soundtrack as follows: “The music is also dull, unable to cause any excitement” ^[3] .

The representative from Game Revolution , unlike his colleagues, spoke positively about the complex, realistic controls, and also praised the game for its nice graphics, “clean” sound and fun tracks. According to the critic, “Accolade elevated the genre of racing games to a new level,” noted “not so bad music”, a variety of tracks and high complexity. Among the minor minuses in the review, some narrow sections of the tracks and unrealistic collisions are highlighted ^[10] .

Scott Alan Marriott, a critic at AllGame, praised the detailed graphics, number of modes and style of play, but also said that the music is disappointing, and the management needs some improvements ^[7] .

• Downend, Chris. Accolade's Test Drive 4 : [ eng. ] // Game Developer . - 1998. - July. - S. 52-58.