This game is not too bad!
Pros:
The graphics are smooth and the cars look great. Good control. Good sense of speed.
Cons:
It's very pale in comparison to Gran Turismo or NFS:High Stakes.
The Bottom Line:
If you want something new to try, Test Drive: LeMans may be it, but don't expect heavy sim elements like in Gran Tursimo. It's worth a try.
|
|
Overall Rating:
|
 |
|
Author's Review
Test Drive : Le Mans is another title to add to the ever-growing Test Drive library. After playing Test Drive 4, I wasn't too fond of the series, but TD:LM is actually different in design.
One, it was developed by Eutchynx, not Pitbull Syndicate, which makes the game engine different. Two, the gameplay itself is different. It's not fancy cars racing on city streets, it's an actual tournament.
TD:LM is fun at first, because the handling is easy to grasp and there are a few modes in the arcade mode that are fun to play. But the more you get into it, the more you find yourself distanced from the game, due to the lack of courses.
Graphics: 7.9
The game pretty much looks like your average racer, but it's clear and not cluttered. Textures are fair, and car models are pretty good. The sense of speed is great, and the framerate is smooth most of the time. The lighting effects for the time of day should have been fixed, because when the camera focuses at a certain point, suddenly you're blinded with light, or in almost total darkness.
Sound: 6.5
The music is fine, it's not memorable, but it's not to irritating. The engine noises are fine, but the crackling sound made by the exhaust lead me to belive there was something wrong with my speakers. It turns out it was the game making the staticy sound. The announcer, luckily, can be turned off.
Gameplay: 7.0
The handling has sort of a Ridge Racer to it, and it actually makes the game easier to play. The cars have a definite grip to the road, which is nice for a change (unlike Test Drive 4). The game's fun at first, with arcade and championship modes, but the low number of courses hurt this game. You can also go for the actual 24 hour Le Mans race, but why the hell would you want to? I hated going on the 2-hour endurance races in Gran Turismo 2.
Replay Value: 6.0
I played this for ahwile, and like I said, it's pretty easy to play, but it does not have the depth of Gran Turismo, or even Need for Speed: High Stakes. The game does break away from the typical NASCAR or F1 fare, which some people may like. Again, it lacks courses, and at times it feels repetitous.
Overall: 7.5
TD:LM is not a bad game, and it does intorduce players to a new breed of racing. Unfortunatly, it lacks sim elements that Gran Turismo had.
