DESCRIPTION

Pitbull Syndicate's debut PS2 title, Test Drive, thrusts players into the high-stakes world of underground street racing. Recruited by Donald Clark, a crippled street racer with a vested interest in the underground scene, players assume the guise of Dennis Black, whom Clark convinces to race in his place. Once inducted, players will travel to San Francisco, Tokyo, London, and Monte Carlo, where they'll compete in Linear, Circuit, and Navigation events with the aim of winning, or at the very least, finishing in the top three of each. The Linear events are little more than a straight dash for the finish line, with checkpoints scattered at various intervals in between. Circuit events are simply lap-based encounters, while the Navigation Challenge pits players against the clock, with nothing but prompts from an onscreen arrow for guidance.

Success will reward players with money and an increasingly large selection of muscle cars in which to race, all of which are licensed from real-life manufacturers, such as Lotus, Dodge, and Jaguar. Occasionally, players will also find themselves embroiled in drag-racing events against other drivers involved in the underground league; typical caricatures with names such as Vasily Raskolnikov, Nells von Stadt, Big T, and Reese Weston. Eventually, the cops will get wind of your illegal racing activities and set out to put an end to them. Usually the cops will detain you only momentarily before letting you go on your way, but in certain cities, capture by "the fuzz" will result in arrest and instant race failure.

Other modes offered include Single Race, Quick Race, and Two-Player, along with the role-reversing Cop Chase. Cop Chase turns the tables, allowing players to take the wheel of a cop car and chase down a group of illegal racers. Players make arrests by bumping into each racer three times. An "Extras" section houses various statistics such as course records and car specifications. To while away the seconds during loading sequences, players can look forward to a fully playable re-creation of Pong, for one or two player competition. Test Drive's soundtrack consists of a cross-section of licensed songs from the likes of Ja Rule, Moby, Saliva, and Crud. ~ Gavin Frankle, All Game Guide