It's worth a test drive

Test Drive 6,is the latest in the long running series of Test Drive titles. As a port of a playstation game Test Drive 6 does manage to make some good use of the extra Dreamcast muscle. Although it has some flaws it is still one of the best racing experiences available on the Dreamcast to date.

The game does have a very wide variety of authentic cars from such manufactures like Dodge, Ford and Jaguar. The game also contains some really unique play modes too. You can try your racing hand at various tournaments or various skill levels. In the tournament mode you race in different locations, from New York to London all with it's own unique landscape and hazards.The many different hazards also give the game some replay value as you can never predict how cross traffic is going to affect you. Before each race in tournament mode you choose a certain amount of cash you will wish to bet, and at the end of the tournament the driver with the least total time picks up the pot.

The game also has some entertaining two player modes as well. Such as a cop chase mode where one player plays the cop and the other has to avoid him. The game's two player normal split screen mode is a tad disappointing though. Not only is there only a two player mode (you race with two dummy cars) but the two player split screen mode also suffers from major pop up which gets a little disturbing.

The game's graphics are much more polished over the playstation version and makes some good use of the extra Dreamcast graphical power. Although not quite up to Dreamcast standards it does come very close. The cars are nicely detailed and give off a nice glossy shine and the tracks are nicely littered with beautiful landmarks. The game does have some noticeable draw in though, most noticeable when the yellow lines in the road appear from nowhere right in front of you.

The game's sound is easily it's high point. The game's sound track pumps with such big names like Eve 6 and Fear Factory. The game also has some less known bands like Kottonmouth Kings and Cirrus but only a few of the songs are annoying. The sound of the car's engines sound a little toned down and don't sound powerful enough, but it is a very small gripe considering the musical talent behind the game. The Fear Factory music video of "Cars" is also viewable through the options menu and is a nice extra.

The control is of course much more fun when played with a Race Controler, but the Dreamcast standard controler also does a good job of bringing the racing experience into the palm of your hands. The controls are pretty basic, the only two buttons you really have to use are the ones for the acceleration and the brake, or use them in tandem to perform a powerslide.

Overall this is a good racing experience that racing fans should take to right away. If you have already played through the playstation version then you may only want to give this one a rental to see how much more power the Dreamcast has.