Test Drive 6

I remembered TD6 being one of my favorite racing games back in the day, and lately I've been missing the fun simplicity of racers from this era, so I thought I'd revisit it. I gotta say... it doesn't quite live up to memory, haha. Not that it's a bad game, but the handling physics are just spoiled a bit by not really allowing you to control slides around corners. It's closer to slot car racing with how your car's front end feels more or less locked in, while enabling you to briefly kick the rear out to better rotate the car around tighter corners at speed. If you're not careful, fishtailing (too often resulting in hitting the wall) or completely spinning out can be frustrating experiences, considering it takes a very annoying second to actually get going from a stop after hitting the accelerator. And of course, as you move up through the ranks of vehicles, or buy upgrades for your existing car, higher speeds only amplify the shortcomings of the game's physics. But when you get to know the courses and accept that you can't go full bore around every corner like in a modern Need for Speed game (or even Test Drive Unlimited, now that I think of it), getting it right is rewarding in a sense. The AI cars certainly aren't slow, you do have to work for the win. Another minor complaint is that the packaging advertises a great, licensed soundtrack - and it is good, in my opinion - but those songs don't play during gameplay. Only while you're in the menus. During a race, you just get generic electronic music or the instrumental version of the Fear Factory/Gary Numan track from the game's intro. Overall, I'm not sure if I'd recommend this one to others chasing the fun of old school racers, but at the same time I definitely don't regret the purchase. And, of course, Lukie has yet to let me down on physical condition of a game. The disc was mint.

Game in great shape!