SOFTWARE REVIEW

Communications Report:
Test Drive Cycles

   


5/5 - Bring It ON!!

Company of Origin:
INFOGRAMES

Category:
Racing

Graphics and Sound:

Test Drive Cycles puts you on some of today's hottest fastest bikes. The bikes found in TDC are all officially licensed, which means you will be able to drive a Harley Davidson, Moto Guzzi, Bimota, or a BMW bike. The bike detail is really amazing! They are designed so they look like their real life counterparts. Each bike handles differently and can be tweaked for the best performance. For the most part, each level is fairly detailed with familiar roadside trees, rocks, light posts etc, which help give the game a realistic effect. TDC does have some problems though, one major one being the way the horizon draws in the game. Obstacles such as cars or other bikes just pop out of nowhere in a matter of seconds and this leads to a lot of unnecessary crashes.

Gameplay:

Like most racing games, TDC offers a number of different racing options to keep everyone happy. These options include Single Race, Tournament Mode, Cop Chase, and Two Player Mode. Single Race allows you to race on any track and use any bike that you have unlocked or purchased in the games Tournament mode. Tournament Mode, which for the most part is the heart of this game, challenges you to win as many tournaments and gain the most prize money for power-ups and better bikes. Each tournament is split into various Cup races, which must be won in order to proceed to the next Cup race. A Cop Chase mode is also available where you are the cop and try to stop and write as many traffic citations as possible during the race. There is also a Two Player mode which you can race another player head to head, that is assuming they have their own copy of TDC, a GBC, and a link cable.

Difficulty:

TDC is not extremely difficult, and for the most part follows the same 'rules' that most racing games today have. You start off with a basic bike, and as you win more races, you must upgrade your current bike or buy a new one in order to continue winning races. The key to success in this game is to win races, and upgrade or buy new bikes whenever you can.

Game Mechanics:

The Game Mechanics in this game, like most racing games, are quite simple. Win each race no matter what it takes. Racing games are made to be simple yet very fun games, and TDC does a great job of this. The A Button is used to accelerate, B is the brakes, and the Control Pad maneuvers the bike. A great little plus that this GBC title has is Battery Backup, meaning you won't have to deal with annoying passwords in order to save your data. TDC is definitely one of the top racing games found on the GBC, so 'race' to the store and pick up a copy. If the cops pull you over, tell em' Raider gave you the ok to speed. ;)