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Test Drive Le Mans
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Graphics & Sound:
It is hard for game designers to keep up with technology. It is hard for them for them to give us a game that will give us 3D environments whose realism is better than anybody else's. Test Drive Le Mans graphics are great, but they don't offer anything new. The sound is respectable as far as the crowd noises, and the annoying, repetitive banter from the announcer. The engine noise is realistic, but doesn't get very loud, and you have tire skids. What's great with today's games is that if you don't like a game's sound effects, you can turn things off.
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Gameplay:
The 24-hour Le Mans race is touted as the most famous race in the world and they have been running this race since 1923. You have three game modes. The first is Le Mans Mode. Your objective is to complete more laps in a 24-hour period than any other racer. Do you have the guts to try it? You will have a choice between two GT2 cars. If you are playing in Amateur mode, your card will not sustain damage, but it does in Professional mode. In this mode, you are in a life-like simulation of the race so you probably won't survive a pile up. In Championship Mode, faster cars are unlocked if you were successful in winning races. Now you might be asking yourself, 24 hours sure is a long time to play a game, but do not fear. You can choose the time period, and if you do choose the 24-hour mode, it can be compressed to a time that you choose. You can also choose to qualify for your race. The better you do, the better your position during the rolling start. If you choose not to qualify, you will start at the back. In Arcade Mode, you have three options: Challenge, Time Attack, and Practice. Practice is a good place to start. In Challenge Mode, you race to win. Winning gets you closer to the cup - win all the cups, unlock new challenge cups. Time attack is just what it says. You are trying to be the fastest car with the best time. Do that and you when the cup. In Practice Mode, you can race any of the tracks that you have unlocked, with any of the cars that you have unlocked, but there is no Championship progression. In Championship Mode, you are racing a season of predetermined races. You are rewarded points for each race, depending on your performance. To win you must have the most points.
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Difficulty:
As in most racing games, you can choose your skill level , but don't think that the Amateur setting and the Easy Mode are a piece of cake. All modes are a challenge. If you would like a real challenge, try racing in Professional Mode where your car receives life-like damage. Survive a race in this mode, and you might be good enough for an amateur racing career of your own. Have you heard how much these cars cost?
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Game Mechanics:
I played Le Mans using a gamepad and take my advice, go into the game options and turn the gamepad sensitivity setting all the way down. If you don't do this, the cars can be too hard to handle. I ended up going backwards many a time when I started playing. You can also use the keyboard to control the car, but who does that these days?
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-Wickserv, GameVortex Communications AKA Eric Wickwire |
Minimum System Requirements:
266 Mhz Pentium or faster running 95/98, 32 MB RAM, 4x CD_ROM drive (600x/second transfer rate) using 32-bit Windows 95/98 CD-ROM driver 8 MB 3D video card that supports Direct 3D, DirectX and Soundblaster compatible sound card, DirectX 7.0a or later, 600-MB free hard drive space plus space for saved games (additional space required for DirectX 7.0a installation) |
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Test System:
GX-450xl running Windows 98, 256 RAM, Creative Sound Blaster 64CPCI with Boston Acoustic Digital Media Theatre, STB Velocity 4400 with RIVA TNT chip, DirectX 7, 32 MB RAM, 6X24 DVD-ROM |
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