Test Drive: Eve of Destruction Review

Introduction

If you wanna be happy
For the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman your wife,
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you.
- Jimmy Soul (1963)

Now I realize that this may be the strangest way to start out a game review since their conception way back when. However, there seemed to be an underlying connection between this 1963 classic and Atari’s most recent endeavor for the PlayStation 2. For those unfamiliar with the way that the song continues, it goes into depth, describing how marrying a good-looking woman will bring a man nothing but pain later on down the road. While, on the other hand, choosing a less attractive lady would be better as she will be there for you when you need her and you never have to worry about her breaking your heart. Although song lyrics like this, in today’s politically correct society, will eventually ruffle somebody’s feathers, the message is clear and understood.

So how does this tie in with Atari’s Test Drive: Eve of Destruction (TD:EoD)? Well, this is probably the first game in recent memory to flaunt the idea of ugly being good. In fact, Atari recently sponsored a contest, right here on XGP, to find the ugliest car in America to help celebrate the release of the game. Forget about the bright lights, big city approach that racing titles seem to be heading towards. This title is looking to take you deep into Backwater USA, where men are men and their cars are more than street showpieces with big wings and shiny paint jobs. Forget about the high maintenance demands of the vain tuner imports, for these ladies will be there when you most need them and will never leave you in a lurch when the going gets tough. Now, reach up and pull those belts tight. We’re getting to go racing, dirt track style

 

Gameplay

TD:EoD can be broken down into two different departments: Action and Career mode. The first is where players can get a quick fix without the restraints of pursuing the life of a professional Eve (this is the in-game code name for the racing events) driver. This main section is further divided into three subcategories: multiplayer race, single player race and the dare events. The multiplayer category will be covered later in the review in much more detail; however, you and three additional players will have the ability to race in any of the venues that your prowess has unlocked in the Career and Action Modes.

The single racing events allow you to customize a racing Eve, so that you can pick which of the 25 available contests you would like to participate in, along with the type of vehicle you want to drive and which track where you would like to do all of this at. Also, let me mention that most of the events that you are about to experience have never been included in a video game, ever. Although there are a few fictional races, most of these have been taken directly from short tracks scattered across the United States, and actually do happen on a frequent basis. These include: a figure-8 jump race, the chain race (tow a non-running vehicle behind your race car), the boat race (this time you tow a boat instead of a car), suicide race (half the pack goes in one direction while the remaining cars travel in the opposite), a flagpole race (ring around the rosy), the school bus race and the ever popular Gauntlet (you get to drive a hearse and the entire pack tries to destroy your ride before you can complete a set number of laps). There are more, even stranger events that one can participate in, but I wouldn’t want to let all of the cats out of the bag at the same time and ruin the complete surprise for you. Nevertheless, I will say that once you experience a round of Detention, you will never look at a school bus the same way ever again.

Players also must choose between one of the many camera views available in the game. For most vehicles, the default view (close 3rd-person) seems to work the best, however, I did find that with the taller vehicles (hearse, ambulance, school bus) this view left a visual blind-spot directly in front of your vehicle. Nevertheless, there are many more camera angles, including the really cool suspension cam that you can quickly flip through to find one that works best for you. Since I’ve started mentioning the controller layout, I might as well finish up that area here as well. Monster Games gives players plenty of preference options on how you want to operate your auto, by having multiple buttons work for the same action. Players can use the right analog stick for sensitive acceleration, or they can fall back on the regular mash-it-until-it-hurts X button. Emergency brakes and reverse gear selection can be accessed through either the shoulder buttons or the circle and square buttons on the controller faceplate. Having multiple choices is a mixed blessing, as you can get easily confused when things get exceptionally hectic, but I would rather have more choices than less. I just had to train myself to stick with whatever formula felt the most comfortable and keep myself under control when the going got exciting.

Although players do not receive cash for their victories in the Action section, they do add reputation points to the overall total for the unlocking of additional tracks and vehicles. Depending on how you drive, meaning how much damage you can cause in the course of a race, a hit meter will rack up points which will add to the multiplier for your rewards. Putting another vehicle out of the race, considered a ‘kill’ for technical terms, will also do the same thing but on a slightly less influent scale. Using these points is the only way to acquire newer vehicles and different racing environments.

The Dare subsection is basically 26 different exhibition events broken down into five different categories: A Crash Course, The Technical Circuit, The Destruction Circuit, The Specialty Circuit and finally Good Luck Out There. In each section, there is only one event opened and players must systematically work their way through all of the events in order to open the following ones. Vehicle selections are restricted to only one type of vehicle for each Eve and, unlike the rest of the game, the only thing that matters is finishing first in the race. Once the entire Dare section is completed, players receive a bonus that will help them in the remaining sections of the game. This area is quite challenging and it took me about 4 hours to work my way completely through, but more so it really helped me to learn how to get around the various courses using many of the 30+ unique vehicles that come packaged inside the game. Each one of these vehicles handles differently, and you can’t go headfirst into each event thinking that there won’t be any real challenge. Depending on where the Eve is held will change the track layout. So, even if you are really good at doing the Figure-8 Jump track at one location, you still will have to learn the small nuances, like different height jumps or the placement of different barriers, at other tracks.

Although these three sections might be enough for most games, we still haven’t even touched the main aspect of the game: Career Mode. This section starts at the dirt driveway in front of your singlewide trailer. You just inherited a late-model vehicle from your grandmother and have decided to become an Eve of Destruction participant. Your car may not be very impressive, but you feel that your talent should make up for that deficiency. By entering the Drive Around Mode, you can explore the local township and eventually drive on down to Ashland to participate in the race. Probably, the Drive Around section was the most disappointing section of the entire game. Not that it was horrible or seemingly foolish, but because all of the roads were devoid of any additional traffic or extra activity. It gave the atmosphere that nobody was actually around the area and people were simply holed-up, waiting for your arrival. Nevertheless, it is a minor gripe that deserves mentioning, in hopes that Monster Games will improve the formula for the possible next round of Test Drive excitement.

Once you are on the road, you have multiple options available to you. Players can head over to TJ’s Diner for some unsanctioned races, with a bunch of various drivers that change as the game progresses forward. Each one of these events will have a betting fee that you will need to have available to enter the challenge and the amount that is required also increases as the skill level of the competition goes up. There will also be other areas to have side challenges as you progress up the Eve rankings, so there seems to be always somewhere to make a few extra bucks outside of the established racing venues.

If you head down the road a bit, you will come upon Sweeny’s salvage yard and body shop. This junkyard is where you can acquire new rides, once you have the available cash and your current ride no longer meets your racing needs. Players have the opportunity to have as many as four different vehicles in their stable and can trade-in any of these cars or purchase new ones outright when their funds allow. The available selection of vehicles changes over time, so it pays for you to stop in often to check on the revolving inventory. If a player crosses the street, you can visit the body shop. This is where enhancements can be purchased for your vehicle, or you can give it a fresh look in the paint shop. This area only becomes available to the player after they reach the 80th rung on the Eve ladder, so players will have to weather through at least four events before they can modify their vehicles.

Eves are usually made up of at least three point-races, with possibly some extra non-point activities thrown in for good measure. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to race to the track against another contestant for some bonus reputation points, if you happen to beat them to the end. Once you arrive, you immediately begin the first event with no opportunity to change cars or even know what the event will be. The best suggestion is to always arrive at the Eve in your most rounded vehicle, so that you aren’t left out in the cold by entering a vehicle in that is totally unsuited for the competition. How far you rack up the hit meter and your kill count will have an overall reflect on your take-home winnings. However, you can’t be distracted by looking to turn your fellow competitors into scrap metal. These are also point races that require a good finishing position, so that you have the chance to win the Eve and move up the food chain. For every overall Eve victory, you move up five steps on the driver ladder; and for every ten progressive increments, players are treated to an action video showing the real-life competitors as they compete in the events that were the basis for the game.

Visually, even though it personally pains me greatly to admit openly, this version of Test Drive is the best that I have yet to experience. Although it will never compare with the eye-candy festival that Gran Turismo has come to represent, there definitely is enough action going on in the background to keep even the most fickle of gamers satisfied. None of the vehicle recreations are officially licensed; however, there are plenty of cars that so closely resemble their real-life counterparts that you won’t really care. The game runs at a solid framerate, no matter where you are or how many vehicles are in a contest, and there is no clipping or draw-in evident at all. Vehicular damage is faithfully recreated, and pieces of the cars can and will fall off onto the track whenever they receive a significant impact. One nice aspect that can offer a real challenge is in the fact that all of the tracks have tons of interactive barriers (tires, cones, flaming barrels, bales of hay), which can be moved by any of the contestants. Usually, you will have to navigate around obstacles scattered across the track, along with the debris left by the in-racing collisions, while still trying to maintain the best racing line possible. Nobody ever promised you the easy road to success, and you will have to earn each and every victory through hard work and determination.

One of the biggest complaints I have seen concerning this particular game is that there is no sensation of speed incorporated in the racing. While I will admit that Eve of Destruction will, in no way, blow your doors off. I do have to declare that the speed that the cars attain fits in perfectly with what Monster Games was shooting for. These are not highly tuned street machines, nor are they grand touring prototypes that scream down a track at 200 miles an hour. You vehicle of choice is supposed to be a junker, plain and simple. These cars struggle to get around the dirt tracks, just like they would in real life. If you put other titles behind you and concentrate on the game that you are playing, you will be sitting on the edge of your seat trying to mentally will these beaten and bruised refugees from the junkyard around the course.

Control is another element that takes a bit of experimentation to get the handle on completely. Most of your racing environments will take place on down-home dirt tracks, but there are some examples where you will have the opportunity to enjoy racing on a mixture of paved and dirt surfaces. Nevertheless, there is much more to being able to get around the track than simply putting the accelerator to the floor and turning left. Players will either learn how to utilize the analog accelerator to assist you in making the various lefts and rights, or they will toss the controller away in frustration, complaining the whole time on how loose the cars react when entering a corner. Driving on dirt is a finesse skill that is much more difficult than completing a lap at Talladega at 200 miles-an-hour. I found the races to be much more challenging than those found in other racing titles. Keeping a vehicle heading in the right direction while never having 100% control (just like in real life on the same style of surfaces) is more exhilarating than anything else I have experienced within recent memory, especially since the control issue was intentionally built into the game rather than being the fault of shoddy programming skills.

The game’s collision physics are also very unpredictable, and that is a good thing. Players that like to lean on the walls or other vehicles to assist in completing corners have a big surprise coming, and should do poorly when forced to deal with the built-in reaction differences. Very rarely will you have the luxury of a completely smooth surface to help you make a tough turn, and hitting objects at different angles and speeds can result in various reactions from simply bumping lightly off of a wall, to spinning the player out completely, to being hit numerous times by the closely following pack of vehicles bent on your total obliteration. There are also noticeable differences in how computer-controlled vehicles will take to your presence. If you roughed them up in getting past them, you can expect to receive a bit of payback when they get the opportunity. The computer AI is very aware of what you do on the course and responds accordingly, to how it is dealt with, in form of retribution. There are no meters to help you keep track of whom you may have gunning for you and the AI is much more realistic in how far it will go to trade paint, compared with titles like NASCAR Thunder, where your competitors will happily sacrifice their own vehicle violently just to try to even the score.

 

 

Also, unlike other racing titles that include damage for their car models, your rides are not immortal. Although damage can be repaired at either your home base or during the racing intermissions between events, permanent damage will be accrued after every encounter. This forces a player to institute a form of driving strategy, to know where to be aggressive and when to look to avoid getting in the middle of a crash-fest. Repairs are not free. When outside a racing Eve, you can only apply your mechanical know-how when your bank account is in the positive. However, one is allowed to technically take a loan against promised financial winnings during the racing intermissions, to bring your ride back up to its original ghastly demeanor. This is an extremely thoughtful aid and really assists keeping the up-and-coming driver in the thick of things when funds are exceptionally tight. However, players should try to do all of their normal upkeep at the home base, as the price for repairs are cheaper there than at the track. One needs to get in the habit of making sure that all of the cars in their stable are topped-off and are as close to one hundred percent as possible, before heading out to the various tracks. It is also preferable to drive cautiously on your way to the event and save your outlandish antics for when you get there, to keep your repairs financially worthwhile.

Monster Games has included a way to give your ride a more personal touch, and still be able to maintain your manliness. By taking your ride to the local garage, every vehicle has the ability to have each of its three statistics (speed, handling and durability) upgraded once. Each class of vehicle has different price ranges for upgrading, and the price for both normal repair and increased performance directly relates to the original purchase price of the car. The more expensive it is to obtain, the more you can expect to shell out to keep it on the road. Also, there is a custom paint shop that will allow you to declare your independence loud and clear. Although the entire vehicle cannot be completely repainted, there are seven main areas on each car that can benefit from your skill with an airbrush. There is no limitation of color, as there is a custom blending option available if you don’t like any of the pre-selected variations. Moreover, you do not have the luxury of applying decals or pre-manufactured painting patterns. Everything must be done freehand, and the multiple spray-heads allow for just about anything that you can dream up to become a reality. With a little time and energy, even the most artistically deprived individual (myself, for example) can handle the paint shop and make their ride a true statement of their own unique being. However, for those who don’t wish to spend the time in the shop, just having a car with some more colorful expressions painted on the hood or roof, just like the real drivers have done to their cars in the videos, may be exactly what the doctor ordered.

 

Extras

Eve of Destruction comes complete with a trunkload of extras and options. First and foremost is the highly competitive multiplayer mode, where up to four players, using the PS2 Multitap, can meet in most of the previously experienced single-player events via a split-screen option. There are also some multiplayer-only events like Capture the Flag and Battle (where you shoot exploding chickens from your vehicle of choice), which are great for when friends gather together and you are looking for something to keep them occupied for numerous hours. You might want to keep a baseball bat handy to maintain order if more than four people are in attendance, as nobody will want to give up a controller and there is always a high probability of violence ensuing over who gets to play next. As much fun as the gaming party is sure to be, one can only speculate at the possibilities that could have been if Atari had included an online mode. This game really screams out for four to sixteen player Internet battles, and hopefully they will consider this for any future renditions. I think this was the only aspect absent from the game that easily would have put it over the top where the final rating was concerned.

 

 

Nevertheless, this is not the only thing that Atari felt worth adding to the basic game. There are also a ton of unlockable extras in the form of better vehicles, special enhancements for completing very specific tasks during the game, extra tracks and even real-life videos of some of the events recreated in the game. For those of you who would insist that most of the races were created in the deep recesses of Monster Games’ production studios, getting the opportunity to see the chain, boat and trailer races live and in color will be enough to convince even the most skeptic gamer of their actual existence. On the presentation side of the ball, Atari also has options for supporting wide-screen televisions and Dolby Pro Logic II for players who have surround sound setups. It definitely seems like no expense was spared in making sure that TD:EoD would be enjoyed by every class of gamer.

Conclusion
Unlike most of the media who has had the opportunity to experience this game, I can honestly say that I have found Test Drive: Eve of Destruction a worthwhile purchase. The game packs plenty of playability, with easily 30 hours of gameplay under the hood, along with the expected mass hysteria whenever a gaggle of players shows up at your doorstep. Only the most closed-minded or jaded players would find great fault with the presentation or the amount of options that comes included with this title. There are a few shortcomings that keep this title from going over the must-have status, namely the lack of online play and the life-absent environment of the Drive Around section, but still one should be able to add this game to their racing collection with a clear conscience. As long as you remember these two things you should have no problem with this game there is more to racing than going fast and turning left and it’s not always the prettiest girl who deserves the most attention. Now go out there and hit somebody.

Final Score 8.8