Start Your Engines!
by Alan Zisman
(c) 1998. First
published in Computer Player, May 1998
Need for Speed II SE
Electronic Arts
1-800-245-4525
www.nfs2.com
Test Drive 4
Accolade, Inc.
1-800-245-7744
www.accolade.com
If you?re unlikely to experience the thrills of
driving expensive cars
through exotic scenery far faster than any speed limits in real life,
you
may be prepared to settle for the digitally-simulated version. Along
with
our test panel of Grade-8 boys, Joey and Kevin, we tested two ways to
fulfill
this fantasy: Electronic Arts? Need for Speed II SE and Accolade?s Test
Drive 4.
The two games offer many similarities. Both offer
versions for Windows
95 and Sony PlayStation?we looked at the PC versions. Each offers the
user
a range of high-end cars, and an international range of scenery. Each
presents
its best face on systems equipped with 3Dfx video-accelerator add-on
cards
(about $300), but both will run on systems with more standard video
set-ups.
While both games claim a Pentium-90 as usable hardware, both benefit
from
more power. Each costs about $60-70, and installs the Windows 95
DriectX
5.0 add-in if required.
We tested the games on a Pentium-166 with 32 megs of
RAM and an ATI
Rage-Pro video card (but without the 3Dfx video needed for the best
graphics).
Need for Speed II SE is an enhanced version of the
earlier Need for
Speed II? it adds support for the 3Dfx hardware along with four new
cars,
for a total of twelve: car names like Ferrari, Jaguar, Mustang,
Lotus.
Each car features a different cockpit, and offers different driving
characteristics.
When you start the game, there are seven tracks, ranging the world from
the BC Coast?s Pacific Spirit, to a sultry Meditarraneo, realistic
jungle,
Mexican desert, or Himalayan mountains. A hidden eighth track appears
if
you beat the computer players through a Knockout Mode series of races
(or
by typing HOLLYWOOD at the main screen).
The game offers a range of competition modes,
including competing with
computer-drivers in Tournament and Knockout Modes, or racing against
other
players over a null-model serial cable, a modem, or across an IPX
network,
where up to 8 players can compete at once. As well, the game supports
split-screen
playing, allowing two players to compete using a single computer. The
company
offers a downloadable demo on its website (www.nfs2.com), but note that
racing wannabes lacking 3Dfx hardware need to download the demo for the
original Need for Speed II version (16 megs?featuring the BC Pacific
Spirit
location), not the SE-version demo.
On our test system, the game failed to recognize the
gamepad, forcing
the boys to play it using the keyboard as a controller.
Accolade?s Test Drive 4 requires more hard drive space
(a minimum of
120 megs compared to NFS?s 10-80 megs). Its stable of cars includes a
mix
of current favorites like Corvettes and Jaguars, and classics of the
60s
and 70s like a Camaro and a Shelby Cobra?10 cars in all. Unfortunately,
no matter which car you pick, you get the same interior and
performance.
6 international locations range from Bern in the Swiss Alps to Kyoto,
Munich,
and San Francisco. Each location features two tracks.
Like NFS2, TD4 offers a variety of racing modes
ranging from single
races through Challenge, Championship, and Masters Cup. There?s also a
straight-out, pedal to the metal ¼ mile drag race mode. Multiple
players are again supported via null-modem cable, modem, and IPX
network,
but on a single computer, two players are limited to Duel mode, where
they
take turns racing on the same track. Again, a demo version, in this
case,
featuring the Keswick, England locale, is available as a 13 meg
download
from www.accolade.com.
Kevin was particularly impressed with Test Drive 4; he
liked the mix
of new and old cars, and the traffic on the road?he enjoyed being able
to run into the other cars or run them off the road. As well, he liked
being chased by the police after colliding with the other traffic. Joey
was pleased that the speeds felt fast but realistic, but found the
graphics
?scratchy??more blocky than in Need for Speed II, which Joey felt had
?wicked?
graphics, even without the 3Dfx enhancements.
In picking a favorite, the panel was divided. Kevin
found the ability
to interact with Test Drive 4?s traffic, pedestrians, and police gave
the
game a ?bigger fun factor?. Joey, on the other hand, preferred Need for
Speed II, citing its superior graph