''Test Drive 6'' is a

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

developed by

Pitbull Syndicate Midway Studios Newcastle Limited (originally Pitbull Syndicate) was a British video game developer based in Gateshead, England. History Pitbull Syndicate was formed in December 1996 by an ensemble of programmers and artists with extensive exp ...

for

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Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

and

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

. In the United States the game was published by Infogrames North America, while in Europe the game was published by

Cryo Interactive Cryo Interactive Entertainment was a French video game development and publishing company founded in 1990, but existing unofficially since 1989 as a developer group under the name Cryo. History Cryo was formed by members of ERE Informatique ...

. The game featured 37 licensed cars, plus four police car variants. As a first for the series, cars from

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are not playable in this game, instead they appear as traffic cars. The soundtrack featured

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and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

music from artists such as

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Lunatic Calm Lunatic Calm were an English electronic music group formed in 1996. Despite a wide-ranging sound palette, the group was best known for their high impact, industrial-tinged big beat compositions. History Formed in 1996 and composed of Simon "sHa ...

and

Cirrus Cirrus may refer to: Science *Cirrus (biology), any of various thin, thread-like structures on the body of an animal *Cirrus (botany), a tendril *Infrared cirrus, in astronomy, filamentary structures seen in infrared light *Cirrus cloud, a type ...

. A

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

version was developed by Xantera, a small developer that also developed other Test Drive titles for the handheld. As of 2019, the PC version of the game has compatibility issues preventing it from being played properly on modern computers. The game's soundtrack no longer plays due to the removal of Windows' CD audio compatibility for games. The installer does not work on Windows Vista and newer, necessitating a drag-and-drop install. Use of the dgvoodoo wrapper allows the game to be played somewhat accurately on newer systems, though music is still missing.

Gameplay

''Test Drive 6'' is an arcade racing game similar to previous titles in the series. The game features Single Race, "Race Menu" (career) mode and a splitscreen multiplayer mode. Single race allows players to choose a car and track and play it without any of the requirements or repercussions of career mode. Likewise, this mode has a small selection of cars from all classes available even if the player has not unlocked or purchased them in Race Menu. The Race Menu career mode allows the player to purchase a vehicle from the Tier 1 dealership and provides them with tournaments to race in, limited by tier. The player wagers in-game currency on each race in the tournament and can receive an extra bonus payout for overall finishing position. Tournaments increase in length, difficulty and payout amounts by tier. The mode also features Stop The Racers and Stop The Bomber modes wherein the player drives a police car in pursuits.

Game Boy version

''Test Drive 6'' was released on a black cartridge for the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

and

. The handheld version of the game is a RC Pro Am clone. It features a limited selection of licensed vehicles from the main game and tracks named after real world cities. A sequel was released exclusively for the Game Boy Color in 2000, called '' Test Drive 2001''.

Reception

''Test Drive 6'' received "mixed" reviews on all platforms except the PC version, which received "unfavourable" reviews, according to the

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website

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. The writers of ''

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'' gave many different opinions to each of the game's system releases. First, David Zdyrko said of the PlayStation version: "After six tries, they still haven't gotten it right". Arun Devidas said of the PC version: "It's not the best racer in town, but Test Drive 6 still has a few redeeming qualities". Craig Harris said of the Game Boy Color version: "Cruising along city streets in real cars should be more fun than this Game Boy racing title". Matt White said of the Dreamcast version: "Infogrames struts their stuff, showing us that they have what it takes to slaughter an innocent game". Nick McElveen of ''

Computer Games Strategy Plus ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' gave the PC version two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying, "While it is not as good as the last two ''Need for Speed''s, ''Test Drive 6'' nevertheless succeeds to some extent at being an enjoyable arcade-style driving game that gets the heart racing, so to speak." Matt Sammons of '' NextGen'' said of the same Dreamcast version: "This strange mix of bumper cars and sports cars is stunningly mediocre. Test before driving."

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 6 1999 video games Accolade (company) games Cryo Interactive games Dreamcast games Game Boy Color games Infogrames games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation (console) games Video games about police officers Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in Hong Kong Video games set in London Video games set in Newcastle upon Tyne Video games set in New York City Video games set in Paris Video games set in Egypt Video games set in Ireland Video games set in Switzerland Video games set in Rome Windows games Xantera games