''Test Drive III: The Passion'' 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 and published by

Accolade The accolade (also known as dubbing or adoubement) ( la, benedictio militis) was the central act in the rite of passage ceremonies conferring knighthood in the Middle Ages. From about 1852, the term ''accolade'' was used much more generally to ...

in 1990 for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

. It is the third game in the ''

Test Drive A test drive is the driving of a motor vehicle to assess its drivability or roadworthiness, and general operating state. A person who tests vehicles for a living, either for an automobile company, automotive media for review purposes, or a moto ...

'' series. While the first two ''Test Drive'' titles were developed by

Distinctive Software Distinctive Software Inc. (''DSI'') was a Canadian video game developer established in Burnaby, British Columbia, by Don Mattrick and Jeff Sember after their success with the game ''Evolution''. Mattrick (age 17) and Jeff Sember approached Sydney ...

, the third one was developed in-house at Accolade. This resulted in many differences from the first two games.

Gameplay

Unlike the first two titles, the third game has the concept of a free landscape; the player does not have to drive on a preset course. Each section contains alternate routes and shortcuts for reaching the finish line and the player can go wherever they want, i.e. drive off the road and onto the grass, hills, farms etc. The landscape includes features such as bridges, tunnels, water, hills and mountains. It also features railroad crossings with a real train running in a loop. The player must also obey the speed limit when a police car is in sight, otherwise they could be caught and fined. The test course, situated in Northern California from Pacific Coast to

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

, consists of five distinct sections (Scenic Coast, Coast Hills, Valley Farms, Foothills, and Sierra Vista) featuring varied landscapes. The game features three cars to drive; the

Lamborghini Diablo The Lamborghini Diablo is a high-performance mid-engine sports car built by Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini between 1990 and 2001. It is the first production Lamborghini capable of attaining a top speed in excess of . After the end ...

, Ferrari Mythos Pininfarina Concept, and the Chevrolet Corvette CERV III Concept. Other features include changeable radio stations, windscreen wipers, headlights, and varying weather conditions and times of day. Racing options include nine skill levels, head-to-head competition against two computer-controlled drivers, time trials against the clock, and racing against up to three other players, one at a time, on the same computer. Gameplay includes joystick and keyboard support as well as multiple viewpoints and replay options.

Development and release

While the first two ''Test Drive'' titles were developed by

, the third one was developed in-house at Accolade. This resulted in many differences over the first two games. The game was radically different from the previous two installments by abandoning sprite graphics and using a combination of

bitmapped upright=1, The Smiley, smiley face in the top left corner is a raster image. When enlarged, individual pixels appear as squares. Enlarging further, each pixel can be analyzed, with their colors constructed through combination of the values for ...

and polygon-fill 3D graphics, and digitized car interiors instead. Unlike the previous games which were released on a variety of platforms, it was released exclusively for DOS. An add-on package, ''Road & Car'', was released in 1991 as an extra purchase, featuring a

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

road course from

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

, and the

Acura NSX NSX may refer to: Stock exchanges * Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) * National Stock Exchange (Jersey City, New Jersey), US (NSX) * National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) Other uses * Neon Swing X-perience (NSX), a US musical group * Honda N ...

and Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo cars. New to the ''Test Drive III'' environment were covered bridges, low-flying airplanes, hot air balloons, horses and buses. It allows the player to combine vehicles and landscapes from both the original game and the add-on for variety.

Reception

'' Computer Gaming World'' stated that ''Test Drive III: The Passion'', while not spectacular, was a fine driving simulator and "a well-designed package". The magazine praised the ''Road & Car'' expansion's New England scenery and automobile reproductions, and stated that it provided "more of the same, with a slightly different angle" to the original game.

References

External links

* {{Test Drive 1990 video games Accolade (company) games DOS games DOS-only games Video games developed in the United States Video game sequels 3: The Passion Single-player video games