''Test Drive 5'' 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 ...

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 ...

for

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

and

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 ...

in 1998.

Development

Accolade spent $3 million on a television advertising campaign for Test Drive 5 and

Test Drive Off-Road 2 ''Test Drive 4X4'' (known as ''Test Drive Off-Road 2'' in North America) is a racing video game co-developed by Accolade's internal development team and Pitbull Syndicate, and published by Accolade for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. Develop ...

Reception

''Test Drive 5'' received "mixed" reviews on both platforms according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

. In Japan, where the PlayStation version was ported and published by

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

on 25 March 1999, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave it a score of 26 out of 40. James Mielke of ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' said of the PS version: "In the end, when you think of all the other games that ''Test Drive 5'' tries to emulate, you're thinking of at least three other racing games that you should purchase before you go for this one. While not a dismal failure by any means, the cheap AI and unbalanced gameplay ensure that ''Test Drive 5'' remains rental material at best." Michael E. Ryan, also of ''GameSpot'', criticized various aspects of the PC version, writing, "while the game is a decent arcade racer with great graphics, plenty of cars, and a ton of tracks, it simply falls short of its number one competitor - EA's '' Need for Speed III'' - in almost every conceivable way." Trent C. Ward of ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' said the PC version was "blessed with solid graphics, great sound, and some of the finest cars ever included in a racing game." However, Ward felt that the game's computer-controlled racers were capable of maneuvers not possible for the player to perform: "When you're racing, if another car pulls up behind you and taps you on the rear bumper, your car immediately goes flying out of control. While this seems reasonable (if a tad excessive), the same trick just doesn't work if you try to do it back. Shove an opponent's car from behind, and you're a lot more likely to end up in the ditch than he is. ..The way it is, the most you'll get is about three or four races before the computer pulls a dirty trick so foul that you'll turn your computer off in disgust." Ward concluded that ''Test Drive 5'' "comes really close to greatness, and then veers off sharply at the last minute. The game's solid handling, great car selection, and passable graphics are all ruined by the fact that computer-controlled cars can pitch you off the road at any given moment and by the fact that even with the fastest cars at your disposal, you'll probably find yourself struggling to keep up with the slowest computer opponents." Craig Harris, also of ''IGN'', praised the PS version's sound effects and music, as well as its multiplayer mode, and called its graphics "a step up from '' Test Drive 4''." Harris wrote: "The graphics engine is very smooth, very crisp, and very fast. My major complaint is, though the physics of the cars on the road are pretty accurate (as far as I can tell, anyway), when these cars take to the air, either by a jump or crash, it's like the tires are filled with pure helium." The PC version was nominated for the "Best Racing Game of the Year" award at ''IGN''s Best of 1998 Awards, which went to '' Powerslide''.

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