Compared to the extravagant, open-road lifestyle embraced in last year’s Test Drive Unlimited 2, the menu-driven, individual-race approach of Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends might seem a bit quaint. And surprising, too, considering the luxury vehicles at the core of the experience. But this game has an impressive lineage, and we’re not just talking about 65 years of flashy cars: it hails from Slightly Mad Studios, the crew responsible for the terrific Need for Speed: Shift series.
It’s disheartening, then, that the latest Test Drive lives up to neither legacy, despite an impressive devotion to the Ferrari brand. On the surface, its sprawling career mode — the core of the game aside from single offline or online races — seems like a worthy timesink, offering more than 200 events spread across three eras: Golden (1947–1973), Silver (1974–1990), and Modern (1990–2011). You’ll start in an open-air single-seater, as a sepia screen filter signals the age, although eventually the races transition to the magnificently sleek recent machines that fill most car lovers’ dreams.
One example of the awkward-looking crashes you'll encounter.
Open-air cars even simulate the helmet visor's tint in first-person. Clever!Unfortunately, the career ends up being a lot like reading a mediocre history textbook: it’s respectful and certainly interesting in parts, but ultimately tedious to get through. Light text blurbs about friendly rivalries with other drivers or wooing prospective buyers serve as the only flavoring to what’s really just a list of unvaried time trials and simple races. You’ll see the same generic tracks over and over again across eras, and at times, only the car or event type will change between subsequent events.
The game can also be wickedly tough, even on the easiest handling and difficulty settings — but that has as much to do with the steering and physics as the event balancing. Supercars require a deft touch, sure, but spinouts are far too common here on even basic turns thanks to squirrely handling. Worse yet, even the lightest nudge from another vehicle often triggers a wild spin or elaborate series of flips, which looks incredibly awkward given how inert and undamaged the cars appear in motion. Even interactions with fences and hay bales seem laughably unrealistic. Moreover, the game inconsistently awards off-track penalties, which can be unbelievably frustrating.
As much as Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends looks the part — with 50-plus vehicles sporting fantastic detail inside and out — its humdrum and overly difficult career disappoints, while spotty handling and physics keep this simulation strictly for diehards.
The game includes simple online races (not shown) for up to eight players, but it lacks additional multiplayer modes or any sort of leveling system.PUBLISHER: Atari • DEVELOPER: Slightly Mad Studios • ESRB: Everyone • MULTIPLAYER: 8 on Xbox Live • ACHIEVEMENTS: Insurmountable • COST: $50 • RELEASE DATE: July 3, 2012
+ Great-looking cars that span several decades.
– Text-driven career mode is drab and repetitive.
– Inconsistent handling, interactions, and penalties.
? Has there been an excellent single-brand racer?
