Test Drive Off-Road 3

For other games in the Test Drive Off-Road subseries, see - Test Drive Off-Road (Subseries)

Test Drive Off-Road 3
Developer	Infogrames North America
Publisher	Infogrames North America (North America) Infogrames Multimedia (Europe)
Released	NA: October 31, 1999 EU: April 19, 2000
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single Player Multiplayer
Ratings	ESRB: E
Platform(s)	PlayStation Windows
Related	Test Drive Off-Road 3 (GBC)

Test Drive Off-Road 3, is a racing video game developed and published by Infogrames North America, and is the third entry in the Test Drive Off-Road series. The game was originally released in October 1999 in North America for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows, and would also receive a separate adaptation for the Game Boy Color in 2000 by Xantera. Infogrames announced and later developed a version for the Sega Dreamcast, although it was suddenly cancelled.

In Europe, due to the Test Drive license being tied to Infogrames North America (former Accolade) as opposed to Infogrames Multimedia (The European division), the game's PlayStation version was released in Europe under the name of 4X4 World Trophy in April 2000, lacking any reference to the Test Drive franchise.

Gameplay

Two game modes are available - Arcade and World Tour - with an additional "Two Players" mode available on PlayStation only. In World Tour, players goes through different tracks throughout the world to win cups and money. Players can buy, modify, and sell vehicles. Overall in the game, surprises come along races, such as breakable objects and shortcuts.

• Arcade - Single races customised by the player. Winning World Tour races unlocks additional cars and courses for Arcade mode. The PlayStation release also features splitscreen Arcade in the form of the Two Players mode.
• World Tour - Players go through three Divisions, each being made up of two or three cups and with different skill level and prizes. Players unlock additional courses and vehicles whilst going through the World Tour mode. A podium finidh is required to advance through the Divisions, and finishing in 1st place on all races unlocks the World Cup (final and fourth division).

There are five racers during a singleplayer race - a Human Player alongside four CPU Players.

Handling

• Traction - If players find their wheels spinning, they has to release the accelerator, allowing the wheels to gain traction on the course. Once the wheels have slowed, depress the accelerator again.
• Jumps - If players need to clear an obstacle, they drive as fast as they can up the jump and try to land on the flattest surface possible to ensure a stable recovery.
• Low Gear - Players has to shift down into low gear - below first - to get the torque they need to climb the really steep grades.
• Power Boost - When climbing hills and driving through mud, players has to pump the accelerator to get extra bursts of power to help with inclines and through hazards.

Vehicles

Main article: Test Drive Off-Road 3/Vehicles

27 licensed vehicles are in the game. In World Tour mode, players can buy vehicles in the showroom, as well as equip them with various upgrades.

Unlockable vehicles are made available by winning events in the World Tour Divisions.

Courses

Main article: Test Drive Off-Road 3/Courses

Eleven real world tracks are available, including Black Forest, Canadian Rockies, Egyptian Desert, Yosemite, Yucatán, Red Rock, New Orleans, New York, Tibet, Mount Fuji, and Vermont. Off-road racing happens through various types of terrain, including sand, snow, and water.

Soundtrack

Main article: Test Drive Off-Road 3/Soundtrack

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. GameSpot rated it 6.3 (Fair), whilst Doug Trueman reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for Next Generation writing "Test Drive Off-Road 3 is fairly well done, but there are just not enough new features here to raise the game's rating above 'fair'".

Media

• Screenshots
• Videos