Test Drive: Off-Road 3
Windows - 1999
| Alt name | 4x4 World Trophy |
|---|---|
| Year | 1999 |
| Platform | Windows |
| Released in | United States (1999) Brazil (2000) |
| Genre | Racing / Driving |
| Theme | Automobile, Licensed Title, Off-Road / Monster Truck, Vehicle Simulator |
| Publisher | Infogrames, Inc. |
| Developer | Accolade, Inc. |
| Perspectives | 1st-Person, Behind view |
Description of Test Drive: Off-Road 3
A Pleasant Surprise?
Have you ever gone to a movie expecting with low expectations only to be pleasantly surprised? That's a neat feeling. I honestly expected Test Drive: Off-Road 3 to weigh in as the worst racing game I'd ever played. It wasn't. It's the third worst. That feels kind of neat.
You Are What You Read
It has become all-too-obvious now that the good people of Accolade don't read reviews. If they did, they would throw themselves from the heights of Yosemite's El Capitan rather than subject us to yet another Test Drive: Off-Road game. Accoladecontinues trying to convince their customers that they deserve another chance. With that thought, Accolade took the worst racing game of 1999, improved the graphics, added a bit of creativity to the courses, strapped on a rewards-based upgrade structure and then held a party. Too bad all the fun people stayed at home.
Cars We'd Love to Own
Test Drive: Off-Road 3 gives players the opportunity to let loose with some of the most enjoyable cars on the road. Twenty-seven vehicles including the AM General Hummer, Nissan Frontier, XTerra and Pathfinder, Ford Explorer and several Jeep models grace this year's follow-up. I liked the selection of vehicles and didn't find anything missing (except for GM). Each base-model vehicle can be upgraded with the addition of higher horsepower engines, enhanced suspension and tires. These upgrades are purchased with earnings won from competing in the World Cup challenge.
Previous Test Drive games relied on the tried and true "win and unlock" scenario to introduce new cars. Taking a cue from Gran Tourismo on the Playstation, Test Drive: Off-Road 3 now relies on money. Money is earned by winning races and finishing high in the final standings of a Tour. Players can plow the money back into their vehicle via upgrades or purchase a better vehicle outright. Though higher-end cars are effectively locked at the beginning of the game, a player is free to pursue a dream and skip over the less interesting cars.
Another improvement over previous Off-Roaddisasters comes in the form of imaginative and carefully-built courses. The courses of Test Drive: Off-Road 3 show a creativity and attention to detail that I never expected. Eleven courses traverse a range of environments, including Yosemite, Mt. Fuji, the Canadian Rockies and New York City. Rather than race in circles, many of these tracks take the form of a course - with a starting line miles away from the finish line. Most tracks provide creativity and unique challenges in the form of unique characteristics. The Yucatan track demands good climbing performance while Red Rock stresses speed and handling. I found that no single vehicle could dominate every course - which was a big change from Off-Road 2. To win a tour, players must choose their upgrades carefully and plan for each race.
Stutter, Stop and Stand Still
Despite these improvements, the game never realizes its potential. Graphics have been enhanced greatly with the addition of 3D hardware acceleration, but framerate remains a frustrating mystery. Even with the latest 3D hardware I frequently encountered slideshow quality graphics. The game literally freezes on highly visual courses such as Vermont. As near as I can tell, new textures are thrashing around in the AGP bus and killing performance. These hiccups usually result in a steering error or worse. Other unusual glitches include a stutter when the vehicle glances off a wall - almost as if the car was held by a rubber band then released.
Graphics alone don't do this title in. Instead, boring, bland and uninspired gameplay conspire to keep this title from greatness. Vehicles are very difficult to steer and don't behave in a realistic manner. I recognize that this is an arcade racer, but I expect to be able to control my ride. Oversteer, understeer and tire spinning creep into this this game to create an almost random driving experience. Without the ability to control your car, there is no point in racing. I don't expect sticky traction from these vehicles, but I do expect consistency. Sometimes your car can make 200-foot jumps from a slight incline, yet cannot make a 20-foot jump from a steep slope. I found my vehicle climbing the walls of a covered bridge (90 degrees) yet unable to navigate the 60 degree incline of an Incan pyramid.
Bare-Bonectomy
One might think that force feedback would be de rigueur by now, but not here, not now. Also missing is a save game feature (unbelievable!), the ability to customize your driving controls, screen resolution changes, and multiplayer options. This game lacks it all.
Though Test Drive: Off-Road 3 shows promise and improves on Off-Road 2, at this rate of improvement, don't expect anything great until Test Drive: Off-Road 14.
Review By GamesDomain
External links
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
pavlep 2024-08-08 1 point
Jacob is right, it's impossible that there is no NoCD crack after 25 years. It's basic CD check, I don't think it's even SafeDisc DRM.
100percentgamesave 2024-03-21 1 point
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-ToAzdKEmDKApiTcYS5VngCZWK-1Tw4I/view?usp=drive_link
Drop the savedata folder in the game directory for 100% complete game. Then launch the game and go to options and load the save file under the load menu option. The save file should say PLAYER. Press ENTER and you will see at the bottom "Data Loaded". Then you will see in arcade that all cars, modifications, and tracks are all unlocked with all gold trophy in world cups. For a fast way to enjoy the rewards, go to arcade mode and choose any track and car and modification. Make sure you select the modification and then press enter to confirm the option you choose. This game relies on pressing enter to confirm choices.
For a bonus. When you enter arcade mode, you can replace the name PLAYER with these names below. Then you will hear a sound effect when the name is typed. Then you can find the cheats in the options menu where it says "Cheats" and choose the cheats.
All cheats ZAKARY X
All Divisions SAD CLOWN
All Tracks LEAD TO ROME
All Upgrades MAD HOOKUP
Stunt Mode TURN TRICKS
Sumo Mode YOKOZUNA
ByteComputer78 2024-02-22 0 point
My game is working flawlessly with @Edhunter trick. I am just asking myself what is the best video driver ? For now, it's Glide 2x. Maybe DirectX or Software is better ? I don't know what to choose for the optimal nostalgia experience.
N00BSl2lKi11 2023-11-26 0 point
FYI Sound tracks aren't in here buuut, I made a shareable playlist on spotify for the sound track.
EdHunter 2023-04-23 0 point
Hey guys, Anyone having trouble on win11, the following steps ran the game smooth!
1. setting compact on autorun down to win7.
2. mounting the image with winCDemu.
3. Install the game.
4. Install nGlide
5. Kick start the nostalgia!
Hail!
Red 2021-12-12 0 point
What is the name of cd ? I using a windows XP To burn the cd. From past experience the wrong on the cd will cause problem.
Kevin 2021-06-01 1 point
Mount with Alcohol 52% and the audio tracks are there. I actually saved this over the years just to play in my CD player.
Works fine in Windows 10. Works well with nGlide as well. The fact that the music only plays like half the time is an original game glitch. Nothing can be done about it.
Also as a laptop user, I appreciate a racing game I only need a few arrow keys for.
girasion 2021-01-18 1 point
cant install the game. I click on the install but nothing ever happens.. Disc image file is corrupted so I open it with WinCDEmu but I guess it doesnt matter I could jusy click on clone cd/dvd and same thing would happen, then I click ok for V: for example then the game menu appears and I click on install and nothing ever happens...
JoeMorgue 2020-05-08 2 points
No issues installing/running on Windows 10 using WinCDEmu 4.1 to mount the .img file.
Lacks the CD tracks from the original, but that's to be expected.
No way to adjust the resolution, even in the .cfg file, but that was true of the original release.
ZL 2018-05-20 2 points
Can't seem to run the game. Mount the ISO file then extract the files. Installs fine then there's an error when the game tries to launch. Happened on 2 computers.
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