Evolution and history of Test Drive (1987-2011)

Test Drive is a series of racing video games. Originally published by Accolade, which was later bought by Infogrames, the first game was released in 1987 and has since been followed by several sequels. The Test Drive games are now published by Atari, the name which Infogrames renamed itself to in 2003.
In Test Drive, the player typically uses one of several exotic performance cars to race to a finish line against opponents or in a time limit, while avoiding traffic and police.
1987- Test Drive
1989 Test Drive II The Duel
1990 Test Drive 3 the Passion
1997 Test Drive 4
1998 Test Drive 5
1999 Test Drive 6
2001 TD Overdrive
2004 Test Drive Eve of Destruction
2006 Test Drive Unlimited
2011 Test Drive Unlimited II

[@tangelorajan]

I remember my dad watching me play TD1 in the late 80's when I was 10 or something and he said "Wow! You're not going to have any trouble learning how to drive after playing that!"...lol

[@fskeskin]

same words diffrent language

[@mammouthlafouinne3678]

@@fskeskin Same, except it was my uncle.

[@elykus793]

wow test drive had cockpit view back then, some games today cant even do that, what a shame

[@Death_Jaw]

Ain't that the truth 7 years later and they still struggle.

[@zeke7100]

The jump from TD3 to TD4 is amazing.

[@Kj16V]

I had my headphones up loud when the music for Test Drive 1 came on: Arrgh, 8-bit sawtooth waveform cutting into my brain!!

[@Zocker1998]

+Kj16V ´haha, me too :D

[@ChoboUnjeon]

Ouch.

[@bimbumbam6305]

Listen the amiga version, is better than this shit of speakers

[@chris-do]

@@bimbumbam6305 even the C64 Sound was much better

[@opethopeth]

should have showed Test Drive and Test Drive 2 with better sound than pc speaker. The intro with the Test Drive 2 music is amazing. I believe the two games were ahead of its time (and even better with a propper soundcard)! played it a lot on our Amiga 500 and the music always made me pick up this game over and over!

[@Zocker1998]

i´m waiting for TDU3 :D

[@Zocker1998]

+Adam Demeter (Agginon) yes, but Eden Games was looking for programer. This was the last update, How i know :)

[@Zocker1998]

+Adam Demeter (Agginon) yes, i know. they went to Ubisoft :)

[@Zocker1998]

+Adam Demeter (Agginon) This game, i didn't know

[@kookiekat1586]

The crew is made by half the people of who made tdu2 and it's really good

[@Zocker1998]

+Kookie Kat i know i had the game for PS4 :D

[@KevinLCrawford]

I still say the best "Test Drive" was the original and maybe Test Drive II. It was cool when you weren't forced to win races to try things out and it was just 'go from point A to point B as fast as you can and don't get pulled over'

[@xd-pv8pm]

See you in 2021 when Test Drive will show how a racing game is made

[@gonzisonsbc]

This video is amazing. I never knew test drive went back that far. I started with 5 for PS1 and loved it.

[@bigsmoke8256]

I believe Test Drive Unlimited 1 is the best Test Drive in the series. It is literally what Test Drive is supposed to be.

[@GyroPyro121212]

The engine and burnout sounds on the older games are so advanced compared to other games of that time just having beeps and music.

[@AirplaneGaming3011]

In TD3, I died hearing the kindergarten radio music, and the car sounded like a hair shaver. XD

[@ClassicGaminer2014]

The audio in Test Drive 3 is just a soundblaster audio, you can change the audio settings if you got a Roland MT-32 feature for the game.

[@ratix98]

ClassicGaminer 2017 still doesn't help. only 1 good radio station and the add-on had ok music still. truly appreciate what it brought to the table. my entire childhood for racing Sims were TD 1 through 3 and speed racer

[@jos2294]

Test drive 5 and 3 were my favourite. I play TD5 till this day.

[@Nachx912]

Yes :D Test Drive 4, 5, 6 my favourite

[@jesseochieng]

test drive ..man I remember the very first one came out I was so hyped bk then....shit!!! just realized ...I'm old :( ...stupid cops and banana peels always stressed me out lol ....playing manual was also a hard thing for me bk then was only 7yrs old so lol man the memories :)

[@jonnekallu1627]

I remember as a kid when I played Test Drive III how the 3d environment blew me away and I was amazed it's open-world nature. I just went off to a gravel road and followed the power lines for the fun of it.

[@schlafanzyk]

Holy shit, test drive was conceived the same year as me. Test Drive 4 was one of the first games I owned.

[@terrydalton4516]

Loved the video, brought back allot of memories. I also owned every one of these games over the years. Think I started on a Commadore 64. Thanks for sharing! Maybe some of the video clips weren't yours, but you put the collection together, so you own it. Also brought back memories of the dreaded load buffer wheel LOL. Racing Games sure have came a LONG way since then Great job!

[@mrjohny193]

am i the only person in the world which didn't get disappointed when they got tdu2? man i love that game, i finished all championships and cups in less than a month.

[@terabyte13]

i remember getting TDU1 on release day and sayng OMG THIS IS SO REAL the graphics aged sooo well!!

[@RoStarsHD]

Agreed

[@Temazine]

+TeraByte Yeah I got it from my father... I was so excited to play until I had realized that my pentium 4 couldn't handle it -.-

[@botbeamer]

+TeraByte me too but I have the game still and on ps2 it looks a million times better than the video. it looks like the same as gt 4 I would say.

[@botbeamer]

***** 16

[@maciej.matt-pack.paczka]

I played on 386 40 and was smooth

[@evanschulz7375]

Crazy memories watching this. I played TD1 when I was 11. Still before the days of the Sound Blaster.

[@DJTrickiMusic]

Test Drive 1 is better than Gran Turisimo 2013

[@lewishuysmans7921]

Well not really.

[@vermin1970]

Wow what a deep and meaningful comment. I am moved..

[@steviewonder56]

***** Have a cookie. (.3.)

[@rage9one]

nice try lol

[@caidee]

***** Because your pc can't run rivals just 80s games.

[@vuur150]

Came here from the recent ZoominGames retro game video, really nice to find exactly what I wanted.

[@TheOutty500]

I'm 16 and TD Overdrive was my childhood

[@Pioggiaxz]

22:56 Eu joguei muito esse Test Drive quando eu era criança e posso dizer que me diverti demais jogando com meu irmão e meu pai! Tenho saudades da época do PS2, que época incrível!

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

We never bought any more Test Drive games after 3, because we thought they were more of the same with more unforgiving crash physics, despite the 5 year gap and that the majority of racing games had changed thanks to the success of NFS. Even so, I did eventually had a go at Test Drive Unlimited and enjoyed it. I even liked the sequel despite what many people thought. Ferrari Challenge, not quite as much.

[@fambertrini8032]

Omg would play these test-drive games on my windows 95 and 98 computer for hours I miss those days

[@arkangel11004]

I agree. TDU1 not only seemed to run better on my system, but also allows for addons. It also seemed more visually appealing to me than TDU2.

[@Osokor33]

Thx for video, clarksonfan92. I like this series. TD Offroad is absent in this movie. I play in different times and full passed the next games: 1987- Test Drive (real hardcore, my favorite) 1989 Test Drive II The Duel (hardcore, my favorite) 1990 Test Drive 3 The Passion 1997 Test Drive 4 (some hard, my favorite) 2006 Test Drive Unlimited

[@maugustyniak]

OH MY FUCKING GOD! I can't believe someone actually made a move of this. You're amazing. I remember playing the originals in DOS. *sigh*

[@6r4ff3r]

You forgot some Test Drive titles: Offroad, Le Mans and Ferrari Legends. And seriously, your TDU2 footage should be better. I played a lot TD3 when i was 8 years old, and some years later i discovered TD1 and TD2. But TDU1 was the best. 200 hours spent and still playing. I love to take a car from garage from some of my own houses and cruising like there's no tomorrow. Sometimes it's the pleasure to appreciate your own car in all details. But i did more kms in a bike (Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10) than some of my cars. I never tried TDU2. Don't have computer to run fluid and i didn't like what they did with driving physics.

[@TheMyteeQuinn]

tdu2 has the same driving physics as tdu1 but tdu2 has more cars and better quality, but the down side to tdu2 is you cant buy used cars from other people or go to that secret island.

[@pyro111100]

Quinn Honestly, I'm glad you can't buy used cars online anymore. People (me included) would list a skyline for 400M, and wait for a money hacker to buy it and give me unlimited monies without me doing a thing. It literally forces you to PLAY THE GAME YOU BOUGHT.

[@DeepDiveDevin]

Who else got here from Ross's Game Dungeon?

[@GaroTD2]

I love Test Drive Unlimited 1 and 2 :p One of my favorite games.

[@ianmccown2934]

Had so much fun on test drive unlimited for my psp, I could drive anywhere around oahu, and do whatever I want, but test drive unlimited 2 was more restricted and I hated it... anyone else agree?

[@firstnamelastname-oy7es]

Ian Mccown You could explore all of the island of Ibiza and all of the Hawaii map from test drive unlimited 1 as well, so there are more areas to explore not less. The handling of the cars sucked in TDU2 compared to 1 but that's the only downside (It's a big one for most people though)

[@BKooy-mf2rq]

[@Temazine]

+Ian Mccown yeah me that's why I hate tdu2... You can't simply buy yourself a kawasaki zx10r, tune it to lvl 3 and have some fun goofing around on the street or easily winning the insland tour race. In tdu2 you have to f-ing pay real money for "dlc cars" and even bikes. I know the devs want to make profit, but this goes too far. It simply makes the game not fun anymore :(

[@willgibbins171]

Me I hate test drive 2 I got it on Xbox 360. And I got test drive unlimited on Xbox as well and I like it a lot better

[@blackjacket_]

TDU 1 is still a masterpiece. TDU 2 is overhyped-by-developers shit. There is nothing what they were telling us throughout those long pre-trailers about the game.

[@MagicAyrtonforever]

+nonickname100 Agree TDU2 was and still is a steaming turd.

[@noahreeves05]

nonickname100 you can't even get tdu1 on xbox anymore :( i had to get tdu2 and it's decent but the 1 is better

[@mastercheapgamer278runners9]

+Noah Reeves Yep, I think they did it on their own way, which was a great thing on the TDU2 game.

[@adam_jar]

Agree :/

[@GrimRiffs3131]

Dude test drive eve of destruction was the best. And i still have it to this day (2017)

[@GyroPyro121212]

Thank you for putting together this awesome video.

[@Victinion7060]

The Test Drive Unlimited featured in this video is the PC version, released in 2006 along with the Xbox 360 version. In 2007, the Xbox and PS2 versions were released

[@madacsg]

I remember Test Drive(!) we played in '89 - "Wow, we are in the car!!" My favorite diving game were been Pitstop II... :) Graphics aged, well... ;)

[@LegacyIvyTerascale]

21:02 WAY ahead of it's Time

[@adam_jar]

Test Drive I/II My dad childhood, Test Drive Unlimited, my childhood. Btw i still playing this xD

[@easyontheeyes78]

The earlier versions of this game definitely look like the birth of the Hard/Race Drivin video game

[@SorinelTvOficial]

I love those gmes,i played all in my childhood thanks very much

[@PremiumFuelOnly]

Its interesting how 3D graphics have improved to the point that we put them in the dashboard of a car now.

[@sebastianechevarria4677]

i like that tdu 1 and tdu2 both use some of the same textures and sound effects

[@sebianaprelaj9010]

That music is scary and the car sound it's like a gun

[@ghost085]

Test Drive 3 was basically open-world racing. In 1990.

[@Ckoz2829]

Oh I get it. It’s called Test Drive 5 because it’s 5 minutes of menus and 5 seconds of gameplay!

[@Kaervek1]

I'll not tell about the game, but TD4 and TD5 had for sure the best soundtracks. I listen to them even nowadays.

[@shooptubecod]

I love how he missed all of the Test Drive: Offroads. Those were fun for their time.

[@Visroker]

Wel... Im playing Testdrive Unlimited on my Xbox360, and is my favorite game so far!

[@joaodaniel5098]

i need tdu3 pls

[@joaodaniel5098]

the crew isnt even close of tdu quality

[@usifairlines7157]

+t3pp0 The Crew..

[@cepibolla]

PRECISAMOS DE TDU3

[@BANGKOKM3]

R.I.P Test Drive Series (1987-2012) Because Eden games has been Shutdown. So I like this game and never leave it. Goodbye Test Drive.

[@wonkydude1]

This really takes me back. Thanks for posting!

[@tamastabi3182]

Good video, but I miss the C64 version of test drive

[@rodneyram5172]

Test drive 5 was the very fist game I played on the Playstation. Had awesome music and gameplay was fun :)

[@matoatlantis]

Oh boy, I remember crashing my mom's computer with the virus I brought in with TD1. I was 6 or so. I thought virus can eat the computer :') Argh, good times. There was a similar game to TD but I don't remember the name. You were racing against a computer, were able to tune the car and buy new one from newspaper.

[@ayoungperson3408]

Jesus TDU1 hasnt aged well. Looks older than NFS 5

[@andreblum]

only now, after 25 years, do I realize that those beeps when accelerating mean to be squealing tires.

[@SaugotChowdhury]

thanx for the upload bro

[@G2097]

Test Drive i and II: Beep boop beep boop. Test Drive III: HOLY SHIT, ACTUAL MUSIC! (terrible music, but still.)

[@CalculateDevice]

Starting with the Test Drive 4, the machines became invulnerable.

[@minimalischminimalisxh9668]

Damn, remember this playing on hercules or cga..

[@andrewdupuis1151]

Great games I have all then besides 2001 TD Overdrive , 2004 Test Drive Eve of Destruction. Test Drive Unlimited 1 ,2 are the best

[@BambooBob]

I remember an early version where there were bug splatters on the windshield and you could see a cop car chasing you in the rear view mirror. Don't remember the version, but it was early 90's

[@MrStabby19812]

Sounds like test drive 2 on the snes

[@GREATGOOGOLYMOOGOLY]

I STILL have Test Drive 5, and it's a miracle that it actually STILL WORKS on Windows 7. For the record, Edinborough was my fav track. Oldest TD I have is the first Test-Drive Offroad. No difference between the five featured vehicles except color.

[@Some1fromTheCrowd]

Great upload, Thank you!

[@thefirkman7400]

We really need a remake or sequel to Eve of Destruction.

[@KyleStratacusDrewry]

I saw the screenshot of the old Test Drive. OH MEMORIES! First racing game I ever played on PC.

[@tedwoe]

HA! Thanks so much for loading this video! It was great seeing these games again! Test Drive was one of my favorites! Our goal on the first race was to try and get a perfect score every time! And Test Drive III...my game used to do the exact same thing! The graphics looked horrible! I always thought, "How the hell did the first two games look so good and the third one looked like shit? LOL"

[@tedwoe]

Oh yeah, and the steering was damn near impossible to keep the car on the road too!!

[@WindBendsSteel]

damn, its been so much time, and i still remember the tracks like the palm of my hand.

[@quatreiquorizawa9885]

Amazed by the retro games

[@joseantonioromeropalma3835]

I have test drive 4, 5 and 6 and I missing this games, the first one was test drive 6, I bought it without having a psx yet and then I start collect them

[@LaserPowah]

Nice video but there are parts that makes me wanna say "JUST PICK A CAR ALREADY!"

[@NMAV111]

Atari must do the "3" for PS4/XboxOne...

[@JOKERSGOPRO]

Atari is over/dead/mia/toast best of all shut down

[@NMAV111]

+THE JOKER Yeah, i noticed that on the other day. Such a shame... Maybe the company who now owns their rights lauch a new one... who knows?

[@JOKERSGOPRO]

Osprey11 lol maby but I dont think anyone owns anything anymore I think ots fully dead

[@NMAV111]

+THE JOKER :(

[@JOKERSGOPRO]

Osprey11 but atri sucked so im =)

[@nobrubgp]

The first was awesome that time. Better grafics than enduro but enduro were more fun

[@RustamZeynalov]

Overall good, but you forgot to several projects in this series! TD: Off road..2..3..4 TD: Le Mans 24 Hours TD: V-Rally...2 Perhaps something more Please add this game review

[@DickotheClown]

Test drive off road wide open is the definition of my childhood

[@charliellorente]

Nice vid, but all the menu parts are unsmokable....LOL, Race gameplay is what we want to see!

[@digitaldreamer8637]

So good. Bring back some great memories!

[@DickotheClown]

Test drive eve of destruction: THE BEST ONE!!!!

[@milkman1963007]

It was from a virtual blocked world to a 3D blocked world to a 3D cars, Blocky 3D people to a 3D enviroment.with 3D people. then it had grapics to make it look like need for speed. And that is the evolution of Test Drive!

[@spikejames4995]

Td 1987 was one of my first games on pc fucking brutal days as kid man

[@cladam81]

man that music at the start of the first one takes me back a while. good memories :)

[@davidbrock828]

Test Drive Unlimited 2006 still play it now, I own 3 cars that are in it, sometimes I will drive to the soundtrack of the game and its like your living it... A plus when you are in Hawaii and do it!!!

[@steviewonder56]

I remember playing TDU 5 and 6, plus I have that Test Drive Offroad one

[@JakeButlerx]

Eventhough I owned test drive eve of destruction I never payed enough attention to realize its a test drive game because it was completely different to all the others

[@poomposhka]

Test Drive Unlimited Forever!!!!

[@unbindall2955]

TDU: Eve of Destruction, didnt know about this game o_O It is like FlatOut.

[@moffepolle]

It´s fun to hear that the stewardess has the same voice as the sat nav

[@Hotshotter3000]

Test Drive 3 is still my favorite. I just played it right now.

[@mrscruffy8045]

Yeah, i can confirm: That is EXACTLY how my real life ferrari testarossa sounds, too. (jk)

[@resonantVoid]

I played the 4 and im still playing it. I really recommend it

[@maxmattt]

That’s pretty impressive for 87

[@jam2theongie836]

Had no idea driven to destruction was part of the test drive franchise

[@thenostalgic__7945]

R.I.P Test Drive saga

[@julianarjah1175]

maybe not yet

[@rogelioproa559]

you're right: www.mcvuk.com/news/read/bigben-has-acquired-the-test-drive-brand/0176762

[@jschwind435]

What the hell were they thinking for the sound effects in TD3? Yikes. Still pretty cool though.

[@Antarath]

I like how the car interior looks sweet but the rest looks like Stunts, and well..the music sounds like some kindergarten stuff

[@Antarath]

Antarath oh and the car sounds like a chainsaw with the chain off of the track

[@posey9573]

Antarath The 3D graphics look nice but all the pictures and the music are a real turn off.

[@luminitabeu5957]

Antarath Stunts was slightly different, as TD3 haves shadowed polygons, while in Stunts there was no shadows at all.... And the background is not like Stunts, it missed the tropical, city, country, alpine, and desert backgrounds....and TD3 has no clouds. That is why stunts is better.

[@Shadow1986]

that game was friggin amazing for its time.

[@arthuraraujo8190]

2013 - New test Drive : The Crew

[@wesleybarnett6671]

ya but its not the same. i loved good old tdu 2 and tdu

[@PlinkyVR]

Wesley Barnett same both great games

[@allwayspepsicola]

for the graphics to get better does the screen have to get smaller ?

[@Amusia727]

FINALLY, a guy who isn't some ferrari fanboy

[@easyontheeyes78]

I have never seen this game before. However I totally would have played it

[@kristianbenz8887]

The TD (Unlimited) series are the best games ever