Showing posts with label Sega Genesis retro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sega Genesis retro. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Test Drive II The Duel for Genesis (1992)

Test Drive II/ The Duel for Genesis advertisement
Original ad published in the May 1992 edition of GamePro

Historical Background


Ballistic, a branch of well known developer Accolade, released a considerable variety of video games for both Nintendo's Super NES and the Sega Genesis during the 90's. These ranged from RPG's to action games, and of course, racing games, like Test Drive II/ The Duel (1992), first released for the PC in 1989. This was habitual for Accolade. 

The Test Drive series of games, originally from 1987, was vaguely related to arcade stand-outs Hard Drivin' (1989) and Race Drivin' (1990), both released by Atari and then ported to numerous consoles and systems. Accolade was formed by Activision defectors. As you probably remember, Activision was one the largest game developers of the 80's. They had a particularly strong relationship with Atari, and produced myriad classics for the 2600 console including Star Raiders, Spider Fighter, Enduro (another brutal racing game), and H.E.R.O..

Now Test Drive was very similar indeed to Hard Drivin'. But unlike Atari's game, Test Drive was much more forgivable. Hard Drivin' and its sequels were unabashedly difficult on the PC, and insanely difficult in the arcades. These were real driving simulators. You had to physically start the car by turning a key-knob thing and clutch your way to first gear to actually start moving. Time, and your money, slowly drained away while you completed this process. The actual driving was just like real life, but in a more polygon-shaped way. Take a hard turn and the driving-wheel of the arcade cabinet would produce strong feedback. Spin out of control and the the same driving-wheel would hit you with a vicious whiplash. If your hand was caught if one the interior spokes...well, good luck at the doctor's office. When you crashed with another car, a cool replay from a panoramic camera showed the whole scene in grueling detail. In other words the arcade experience of Hard Drivin'  was awesome.

Graphical Analysis 


It was wise of Test Drive to apply the same formula to follow Atari's success. Sadly, these games never achieved the now classic fondness we remember Atari's offerings with. Their ad was curt and unimaginative. If you didn't read the small print, you would never know this was actually a Test Drive game, Too much attention is given to the briefs and too little to the actual legacy of the Test Drives series. Maybe Accolade figured console gamers had little knowledge of their series and tried to establish a new brand in their mindshare. We don't know. What we do know is that this ad was very rustic, almost childish, in a time when serious and stylish efforts of marketing where being made.  




Original Print Ad Copy of Test Drive II/ The Duel for Genesis:

When you race with "The Duel",
It's advisable to carry a spare.
The knuckles tun white. The sweat turns cold. The heart turns cartwheels. That’s what you can expect behind the wheel of the #1 racing title in the history. The Duel / Test Drive II, now for Sega Genesis.

Squeeze into de cockpit of the hyper fast Ferrari F40- a twin turbo V8 with 478 horses ready to snap your neck. Boil asphalt in the Porsche 959-the legendary road rocket that’ll do 0-60 in a stunning 3.6 seconds. Leave the launching pad in the Lamborghini Diablo-an awesome exotic with a mind-boggling top speed of 202 mph.

Race head-to-head against the computer or the clock. Blast through tight tunnels, bone-dry deserts and twisting mountain roads. Streak past confused cops and scenic cities. Jam down the highway to music tracks.

The Duel/ Test Drive II from Ballistic. If you’re scared, take the bus.
To order, visit your favorite retailer or call 1-800-245-7744