Test Drive: Eve of Destruction

Test Drive: Eve of Destruction
Developer	Monster Games
Publisher	Atari
Released	Xbox NA: August 25, 2004 PlayStation 2 NA: September 7, 2004 EU: November 26, 2004
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Singleplayer Multiplayer
Ratings	ESRB: T
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2 Xbox

Test Drive: Eve of Destruction, also known worldwide in its PAL releases as Driven to Destruction, is a racing video game developed by Monster Games and published by Atari in 2004. It is based on the American sport of demolition derby, as the game is set in the United States and features old American vehicles. Thus, it is on a similar platform to the Demolition Racer: No Exit and Destruction Derby games.

Gameplay

Events

25 events are available in career mode, including Figure-8 races, Figure-8 Jump Races, Standard races, Suicide Races (the competitors are divided in tour and run the track in opposite directions), Trailer Races, and School Bus Races. Demolition Derbies and Push-Off events are designed with only one goal - destroy all other cars. However, in the push-off events, in which the event takes place on a raised platform, the player may make twice as much points by pushing cars off, instead of just wrecking them. The Deathmatch and Capture the Flag are multiplayer only events, as is Car Soccer. There are also novelty races such as the gauntlet, where a lone hearse must complete a race without being destroyed by a horde of other cars; Detention, where an invincible bus must stop all cars from finishing; and Survival, in which the player must complete a point-to-point race in 60 seconds while the other cars try to destroy them.

Vehicles

Main article: Test Drive: Eve of Destruction/Vehicles

The game includes hearses, buses, ambulances, Police Cars, taxis, and other vehicles.

Soundtrack

1. Hoobastank - Same Direction
2. Hoobastank - Out Of Control
3. Rob Zombie - Never Gonna Stop
4. Sum 41 - Still Waiting
5. Thrice - The Artist in the Ambulance
6. Thursday (band) - Between Rupture And Rapture
7. Autopilot Off - What I Want
8. Northcote, Jehan - Anarchy 1
9. MacDonald, New as-Crawler
10. Jordan - Guitar Armada
11. Bumblefoot - Timebomb
12. Bumblefoot - American Rock 'N' Roll
13. Chris Goulstone ~ Keith Adams - Smashed

The game features a varied mix of rock and metal songs, as well as one 'Old Tyme Racing' piano song that replaces the normal soundtrack when the mode of the same name is enabled.

Reception

Test Drive: Eve of Destruction was met with mixed to positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Xbox version 74.70% and 72/100 and the PlayStation 2 version 71.58% and 73/100.

Trivia

• Beating various 'Dare' events, such as a flagpole race with a school bus, will unlock numerous cheats and hidden game modes, ranging from a sped-up mode to a black and white 'old tyme racing' mode to a mode where cars can fire missiles.
• The game includes a Career mode where players start with a weak car and progress to better ones, attending events and challenging other racers to make money and raise their 'ranking'. Every raise of 10 levels will unlock a hidden movie. These movies are primarily footage from Spike TV's Carpocalypse show, and include commentary from the drivers and footage of events such as the trailer and figure eight bus races.
• Originally the game was going to be released as Driven to Destruction, but it was renamed in mid-2004 and absorbed into the Test Drive series. The Driven to Destruction name was kept for PAL regions.

Media

• Screenshots
• Videos