94 replies to this topic

[RayB NSX]

For those of you interested in this game, heres a brief reveiw:

Ok, now that I've had some time with the game its time for my review, YYYYEEEEEEEEEEHHHHAAAAWWWW!!!!!!!
This game rocks!!! For those of you who dont have it, well I dont want to pour salt into an open wound but , you are defintely missing out. Ok, hows it play? well its not as hard to pick up as F355 as the handling is really good. Dont worry about some of the mpegs you saw where the car looked like it steered with rear wheels, it does not!! The details are not on par with GT3 , and they do look a little like toys but dont forget we have 24 cars!! they have 6. But dont think tht the graphics are bad, because they are still really sweet. I dont know what frame rate this game runs at but its rock solid!! No pop up and no slowdown, none at all. The most cars I had on screen at once was eight GT2 cars and no slow down, not even a second. At night the lights from the other cars are nothing like I've ever seen, you even get bright glare that you always see on TV, buts its not fake looking it looks really well done. As far as the difficulty settings go, if you have F355. and you did good in it, dont even bother with the driver aids in this game. I havnt used the GT2 cars but the LM cars handle like a dream. You will have no difficulty adapting whatsoever. Now granted I havnt exactly tore up the competition, but this is just a matter of finding the limits of the car and getting to know the track. If you have a steering wheel, go with the in car camera view. I usually prefer the chase view but when you use the in car view you really get a sense of speed. You can see the car vibrate and you really get a sense of how bumpy the track is. I was getting a little dizzy because the car was so bouncy over the curbs. When i first got my Thrustmaster steering wheel I complained that the tremor pack didnt really give much feedback. Well this game makes so good use of the jump pack!!!You feel everything!!! Granted the track detail is not intense as F355 either but please dont let that deter you. DC owners rejoice, we have a winner !!! You will definitely enjoy this game. I was skeptical because of the Test Drive name( I associate it with crap games), as well as such an unusually small price tag, but it makes me so glad I have a DC. No PS2, and GT3? Well GT3 isnt out yet and I dont have a PS2 but even when GT3 does come out I sure wont loose any sleep because I have something thats just as fun. Oh yea, one last thing: Replays? People griped about F355 having lousy replays , well this game makes up for that. The replays are way COOOLLLL!!!! Watching all the cars at night with the glare froim the headlights and brake rotor glowing makes me giddy when I see it. I just love seeing the differences between cars that have HID lights and the ones with regular halogens.I just picked up Shenmue, but I have feeling that its gonna be awhile before I go back to it. Ok, kids for those who want it but cant find it? GO STEAL it from someone you know who does!!

[Linus27]

I am also looking forward to this, its out on friday here in the UK and it looks brilliant and all the reviews are raving about it.

[RayB NSX]

I would have to say that this may be a sleeper hit. Not much in news about it here but word of mouth has caused it to sell out fairly quickly. I dont think any of the stores were expecting such a high demand for it so they didnt get that many copies. It sells for $30.00 which I assume is about ƒ20.00

[jlove]

Yep, looking forward to this one too. With quite a few quality racing games coming out over the next few months it looks like my DC was a better investment than I thought!

[Linus27]

Yes, I feel the same. I am also gld I bought the DC instead of the giant panda cage that I was thinking about buying. DC is much more fun.











WARNING

I am in a really sarcastic mood today. Punch me if I get to annoying.

[HappyDude]

Well I got it!

First of all, it was $44 Canadian, which is an excellent price for a DC game (average is $65-$75). Only copy they had so anyone else in Guelph, tough luck:)

In a single sentence.... it's TOCA2 for LeMans.

Judge for yourself whether that's good or bad. I say this mostly because that's what the physics remind me of. It's kind of weird. Most of the elements are there, but it's obviously been made a little easier than something like F355 is. Cars seem to have a lot more understeer than oversteer, although oversteer is possible.

Found some areas that seem like canned spins but I can't be sure. Maybe not totally canned but it seemed like there was a bit of "help" in places. Certainly you can catch them some times, but others it feels like you're just going round no matter what you do. But mostly it just seems as if the cars have been set up for tons of understeer. Anyway, the physics are about the same as TOCA2 with some differences here and there. Good enough to be fun and interesting but to a real sim nut a little simplified.

Other weird stuff, like when you floor it in first from a standstill the wheels don't spin. But accelerate out of a corner too fast with the rpm's up high and you can spin the wheels and squirm around on the track very believably. It doesn't seem to me like the wheelspin is faked, it feels more like it's done properly but then they fudged it so you don't get it in first gear. You can do a donought if you really try but not nearly as easily as you should be able to with those cars.

Graphics are nice. Not great, but just pretty nice. I imagine that if they chose not to have 24 cars on the track at once they'd be spectacular, but as it is I think this is a good trade-off.

There's qualifying in championship mode. Pitstops. *VERY* simple setup. A slider for fuel level, a slider for downforce, auto or manual gears, and your choice of tires. This is dissapointing to say the least. Some rudimentary setup would have been nice for those of us who wanted to get rid of the massive understeer. Oh well.

AI is.... well I think they're good. This is a positive thing, in that I can't tell yet, because I went straight to expert mode (to avoid the driving aids which are on by default in intermediate mode) and haven't been able to keep up with them. So I can tell you that they're fast, but I don't know if they race well when you're near them. Should provide a challenge though.

No online play or even storing of hotlaps on the net. Boohoo. Nice choice of cars. Only tried a few so far. 24 hour mode if you have no life:) No damage modelling at all, but I've never seen a console racer that does, so that's to be expected.

Overall I like it. But then I liked TOCA2 alot. That's probably your best yardstick. IMO it's going to be a fun game with lots of replay value. And the price is certainly right. If enough people get it I'd love to have a hotlap competition on the BB.

Cheers

[green-blood]

I haven't seen the game I dont even have a DC but you saya few times that the cars have a lot of understeer, hmm, welcome to endurance racing.

[HappyDude]

Yeah? I don't really know what I should expect from the handling for these types of cars, maybe your're right - that's what it should be like. Just seemed very severe to me. Like you *really* have to try hard to get oversteer, as in go into a corner too fast and crank the wheel over as fast as you can and you might knock the rear wheels loose. Would have been nice to have some setup options to alter the handling a bit more. But I played it a bit more last night and it definitely is an enjoyable game.

[green-blood]

yeah understandable, this is the thing with GT games, a proper enduro GT sim, now SIM not game, will be pretty boring, its all about getting to the end swiftly and not breaking the car as opposed to balls out speed such as sprint style Grand Prixs, I think you are right its all about perceptions.

[Linus27]

COOOL. I loved TOCA 2 so I can't wait to get this tomorrow.

[goGoGene]

I should be getting this soon. Sign me up for for the best lap comp*.

ggg

*it'll be my first, so be gentle ;)

[Linus27]

I got Le Mans today (40 pounds, bloddy rip off merchants in the UK) and my first thought was WOW, this looks amazing, better than F355 Ferrari. Then I played some more and thought, oh bugger, something not right with this. Then played some more and saw the best graphics I have ever seen. Sunrise or dusk at Catalunya. WOW. Then I tried the Chrysler Viper and boy was that fun, slides like they do in real life. You can feel the tyres trying to break away, fighting for traction. Then, out of a corner to fast and spin 180. FANTASTIC. I sussed what I did not like. Each car has different handling and I drove one which I hated. The GT2 Porsches are great fun but hard. Back end wanting to step out all the time. Another amazing thing is the vortexes coming off the prototypes rear wings. Never ever seen that and it looks brilliant. This game is wicked especially the Le Mans circuit and doing a 24 hour race, going through night and day.

ALL DC OWNERS MUST BUY THIS. THEN GO TO DONNINHTON IN THE VIPER AND HAVE SOME FUN.

[HappyDude]

Hey, glad you like it Linus. I figure we should start a comp for LeMans as well, but let's wait awhile until enough other people have it and learn to drive it. We'll have to think up some different rules too because of all the different classes of cars. Plus I don't want to detract from F355, which I'm starting to really get the hang of now...

Two good racing games for the DC! I really hope this is going to prove to alot of other companies that you can have success with console racing games that aren't just pure arade racers. I think F355 has probably been a commercial success already, but I'm not sure how LeMans will do, especially at the price it's going for.

[Jase]

Oh Man, looks like yet another game that I am going to HAVE to buy. Owning a DC is just so damned expensive!

[Jase]

BTW, where are you buying your games from Linus? My local independant has Le Mans, brand spanking new, for £30.00

[Dudley]

I ordered mine for £30 from http://www.ukgames.com

[Linus27]

Jase

Electronic Boutique but it was 40 quid. Where or what is your local independant. 30 quid is much better than my 40.

[Jase]

Linus, my local independant is called Games Empire. They own a few outlets around Greater Manchester. Don't know if that's any help to you though.

[Linus27]

jase

No not really being down south but I do pop to Warrington now and again so I could go into Manchester I guess.

[hannu]

I´m going to buy that game as soon as i can, and when there are enough players we could take a competition.BUT Let´s still play F355!!

[Linus27]

Yes, one thing at a time. Lets finish F355 first, there are not many tracks so it won't take long and then we could think about doing Le Mans if enough people are interested.

For those who have Le Mans, have you done a quick race at Catalunya, not the full circuit but the smaller one. Now is that sunset not the best graphics you have ever seen???

For those interested, I also got Quake III today. Looks good but a mouse and keyboard is a must. Virtual tennis. This is a blast and will be great in 2 player mode. ready 2 Rumble 2. Seems OK, better graphics than 1, same gameplay but a bit slower. Silent Scope seems OK if not a bit thin and acradey. Virtual Athlete looks like fun but not the best track and field game I have played but still OK. Sega GT is crap, really really bad. Do not touch it.

[jlove]

Got Le Mans yesterday, but didn't have much time on it. Had a quick race at Donnington in a GT2 Porche. Seems OK, but there doesn't seem to be much feedback when driving - I find it hard to know when I'm near the limit. The driving experience seems a bit 'flat' compared to F355 - I guess I've been spoilt ;-)

Linus - I didn't know Quake III and Sega GT were out in UK yet, or are they imports?

[Linus27]

Thats a big fat dandy YES to imports.

[goGoGene]

Okay, so I'm in line to get my free copy of TD Le Mans from work (life is tough). I've been driving the DC F1 game, like it a lot. Is there a better steering wheel for the DC? I use the DC steering wheel, it's okay, but it's a bit cheap.

ggg

[Linus27]

gogogene

First of,

1. Why is your game free??? Did you not read the small print??? Enter this forum and you have to get us all a free copy :)

2. Is it F1 World Grand Prix?? What are the AI like??

3. Get the Thrustmaster Ferrari wheel. It is the best for the DC.

[HappyDude]

Do you have the Ferrari wheel Linus? I'm thinking my latest time for Suzuka short in F355 won't hold up if you find some better music (try Phish...) so I'd better get myself a wheel. I'm also looking at the Mad Catz wheel, which has a stick shift that looks kinda nice. And of course there's still the option of the DC cartridge for my ActLabs wheel but I can't decide.

[hannu]

Happudude: Buy Ferrari Wheel, it´s best. Absolutely!

[Linus27]

HappyDude

yes, I would buy the Ferrari wheel also apart from the fact that my ActLabs has snapped. The wheel came away from the stem and so it is useless and so is the shifter now . I need to buy a new wheel for my PC first which will probably be the Ferrari one also as I can't be bothered to order a new ActLabs from Canada at the moment. Probably will once WSC comes out. So once I have a new PC wheel then I will buy the Ferrari one for the DC.

[jlove]

Well, played this a bit more last night and I have to say I am becoming more and more impressed by this game. The changing daylight and weather effects are absolutely superb, and the tracks are surprisingly accurate and detailed. There is also a very good sense of speed when barrelling down the Mulsanne straight at 300kph! The detailing on the cars is obviously limited compared to F355, but we do get 24 of the so I musn't grumble. Do they appear to be a little 'stretched' though, or are my eyes funny?

The gameplay looks to be tuned fairly well, racing to unlock championships, tracks and cars ensures some longevity, as if a 24h race wasn't longevity enough. That alone has to be one of the more innovative gameplay elements in a driving game for some time. The AI is certainly competitive enough on Expert level, it will take some practice to get myself out of the midfield, but they are a little bit to keen to try and take the racing line when you are on it.

Gripes:
1) the ghost car is not transparent, so when hotlapping a fraction slower than your best time you can't see a thing and quickly crash. F355 is the benchmark here.
2) The driving model is just a little too simplified for my liking, making all the cars feel a little 'samey'. I suppose this is to be expected with 40 cars to drive rather than just 1.
3) A few more setup options would be nice - more levels of downforce to fine tune it a little and some suspension settings to alter the feel of the car would have been welcome.

Overall a very solid game that I can see myself playing for sometime: 9/10, and it would be 10/10 if they had fixed a couple of the gripes above. I just wish it had come out a bit later after F355 so that I had time spend the time on both that they deserve. Here's to another quality racer on the DC - now roll on GP3!

I've actually got a PS2 arriving very soon and I'm wondering what I'm going to play on it what with F355 and Le Mans on my DC - The Matrix DVD by the looks of it....

[HappyDude]

Linus that really sucks about your ActLabs wheel - I have a friend on Toronto who had exactly the same thing happen to him - there's a thread inthe GP3 forum on HighGear about it (his nickname is ][udson) and one of the guys from ActLabs responded to him. You should post on that thread too and let him know the same thing happened to you. ActLabs offered to sell him a refurbished wheel, but perhaps if more than one person complains about it, and in public, they'll do something about it.

[goGoGene]

Okay so I've read about the Ferrari* wheel, and the price is right, and the review was positive. But they only talked about it for the PC, can this be used for the DC? Could you explain how I would do this?

I work at a company that is involved in audio, and there is a game division. I don't work in that division, but they have consoles and games that you can check out, for very very long periods of time, like I hope that they forget that I have the DC and these games. They folks over there are pretty tight with Sega, and get free games all the time, I make a request, and it's mine.

* Now I just have to get over the Ferrari logo, I'm not really a fan of the scarlet ones. Of course if Tag McLaren made a wheel I would be carbon fiber and cost $2000.

ggg

p.s. does the force feedback work with any DC games?

[HappyDude]

The Ferrari wheel you're most likely talking of for the PC is made by Guillemot (sp?) - a French company. The Fereari wheel for the PC is a completely different product made by Thrustmaster. They just both happen to have a sponsorship deal with Ferrari.

So no, no force feedback with DC games, regardless of the wheel you use. The best you can get is the stupid "Jump Pack" thing or whatever it's called, but that's just vibrations, not dynamic resistance of the wheel.

[Mellon]

HappyDude:
Thrustmaster is a part of Guillemot afaik.

[HappyDude]

oh? doh! But anyway, they're still separate wheels...

[Jase]

goGoGene, could you sort me out with free DC games and a Tag Mclaren wheel ;)

[Linus27]

gogogene

Could you also sort me out a free DC game and a Prost wheel.

[goGoGene]

Prost wheel, is that the one that falls off half way through the game?

ggg

[Linus27]

ggg

Thats the one It also stops working half way through a race, disables mirrors at the Spanish tracks but gives great confidence at overtaking from miles back especially at Austria :) Must have a couple of them lying about??

[HappyDude]

Upon further examination.....

- Definitely canned spins. Yuck. That really really irritates me.

- But on the plus side, fantastic AI. The expert level AI really are expert level. They make the odd believable mistake too, like occasionally getting on the gas out of a corner too early and having a little slide. Looks fantastic when you're behind them. They fight you really hard and make passing moves where you'd expect. Unlike all other console racers I've played (excpet of course F355) you can always have a close race. I started out battling with the backmarkers and had some great races. Then as I got better I was battling with the midfielders and had some great races. Now that I've got a couple of the courses sorted out pretty well I'm battling with the 3rd-5th place runners and have had some amazing races. Compare this to Sega GT, and the Gran Turismo series, where you get your ass kicked, then buy some parts for your car and suddenly you win by 30 seconds.

[jlove]

I am having trouble with the Championship mode. I have completed the Rookie GT series in first place twice, but it doesn't seem to unlock the next championship (Pro GT?). I have been running in Intermediate (wimp I know but wanted to learn the tracks without watching all the AI vanish into the distance...!), so maybe it only saved progress on Expert. Then again I have done a 30mins race at Le Mans in Intermediate and it did save that, so....any clues?

HappyDude, I find the AI are a little too keen to push you off the track - its too hard to run side by side with these guys. How do you find it?

[hannu]

I have Ferrari wheel at Dreamcast -Made by Guillemot and
Ferrari wheel at ps1 -made by Thrusmaster, and guess what; my Dreamcast´s version´s pedals broked and I take pedals at playstation wheel and put them my dreamcast Ferrari wheel and it worked! So Isn´t them made at same factory?

I bought Le Mans test drive yesterday and it´s very impressive.

[RayB NSX]

For those of you who dont notice much feedback from the game you have to use the expert setting. When you use intermediate all the driving aids counteract wheelspin, oversteer , understeer, and especially your brakes locking up. Once you use expert you'll notice a big change in how the jumppack responds to what the car is doing. The difference is like night and day. And yes the Ferrari wheel works great for the game, EXCEPT: you cant use the paddle shifters. The shifters are routed to the X&Y buttons, but the game does not allow you to use them for the shift option. This is my biggest complaint about the game. I still love this game but it still bugs me. I'm considering rewiring the buttons but I'm hesitant that I might ruin a perfectly good steering wheel for one game.

[FredF1]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry about that....

Just bought a dreamcast last Saturday - IR£100 (Pre-owned in Electronic Boutique) (One of my flatmates had a PS1 and moved out leaving me console-less).

Thanks to you guys on here - I bought Le Mans.....
What can I say?????
After playing the same version on PS1..... And boy did THAT suck!
I have seen the light - I am a wayward sinner who has found the true path....
I was literally gibbering when I first saw the rain effects - I can't praise them highly enough - The way the 'drops' splatter the screen as if it were an onboard camera - the way the distance just vanishes in gloom and spray and you barrel into the next bend not knowing where the hell you are going!!!
The AI is pretty neat too - the way that some cars are more aggressive than others - come the next race - you stay well clear of them!
I love the way that cars make 'mistakes' I raced Donnington, in 3rd, when the 2nd placed car took the corner too wide and I sailed through hollering 'Wahoo!'
And the way that hitting a marker cone makes it skip along the track & the way the tires leave track marks in the grass..... (I'll stop now, I just want to climb out the window and run home to play it some more!
I'll be trading in all those PS1 games I bought next weekend.
Do the F1 games already availble for DC really stink? Should I hang on for GP3 instead?

[HappyDude]

F1 games for the DC really stink.... So far F355 and LeMans are it, but they're good enough for now. Hopefully more will come out soon now that someone has shown how to do it right.

[goGoGene]

So, I finally got TDLM a few weeks ago...I had to buy it, DC is not to be supported, so I counldn't get it through work. Just Bought the Ferrari wheel, it's still at tanja's apt. So what are your hottest Le Sarthe track times? And tell me which car you use, I've been using the Toyota, Fastest is ~3:47.something, which isn't that impressive...but I am consistently sub 3:50, so that's at least something.

I've won the championship for Intermediate (piece o' cake), and got all those cars, now I'm slooooowly working my way to the expert level championship, but so far it hasn't opened any new cars...anyone know the reason for this. I was hoping to earn a Merc CLK.

ggg

[FredF1]

What car?
I prefer the BMW prototype - handles very well.
3'.47" in the Toyota sounds about right.
I've gotten it down to about 1'.43/44" at times in 24hr mode. When I've gotten into a rhythm.
Tried out the Sauber but I thought it had a nasty habit of biting me in the ass when I least expected it.
Found the Toyota super quick but a real handful on the twisty bits.

[Linus27]

FredF1

GP3 is not coming to DC now :(

I have not tried all the F1 games on the DC but F1 World Championship is crap. They did a sequel but I do not know what it is like. Also I have not tried Monaco Grand Prix or F1 Racing Championship but the general feeling is that all F1 games on the DC are crap.

F355 and Le Mans are the best.

[goGoGene]

I'll be getting F355 soon.

Sauber...what Sauber?

Were you able to open up extra cars in expert championship mode?

the 3:47 was in 24hr mode, being in the zone as well, and yes, the toyota is a handful.

I'll now be shooting for a low time in the bmw.

has anyone else noticed that you can't get info on the weather, and that if you choose softies it's sure to be raining? Wets, it's sure to be dry? Intermediate seem to be the only option, but I loos so damn much time in my first stint. the le mans god is not a benevilent god...

ggg

[Donnie Eldridge]

Linus27,

I don't know why you think F1 Championship on the DC is crap. I happen to like. If you want crap try F1 2000 on the PS2. Its got looks, but thats about it.

[goGoGene]

Ahhhh, so last night I took up the challenge an went to time trials mode. The goal time was 3:37.000, I figure that I didn't have a chance in hell, but I took out the BMW (thanks FredF1) to see what I could do.

first lap, from a dead stop 3:41...
second lap 3:39...sh!t
third lap by the start of the last sector I was only .1 seconds faster than my second lap...so I figure I don't have a chance, so I just went hell bent for leather and ended up with a...
3:35.809!

...and that's not all, for hitting the goal time I won a Mercedes CLK GT1. Didn't get a chance to race it, but it looks like a compromise between the Toyota (speed) and the BMW (handling).

The last sector was nuts, I don't know how I kept it on the road, especially on that up hill right hander.

ggg