The Test Drive Off-Road concept is not a new one: driving realistic off-road vehicles on various tracks and trying to be the first one to reach the finish line.  This concept got real boring real quick because racers were typically confined to a predetermined track/route, which had to be followed to win the race.  Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open breaks the typical off-road game paradigm and resultantly allows for serious off-roaders to go anywhere they'd like, no matter how dangerous it may be.

I can't help but to start out with the graphics because they are simply stunning.  With the ability to drive around such large environments, you may think that you'd find some flaws in the scenery and/or missing details in the largely varied terrain.  This is absolutely not the case.  Great amounts of attention were obviously paid to making the environments as real and as seamless as possible and these efforts definitely paid off.  Whether looking at an object close up or one that seems like "miles" away, detail is everywhere.  Even with such large environments there are no apparent frame rate problems, even when all vehicles are present on the screen.  The vehicles themselves are also rendered very well and they almost perfectly resemble their real counterparts.  Don't expect Gran Turismo 3 style lighting effects on these vehicles, but you'll still be impressed.

Unfortunately though, the game play doesn't quite match up to the caliber of the graphics.  The three basic modes of play are: single race, career race, and free roam, which allows you to freely drive around in one of the three huge environments.  In both single and career mode, you're able to participate in three different types of races: circuit, blitz, and scramble.  A circuit race is a typical off-road race, meaning that you must navigate through a series of checkpoints in the correct order for a given number of laps.  On the well-defined tracks, utilizing hidden shortcuts is often crucial in winning these races.  A blitz race is a little less confined, as you can more easily take alternate routes to the next checkpoint, which are represented using a directional arrow on the screen.  Lastly, a scramble race, which is the most wide open, allows you activate the checkpoints in any order, rather than a predetermined one.  This mode of play is the most unique and it is the hardest to get used to.

Despite having these well thought out modes of play, Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open isn't quite as fun as it could be.  The game definitely isn't very challenging, since even on the hardest setting first place can typically be attained with ease.  The AI players will usually be close behind and they often give you a hard time when they can.  It seems as though no matter how they bump into your vehicle, you will spin out.  Contrastingly, you can slam into them and practically never get them to spin, hmm, that's weird.  Regardless of this imperfection, the game is physically accurate and you'll notice the behavior of your vehicle is similar to how it should be.  As a result, It is essential to level out your vehicle in the air to land in the best possible manner.

Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open contains many different vehicles from manufacturers, such as: Dodge, Chevrolet, Jeep, Hummer, and Ford.  Each truck, jeep, and SUV handles noticeably different than one another due to the size, weight, power, and various suspension/tire configurations of the different vehicles.  Don't expect to upgrade your vehicles with individual components though because it is not possible!  Instead you can only buy entire upgrade packages for each vehicle, which improve multiple characteristics at once.  This is a bit of a disappointment, as the upgrades are quite costly and therefore take some time to save up for (but once you get the hang of the game it's not a problem to get the necessary funds).  Luckily though, if you're sick of the truck you've been using, you can easily sell it back for the same amount you bought it for.  If only this were possible at the local car dealer too.

The sound in this game falls short of what we've all come to expect from a PS2 game.  The sounds made by the vehicles' engines, tires, and suspension are all a bit chincy to say the least.  While the soundtrack contains bands such as Metallica, Fear Factory, Digital Assassins, and Unloco; hearing Hetfield singing "give me fuel, give me fire..." every time I start up the game and also what seems like every race, gets very irritating.  

While the game is fun and somewhat addicting, Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open is far from perfect.  Large landscapes are definitely attractive to those of us who like to explore the terrain in four-wheel drive, but it will take some further innovative game play to win over the masses.

This game is rated "E" for everyone and it takes up 282KB on your PS2 memory card.

Gameplay: 7.0
Besides having the freedom to drive wherever you'd like, this game doesn't present much of anything that we haven't seen before.

Graphics: 9.0
Undoubtedly the best part of the game; the large and extremely detailed environments are among the best I've seen.

Sound: 6.0
Plain and simple the sound effects are horrible and while some popular bands were recruited for the game, I'd rather not hear the same song repeatedly.

Difficulty: 5.0
This game is a little on the easy side.

Concept: 8.5
Conceptually, the idea of creating a free-roam style off-road game is a good one, it just needs to be further refined.

Multiplayer: 8.0
This mode offers entertaining play for 1-2 players.

Overall: 7.3