Test Drive II: The Duel

Test Drive II: The Duel brought racing in licensed sports cars, such as Ferrari or Porsche, to the Atari ST, along highway routes full of switchbacks, tunnels, and heavy traffic. The player could choose from several cars with different handling characteristics and could compete against a rival car as well as against the clock, while having to pull off dangerous maneuvers in traffic and watch out for police cars that would try to pull them over for any violation. The lineup of cars included several real sports brands, among which the player could choose according to their preferred driving style, from fast acceleration to better cornering behavior.

The game placed more emphasis on the atmosphere of fast driving through the countryside than on strict physics simulation, which made it accessible to a wider range of players. On the Atari ST, it featured solid graphics with both a cockpit view and a view from behind the car, complemented by changing environments from mountains to deserts, which set the game apart from many contemporary races confined to a single type of circuit. Engine sound and tire squeal contributed to the sense of speed and danger. Collisions with a rival, an oncoming car, or the roadside could damage the vehicle or knock it out of the race entirely, forcing the player to choose between cautious and risky driving depending on the current situation on the road.

Test Drive II: The Duel followed up on the success of the first installment and became one of the popular racing titles at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s on sixteen-bit computers. Its emphasis on licensed cars and a more open take on the track influenced numerous later arcade racing games, and it is still seen today as a pleasant blend between purely arcade and simulation approaches to the genre, one that, thanks to its accessibility and fast pace, has retained its popularity even years after release and still appears on lists of favorite Atari ST racing games.

Why play: For fans of licensed cars and a more open take on the track — a pleasant blend of arcade and simulation approaches to the genre that has kept its appeal to this day.