Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends

In the end, Test Drive Ferrari Racing Legends is everything that a Ferrari fan could ask for from the sturdy gameplay, decent graphics and even multiplayer to challenge your friends and enemies.

Persevere past the tail-happy nightmares from Ferrari's silver age and there's a wealth of content here to play with. To the average gamer, looking for something to tide them over until DiRT 4 arrives, this will be seen as a barebones experience that only gives up the goods after a very long courtship period. This is more geared towards the people who remember Richard [Ball Busting] Burns' Rally on the PS2, or the diehards who will do anything to have a sado-masochistic relationship with all things Ferrari. [October 2012, p75]

A surprisingly thoughtful narrative accompanies each scenario from 1947 to present. [Sept 2012, p.102]

FRL isn't worth its $50 asking price, but might be worth a purchase from Ferrari die-hards just to race in so many cars throughout the company's history. Everyone else will likely be satisfied racing in many of the company's most popular cars in other, more exciting racing games.

For carlovers, Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends is a treat. Never before have Ferrari's looked, sounded and drove more true to life in a video game. It's too bad that this powerful experience isn't complimented with solid execution and a layer of polish. The mediocre main mode is an example of that. Everyone who seriously wants to race, should look for their fix elsewhere.

A flawed game, then - but one that Enzo would, perhaps, have approved of.

Test Drive: Ferrari Racing takes us in an interesting tour through Ferrari's history. Slightly Mad Studios has created a fine racing game that still gives the impression it hasn't harnessed its full potential. The inexplicable delay suffered in Europe sealed its fate, eliminating any possibility of arousing interest.

High-speed thrills hit the wall too soon in the punishing campaign, and despite a solid range of multiplayer, quick race, and time-trial options, progressing through the three distinct eras to unlock all the tracks and sweet rides is a big part of the fun that gets trampled by the clumsy execution.

The combination of a solid racing framework with the Ferrari license could have worked out, but this is a zero-sum game that appeases nobody. Ferrari Racing Legends does not exhibit the best of what the sports car brand nor the developer have to offer.

The game overall does seem like it was made in a rush, and in a last-effort attempt to keep the Test Drive series alive, but overall, it is enjoyable if you are an avid enthusiast for racing sims.

Perhaps the biggest flaw is the lack of a sense of speed. You know there has to be something wrong when you're asking yourself whether the car is moving forward or the road and its surroundings are moving backwards. [September 2012, p.76]

A nice little package for those in love with the brand and its heritage, but there are better alternatives out there for pretty much everybody else. [Issue#221, p.79]

In the end, Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends would be a decent merchandise to get at the check-out of the Ferrari World. After all, enthusiasts can appreciate it for the wide variety of the famed manufacturers' cars. But if you're looking for a good simulation or arcade game respectively – this doesn't quite manage to be either; or a well done blend of both, for that matter.

Though a competent simulation racer, it's tough to overlook Legends' many shortcomings. [Oct 2012, p.85]

Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends looks good on paper: a huge amount of missions, a load of tracks to race on and an immense car lot. The game turns out to be Ferrari unworthy when you find out the difficulty is all over the place and the game turns into a bugfest. Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends could've used more time on the test track.

Slightly Mad Studios is responsible for Ferrari Racing Legends and it has failed – people who have given us great NFS Shifts created a weak game, as if all the manpower was focused on Project Cars. FRL looks like a game glued together by students without a big enough salary. The game has an imbalanced and badly designer campaign and lots of Ferraris to test. But the latter isn't much of an asset, because of a strictly restricted access – an ridiculously high (for most) difficulty level. You get even more irritated, when a race ends due to slight corner cutting. This game is a dud that you shouldn't think about.

In short, I didn't like it and I deeply thought about displaying a picture of it in my trashcan to express my disfavor. But I'm not going to waste any more time on it. I'd rather spend it playing something else to wash the taste of Test Drive Ferrari Racing Legends out of my mouth.