Like the original
Test Drive, the focus of
The Duel is driving exotic cars through dangerous highways, evading traffic, and trying to escape
police pursuits. While the first game in the series had the player simply racing for time in a single scenario,
Test Drive II improves upon its predecessor by introducing varied scenery, and giving the player the option of racing against the clock or competing against a computer-controlled opponent. The player initially is given the opportunity to choose a car to drive and a level of difficulty, which in turn determines whether the car will use an
automatic or
manual transmission—the number of difficulty options varies between gaming platforms.
Levels begin with the player's car (and the computer opponent, if selected) idling on a roadway. Primarily these are two to four lane public
highways with many turns; each level is different, and they include obstacles such as bridges, cliffs, and tunnels in addition to the other cars already on the road. Each level also has one or more police cars along the course. The goal of each level is to reach the gas station at the end of the course in the least amount of time. Stopping at the gas station is not mandatory, and one could drive past it if inattentive. The consequence of not stopping is running out of gas, and thus losing a car (life). The player begins the game with five lives, one of which is lost each time the player crashes into something. The player is awarded a bonus life for completing a level without crashing or running out of gas. In addition to losing a life, crashing adds thirty seconds to the player's time. Cars can crash into other traffic or off-road obstacles such as trees or by falling off the cliff on one of the mountain levels. They can also sustain too much damage by staying off the roadway for too long on the flatland levels. Players can also lose a life when using a manual transmission by
redlining and consequently blowing the
engine. Crashing into a police car instantly ends the game, regardless of the number of lives the player has left. Police cars appear in each level, and if the player is driving faster than the speed limit when encountering one of them, the police car will follow in pursuit. If at any point while being pursued the police car is able to pass the player's car, the player is forced to pull over and receives a
ticket stating the offense and the speed of the vehicle. While this does not cost the player a life, it does take away valuable time. Players can avoid being pursued by police by slowing down before encountering them, anticipating them through the aid of a
radar detector, which is standard in all vehicles in the game.
Vehicles In the standard version of
Test Drive II, the player has the option of using one of two vehicles (three in the 1992 console versions of the game). These vehicles are presented at the beginning of the game with technical specifications, including top speed,
torque, and
acceleration rates. The cars included a
Porsche 959 and a
Ferrari F40. The third car is a
Lamborghini Diablo, only available in the console versions.
Courses Computer versions The computer versions of the game provided one course, referred to by the game as "Master Scenery", consisting of several stages. Each stage had one of three possible locations: a desert, with cacti along the side of the road; a mountain, with a sheer rock wall on one side of the highway and a cliff on the other, and occasionally a tunnel through the mountain; and a grassy area with trees.
Console versions There are four available courses in the console versions of the game with varying length and difficulty. Each is a route on a public highway in a different part of the continental
United States. The courses included are: •
"Desert Blast (Easy)" - seemingly takes place somewhere in the
US Southwest. •
"City Bound (Medium)" - it is not entirely clear where this takes place, but in various parts of the course,
Mount Rushmore can be seen, so the course is likely to take place in the
US Midwest. •
"East Coast (Hard)" - takes place in the eastern U.S., with the last section of the course including a view of the
New England coast. •
"West Coast (Hardest)" - takes place in the
US West Coast, and is the longest and most difficult course in the game. The
Seattle skyline and
Space Needle can be seen in the beginning parts of the course. The game can technically be "won" if the players are not stopped by the law, at which point an animated female police officer and the player character smile at each other. If the player is apprehended by law enforcement for various infractions, including evasion of police, on any course, the end sequence shows the same female police officer placing the player under arrest. It's virtually impossible to complete any given course without a police confrontation at the end of the game, due to the fact that the players must maintain high speeds to evade police cars on the highways. ==Development, release, and lawsuit==