When the engine is gunning away full-bore with a satisfying howl and the scenery is whipping by in a blur, it's easy to appreciate the raw power found in the gorgeously designed racing beasts in Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends.
An inherent lust for the iconic red sexiness cranked out by the renowned Italian sports car manufacturer will certainly enhance your appreciation of this high-speed homage to all things Ferrari, but it's a shame that a draconian difficulty curve puts the brakes on the fun too soon.
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Ferrari Racing Legends straddles the line between hardcore simulation and arcade-style racing in a way that's accessible to newcomers without stripping out all the challenge. Considering these are the same folks behind the sim-y Need for Speed: Shift games, it's no surprise these mean racing machines are generally responsive and handle well at high speed. Though each of the 50+ unlockable rides drive differently, three adjustable driving model presets let you tweak the overall physics and realism level to suit your skill. The novice setup offers maximum handholding to keep casual players from careening off the track. In contrast, engaging pro mode doesn't quite crank all of the realism dials to 11 like in some other racing sims, yet it does make it tricky enough to put veteran gear-heads through their paces.
The campaign ditches the open world flow of Test Drive Unlimited in favor of more traditional closed-circuit tracks and a minimalist story that plays out almost entirely through informative but unexciting menu text. It feels like a few steps backwards for the genre, but widely ranging objectives save the day. In addition to standard races, you'll face off against rivals, work to stay behind a partner racer within a three second window, shoot to beat specific lap times, and work to overtake all other cars on the track. While this variety helps switch things up, other areas of gameplay sometimes feel a little too by-the-book.
An impressive number of race events are spread out across three separate campaigns that tackle different eras of Ferrari history and do a masterful job of showcasing the evolution in car designs over the years. With its cool sepia-faded intros, older classic cars, and more accessible courses, the Golden era (1947-1973) stretch is the most enjoyable. Unfortunately, Ferrari Racing Legends derails in its Silver (1974-1990) and Modern (1990-2011) era portions. Even if you have everything dialed back to their most forgiving settings, these latter campaigns are simply brutal, delivering a jarring spike in difficulty early-on that will rapidly whittle away the patience of even the most skilled drivers. Prepare to suffer agonizing failure over and over again, even with seemingly spectacular runs.
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