Test Drive is the name of one of the longest-running racing game franchises ever.[citation needed] Originally published by Accolade, which was later bought by Infogrames, the first title saw the light of day in 1987 and has since been followed by a stream of sequels. The Test Drive games are now published by Atari, the name which Infogrames renamed itself to in 2003. One of the distinguishing features of Test Drive was it was one of the earliest, if not the first, racing games to use real-life licensed automobiles rather than generic ones (a feature that would be carried on by most of the games in the franchise).
In Test Drive, the player typically uses one of several exotic performance cars and must race to the finish line against opponents or the clock, whilst avoiding traffic and the police.
