Every year we run a story about one game that keeps getting better - Test Drive Off-Road. This year's version of the game from Infogrames, Inc. has been reincarnated as "Test Drive Off Road - Wide Open" and ships exclusively on the Playstation 2 platform. Here's a portion of the offical press release:

Infogrames, Inc., a global publisher of interactive entertainment software, announced today that the newest installment in the Test Drive Off-Road series, Test Drive Off- Road -- Wide Open, will hit stores this week for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Developed by Angel Studios, the game features advanced technology enabling ``go anywhere'' environments, 15 licensed off-road vehicles and 30 wide-open tracks in three untamed landscape locations.

``We've taken off-road racing and packed it full of unstoppable brute force and power,'' said Laddie Ervin, director of marketing at Infogrames' Los Angeles label. ``Test Drive Off-Road -- Wide Open gives gamers the freedom to plow across open terrain at full throttle and freely explore massive real- world locations, rendered in some of the largest environments seen on PlayStation 2, in some of the hottest 4x4s.''

Following the Test Drive formula of racing real cars in real locations in an unreal way, Moab, Utah, Yosemite, Calif. and the Big Island of Hawaii set the stage for white knuckle off-road competition. Chosen for their diversity in textures and environments as well as their potential for extreme off-road racing, each of the games' three locations will contain eight to ten tracks, including circuit courses and A-to-B races with variations in track sizes and styles. Players will have the freedom to choose the path that is best suited to their truck while attempting to complete the course in the fastest time possible.

Test Drive Off-Road -- Wide Open contains a variety of fully customizable licensed off-road vehicles, each offering its own unique handling and abilities. Vehicles include the AM General Humvee®, AM General Hummer® Wagon, AM General Hummer® Open Top, Rod Hall Hummer®, Jeep® Wrangler, Jeep® CJ5, Ford® F-150(TM), Ford® Bronco(TM), Dodge® RAM 2500, Dodge® Durango, Dodge® T Rex, Shelby® S.P. 360(TM), Chevrolet® Blazer and the Chevrolet® Silverado. Gamers can personalize their rides with paint options and other upgrades, including tires, wheels, light bars, brush guards, lift kits and more. Each vehicle upgrade produces a visual change in the appearance and performance of the vehicle.

Test Drive Off-Road -- Wide Open features a licensed soundtrack including Fear Factory, Unloco, Digital Assassins and the rock-and-roll legends Metallica. The game shipped to most major retail stores this week with an estimated retail price of $49.99 and an ESRB rating of E for everyone.

Previous versions of Test Drive Off-Road have used the Jeep Grand Cherokee - it's nice to see that the team at Infogrames hasn't forgotten about the Wrangler and CJ5. Perhaps the coolest feature of this latest version is the "go anywhere" style of play - meaning that you're not limited to a specific track or route - if you see it, you can drive it.

Check out additional screenshots and more information about the game at: www.tdorwo.com.