Because we are dedicated to honest customer opinions Driving Test Success Practical Simulator (PC) (DVD-ROM), we have also included Amazon's customer reviews for this item (of which 5 are displayed below). Amazon customers have given Driving Test Success Practical Simulator (PC) an average rating of 3.0/5.
Top Amazon Review
Nice Idea, very flawed implementation.. Well, the idea was good. But so many short cuts and poor choices have been made in the 'game's development that the product is next to unusable. Problems indluce-
* On slow machines, the game speed is locked to the framerate so the game slows down to a crawl.
* The game auto-selects and in some cases, auto-changes gears for you. Thinking about gear changes is really important to learner drivers.
* No pedal support.
* If you make even a slight mistake in a practice session, it aborts and sends you back to the begining - extremely annoying and unhelpful.
* you get a top down view of your car in a little window, so that you can 'cheat' any of the manouvers. Hardly a good thing to learn to rely on.
The video clips are nice, mind. But I think they're the same ones you get on the 'all tests' dvd ( which is worth it, unlike this. )
Customer Review 1
DO NOT BUY THIS SOFTWARE!!!. This software is called Driving Test Success Practical Simulator however there is nothing PRACTICAL about it whatsoever.
Where do we start...? I bought this with a steering wheel and pedals so I could get the most realistic experience. When I opened up the software I then noticed the disclaimer: "please note that this software does not utilise pedals..." UH?!! WHY NOT?!! I find it hard to understand why a pretty simple function (one in almost every driving game) could not be programmed in by the makers of a DRIVING SIM!! So instead I'm breaking and accelerating at the click of the mouse...
This leads me to the realism of the simulator, which is not very realistic at all. First off, the simulator does not recognise multiple tasks, it's one button at a time. For example you have to let go of the clutch button to click the gear change button (surely you would hold the clutch button down and then press change gear?) It also picks the right gear for you completely removing a fundamental part of driving. The sim doesn't recognise the pressure of accelerate and brake (so emergency brake is the same as a gentle brake) and when you tap A or B once you go up or down EXACTLY one mile. Let go of the accelerator and you will stay at the same speed FOREVER regardless of hills or bends. There is very little difference between the various speeds and the speed of the sim itself is slow and sluggish. I have a pretty much brand new laptop, I turned the resolution and graphics down to a minimum and it was still SLOW.
I wasn't expecting miracles when I got this and I didn't expect this replace actual driving. But this software is missing very simple things which without them, makes it totally impractical.
Customer Review 2
Driving test practical simulator. Videos are great but the simulator is pretty poor.It's hard to control the car using the mouse and keyboard and the steering wheel will set you back more money.i should have sent it back to amazon as i feel that i have been ripped off with this product.
Customer Review 3
Good, helpful and only one bad point. I bought this software for myself as i am soon to start my lessons. I can honestly say that it is a great programe and very helpful. The video lessons and then being able to try it out yourself, whilst being guided throughout is so encouraging.
I would say however, that if you want it to work best, you need a very big RAM, i thought mine was big enough, but if it isn't, you can't always understand what the instructor is saying in the video's and sometimes it picks up on faults that you haven't made. A little bit frustrating but well worth your money.
Customer Review 4
Very good. I think this simulator is very useful for people learning to drive - it's fairly realistic, although when you're driving the speed will say 25mph for instance and it feels like you're doing 10 mph. Apart from that it's great! It's got a smashing instructor and useful fact sheets. You don't need a computer game steering wheel, but you can use one as an option. Overall I think it's worth the money. Also, at the same time as learning you'll actualy find it enjoyable. It has all the controls you'd expect such as clutch headlights,wipers,gear stick and indicators.
