Pass Your Driving Theory Test Review - Screenshot 1 of 3

Here in UK before you can attempt the practical driving test you must pass the Theory test. Pass Your Driving Theory Test by LDC aims to get you through the theory test. The game, if you can call it that, is played with the DS on its side. The questions are on the normal screen and the answers are on the touch screen.

When first started up there are 2 user accounts to save your progress; you pick your account or a new one if it’s your first time. When starting a new account, you select whether you are preparing for the car test or bike test, which will define which questions you are asked. You then select whether you are left or right handed, as this alters which way the DS is held. These options can be changed later on in the options menu.

There are four game modes, which are all very similar, but each one alters which questions are asked. All 1,265 questions from the official DSA Theory Test Question Bank for cars and motorcycles are present, separated into the 14 DSA theory test categories with explanations for every answer.

The first, Quick Test, allows you to customise your test by selecting the number of questions you are asked, change the timing options and choose whether or not to include previously correctly answered questions, though it will always ask a mixture of questions from across the 14 categories. Once you’ve answered all the questions you go back to the start to check each answer and, when you are happy with your answers, you tap the finish button. At the end it gives you your mark and percentage, then an explanation of the correct answers, with the option to retry or go back to the Main menu.

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The second mode, DSA, again allows you to customise your test, but this time you choose which one of the 14 categories you would like to answer questions from, so if you feel you need to work on a particular category you can. The easiest way to tell which area you need work on is by looking at the graph on the main menu. The graph will display the last marks you achieved in the Mock theory test; if your result appears under the pass line then those are the areas that need most work.

Custom Test is much of the same as far as customising is concerned, but this time you select fifty questions from which categories you want by tapping the plus or minus button on each section until you have fifty. Mock Theory is the main test: you are asked fifty questions and have just under an hour minutes to complete the test. There's no customising this time around, although you can still choose not to be asked previously correctly answered questions.

On the main menu other than the game options there is a help section which clearly defines what each mode is about, an options section and, just in case you wondered who made the game, a credits section.

There is no real variety to the game and the different game modes just seem like the creators were trying to make the game look bigger than it is. The game is lacking some mini-games or a two-player mode. This game does what it sets out to do and I have no doubt that it would be very helpful in someone’s revision for the theory test, but it just feels like it could have been so much more. Controls are simple to use, done entirely using the stylus, unless you want to quit mid-test where you must press (Start) and then (Select). Sounds are basic, with only two different sounds: one when selecting options and the other when ticking the correct boxes for the answers. There is no background music, probably emulating the actual test but it would have been best if there was an option to change that somewhere.

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The main thing lacking from this game is that there are in fact two parts to the theory test and this game only covers one of them: the questions. The other part, the Hazard Perception test is not covered in this game. As this is a large part of the test, you would assume that it is represented in one way or another but there is no mention at all, not even to tell you that you will need to prepare for it. The box doesn’t claim to cover it but it would have been helpful if it mentioned that it was not covered.

Conclusion

All the questions that you could be asked in your theory test are covered, with explanations for the answers too. An easy to use layout and variety of game modes, although limited, are all present. The left or right handed option is a nice, if necessary, touch. Had the game contained a two-player mode or some mini-games it would have scored more highly, but you can’t fault what is actually present in the game. The lack of music gets a bit boring, but then there is no music on the real-life test day to entertain you either. The main problem is once you've passed your test, there is little to go back for.