You have to hand it to Codemasters,
they really aren’t content with their racing games even when their racing titles
as of recently have been stellar. Let’s take the Colin McRae rally racing games,
for instance, last year’s game was really good and this years Colin McRae 04 is
simply just amazing. Last year also saw Pro Race Driver, a game that was just
too much fun to put down (even though its RPG-styled Career mode really didn’t
shine the way it should have). Now there’s ToCA Race Driver 2: The Ultimate
Racing Simulator, a sequel that makes Xbox history by offering a racing title
that offers various different motorsport types all in one neat bundle. So how
good is this game? Let’s just say that I haven’t seen the light of day in two
whole days thanks to this game.
Pro Race Driver put you in the role
of a professional racing track driver and, for the most part, it did an
excellent job of portraying a simulation true to the automotive sport. ToCA Race
Driver 2, on the other hand, tests your skills as a race driver off and on the
usual race track and places you in the driver seat of everything from a Ford
Formula One racer to your very own Super Truck. The game’s main mode is back;
Career mode does away with the RPG-like element of last year’s game and trades
it for a continuous first-person story mode complete with cut scenes. While the
story isn’t incredibly deep, it’s a really good story that will surely hook
gamers in with its accurate portrayal of the professional race circuit life.
Career mode is also where gamers get
to unlock vehicles and racetracks. You’ll be astonished how quickly and how
suddenly the game quickly changes gear (no pun intended) in mid-championship
circuit. One minute you’re racing for third place in the Mustang Challenge
(placing you in the seat of a ‘68 Ford Mustang) and the next you’re heading for
the Texas Motor Speedway for some stock car racing. Think that’s not enough?
Well you’ll also be ice racing, doing the Colin McRae rally racing deal and
racing in a big rig. No racing style is left out in this game, not even those
fans of custom cars and street racing. Car enthusiasts will love the fact that
there’s every thing here from the Aston Martin DB9 to a 1934 Ford Hot Rod Coupe.
The game also tosses in a Simulator
mode that features all the tracks and cars you managed to unlock in Career mode.
It’s a great mode to practice your skills but, unfortunately, you’re limited
only to the tracks and cars you manage to unlock or already available. The Time
Trial mode is the same, only the races are timed to perfect your performance and
beat your old time. It would have been great to have found the majority of
regular vehicles available and unlock the more rare ones through Career mode.
While we’re complaining, I’ve a major beef with the interface. It’s not only
complex but just a tad confusing since it really strays from the usual
pick-your-car-and pick your-track we see in most racing games. Instead it has
you choosing the event type via a racetrack. Most of us really don’t know what
type of racing is associated with Surfers Paradise.
Still, these few faults pale in
comparison to all the things that make this game a real gem. The game’s controls
are simplistic and thankfully so since this is strictly a simulation-styled
racing title. The vehicle physics are as realistic as they come and this makes
for an extremely difficulty game to really master. Push your car too fast around
the corner will result in an unsteady turn that can easily spin your car out of
control. Smack into objects or other cars too often and the result of the damage
will play a part in your car’s performance. For instance, slam the side of your
car against a barrier and the front fender might cave in enough to obstruct one
of your wheels. Hit another car at top speed and you’ll find your engine heating
up before you complete the last lap. While this makes for a really
true-to-the-real-thing-styled sim, the game still allows you the freedom to be
as flashy behind the wheel as you’d like. Really, this makes the game even more
addictive than Project Gotham Racing 2 and a lot more polished than the PS2’s
Gran Turismo 3 (and I love Gran Turismo 3).
Here’s some more good news, race
fans. ToCA is an addictive racing game online thanks to the Xbox Live. The
features aren’t as abundant as they are for PGR2, but the game has it where it
counts–offering a great leader board, monthly challenges and a multiplayer mode
that allows up to twelve players on the track. The game also pits Xbox Live
gamers against PC gamers so there’s already a large community of gamers that are
challenging each another as you read this. The single player game runs at a
solid sixty frames per second and online it runs just as smoothly making this
one of the most solid online racing games around. Trust me when I say that
you’ll be spending a lot of time online, Xbox Live gamers. And, if that wasn’t
enough, System Link is also supported so you can hook up multiple Xbox consoles
for an up twelve-player game.
While the controls and addictive
racing are up there with PGR2, the game’s visual quality comes close to bring us
one amazing looking game. The car’s vehicles are amazingly gorgeous and the cars
shine beautifully during the races and in the replays. They also take realistic
damage so if you smash into too many things you’ll really have twisted wreck.
Really, Codemasters seems to get that the Xbox is capable of pulling off some
photo-realistic visuals. The tracks also look good, but it’s also where the
graphics could have used some improvement. From afar the backgrounds look pretty
good but up close you can see how PSOne-like things like trees, grass and
billboards can look. Still, this is a very good-looking game.
The sound also manages to impress
with its accuracy when it comes to engine sounds. The game’s many vehicles have
distinct sounds and thankfully Codemasters definitely knows that a Super V8
engine doesn’t sound anything like the engine of a Subaru Impreza WRX. The
crashes also sound as amazing as they look. You’ll also hear your pit boss,
although he chimes in only to point out important things.
ToCA Race Driver 2 is racing heaven
for fans of any vehicular genre. Not only does it give you a taste of fifteen
different types of racing genres but it also does them the way they should be
done . . . perfectly. Yes it can be extremely hard most of the time and yes not
everyone is a fan of every racing genre presented but this game is pure bliss
for those that appreciate a game with loads of cool cars, massive racing tracks
and the finest online multiplayer mode this side of Project Gotham Racing 2. At
its budget price, missing out on this game would be a real shame.
Reviewer’s Scoring Details TOCA Race Driver 2: The Ultimate Racing Simulator |
Gameplay: 9.2
Last year’s Pro Race Driver handled like a dream and this sequel just seems to
not only look a lot better but also play a lot better and that is no small feat.
The controls are simple to get into for a racing simulator and it gives gamers
enough freedom to drive as risky as they’d like to drive. Still, this is no
arcade game so expect the realism factor to keep you in line. There are also
plenty of cars, although I wish they had been available from the get-go.
Graphics: 8.5
Almost immediately gamers will notice how gorgeous this game’s graphics really
are and how amazing the beautifully detailed cars look in action. Each car just
looks amazingly like the real thing and you’ll love how shiny they are and how
well they actually take damage. Slam headlong into a wall and the front fender
will bend while the headlights shatter. Hit the corner of a divider and the side
of your door will crumple awfully. The racecourses are pleasant to look at but a
little more detail in things like grass or billboards would have been welcome.
Sound: 8.5
You’d think that once you heard the sound effects in one racing game you heard
them all. Well, Codemasters wasn’t content with just offering the usual roaring
engines and tire screeches, they’ve managed to capture the distinct sounds of
each vehicle type for a game that features different racing types. Crashes also
sound great, although not as chillingly authentic as those found in Burnout 2:
Point of Impact. And thankfully your Scottish pit boss isn’t a constant presence
while racing so gamers won’t be annoyed by a tremendous amount of criticism or
unhelpful tips.
Difficulty: Hard
Racing fans, like myself, love a challenging racing game and–for the most
part–ToCA offers quite a challenge. The trouble is that the game can be
unmerciful to a frustrating degree so gamers with a passing interest in the
genre will be a bit annoyed by its difficulty level.
Concept: 9.5
With a multitude of cars for each race type, you’ll find everything from classic
muscle cars (damn does it feel good to drive a 1968 Ford Mustang) to the
modernly flashy (a Nissan Skyline GTR . . . it doesn’t get any better than
this). The game’s Career mode actually gives you quite an incentive to win the
championship thanks to a great presentation and a cool pit boss that keeps you
in line. Yet the real treat comes when you go from one racing type to another
without much of a warning. You’ll be forced to taste genres you normally
wouldn’t take an interest in and actually enjoy it.
Multiplayer: 9.5
At some point I had to tell myself that this review wasn’t going to write itself
so I bid farewell to the eleven other gamers I’ve been racing against online and
started writing. Not only is ToCA a great single player experience, but also
thanks to the Xbox Live the game is downright addictive. Just picture an actual
community of various types of racing fans (both Xbox Live and PC folk)
challenging each another to try a genre they normally wouldn’t try and you get
an idea of what it’s like playing ToCA online. Even with twelve players racing
on a single track, this game runs just as smoothly as Project Gotham Racing 2 .
. . and that’s saying a lot. System Link is also supported.
Overall: 8.7
I love ToCA Race Driver 2 and not because it looks great, plays even better and
has a killer Xbox Live multiplayer mode. I love this game because it did what it
set out to do, bring us the ultimate racing simulator. Just about every type of
racing genre is present and accounted for and it’s handled well throughout the
entire experience. There are a few noticeable flaws, of course, but this doesn’t
hold the game back for racing fans. Pick this one up right away if you love
quality in your racing games.
