At a glance...

Reviewer	Platform	Publisher	Developer	Players	Screenshots
Matt Bailey	PlayStation 2	Codemasters	Codemasters	1-4 (Split-screen)	Here
Requirements					Buy from Amazon.co.uk
Memory Card					Click here to buy TOCA Race Driver.

TOCA Race Driver review

Since its launch the PlayStation 2 has seen a number of racing games, but none has equalled the might of Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec (review here). Along comes racing experts Codemasters, who are bringing their excellent racing franchises TOCA and Colin McRae Rally to the PlayStation 2. The first of these is the new TOCA game, TOCA Race Driver, which instead of focusing on the travelling the world racing touring cars, sees you travelling the world racing touring cars in an RPG-style story.

You play as Ryan McKane, a test driver turning pro. His father was killed 17 years before in a racing incident that was caused by his father's arch-rival, and his older brother, Donnie, who is an All American Stars (the US touring car-style championship) champion who is willing to help his brother join the sport. The choice of using a story is an odd one, and provides for a complete set of digital characters, such as Donnie, your team boss, and Melanie, a woman Ryan has his eye on, each appearing in FMVs with proper voice actors for each language. Already you can see the connection this game has to the RPG genre. The story does come into affect with the game, and your performance in race will invoke different actions from characters after the game. Your performance will also affect if people come up to you after a race wanting to fight you for your shunting during the race, as well as what jobs you are offered. Jobs are the main part of the game; when you choose career mode, you first have to go through a Championship with no choice on what team to race for. After this, if you have performed well, you will find that you have offers from various racing teams around the world offering you a chance to join their team and race in one of the worldwide championships.

The game's graphics engine features some beautifully rendered cars and tracks, but not quite on par with the more photo-realistic ones of Gran Tuirsmo 3. However, unlike GT3, these fully licensed cars can be smashed about as you travel around the course, adding to the realism. Talking of cars, don't expect to be driving around in a Dodge Viper or a Mitsubishi Lancer for a while, instead think of a Vauxhall Corsa or a Peugeot which are most likely to be your vehicles for quite a bit of a game. However, these delights can be earned, plus there are plenty of bonus cars to make your efforts worthwhile, including the trusty Mini.

As with all driving games, handling plays a major part. Unfortunately, TOCA Race Driver's handling doesn't quite meet up to the quality of GT3. It can be fiddly, and inconsistent, but once you get past the difficulties, you can make it work well for you. It's a pity it isn't better, as the nature of the handling adds to the game's already high difficulty. The races can be very tough, especially with the intelligent A.I. (you'll find them love to ram you into a corner if you rammed them), and you may find yourself wanting to reboot your PS2, load up your save, and doing the races again. And although you can save after every two races, I found it became annoying when you did well in the first race, and poorly in the second.

Sounds is used minimally in the game; there is little sound in the glorious 'real-time scene' menu system, there is no in-game soundtrack, and although the touring cars sound realistic, these cars don't have the same roar as say, Formula One engines. However, the voice acting in the game is used, and appears more regularly then any other piece of audio. But then, the whole game does regard the storyline, and the characters, rather than a TV-style presentation that normally features in racing games.

Drawing back to the story, it cannot be denied that it greatly extends the Longetivity of the game. It's no longer just a set of races, but a set of races that's actually taking you somewhere. And if the gripping storyline isn't enough for you, there's the option to set up your own mini-Championships, race one-on-one with people around the world in order to win their car for your person driving pleasure, and of course, the great split-screen multiplayer mode. The game allows up to four players to hit the track and play, and even add some A.I. cars to the fun. The range of tracks, options, and the story make this a game you won't be finishing any time soon.

However, as good as the story is, I feel something is lost by its inclusion; you no longer feel as if you are in control of the car and that it's your efforts that are making you win your races; it's Ryan McKane's car, and he's winning the races. After all, don't most people play racing games because they would normally never be able to drive most of the cars in the game on the road, let alone in the conditions the game offers you.

Ratings

Graphics	They look great, but not up to GT3 quality	8/10
Gameplay	Difficulty is hard, handling is dodgy, but the gameplay is rather solid, and it will grow on you	8/10
Value	At the time of writing, we did not have a value for money ranking.	0/10
Lifespan	It's difficult, but the range of tracks, the long storyline, and the decent multiplayer make this a racing game you can keep on playing for a long time to come	9/10
Audio	Nice voice acting, but little else audio-wise	7/10
Overall	A great idea that gives a more unique title to the racing genre	8/10

Click here to buy TOCA Race Driver from Amazon.co.uk.

Copyright Information

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