If you’ve played any of Codemasters’ TOCA series of titles in the past, you’ll know that regardless of the severe directional changes that each game seems to take, the titles themselves always stand up well in their own right and generally provide a solid gaming experience that is tough to equal. Pulling onto the starting grid, I was hoping that the same could be said for TOCA Race Driver 2.I wasn’t to be disappointed.
TOCA Race Driver 2 thrills from the second you power up your Xbox. I can’t put it any more simply than that. After building a profile, you get dropped straight into the back end of a race and your instincts take over. There are no targets to meet, no qualification times to rip apart – you’re just racing to win. Upon completion of this race, the initial first-person introductory movie plays out, and you’re introduced to your boss, a gritty Scottish fellow with exemplary lip-synching, who will guide you through the career mode. In TOCA Race Driver, you were given an avatar, a new name and could see things pan out from the third-person. In my mind, this didn’t work as far as the game’s overall atmosphere went, but this sequel’s spin on things, where characters never refer to you by name and you never see your driver’s body, most certainly does.
The career mode consists of a series of challenges, with completion generally leading to a decision about which championship to take on next. Will it be the super trucks championship, or will you head to the States to drive a Lightning pickup around a NASCAR style oval’ Its up to you. This is where TRD2 shows its diversity. More than 30 different championships are selectable, as well as a horde of smaller challenges. Formula Ford, GT sports cars, street racing, an impressive take on rallying, rallycross, Open Wheel GP, truck racing and classic car racing all make an appearance (amongst others) and to my surprise, each one is as good as the last, with absolutely no exceptions.
Add this to the fifty-two different circuits that are available, and you have a game that is as complete as you could wish. Of course, all of this dressing would be of no consequence if the main course made you sick, but thankfully, it doesn’t. On the track, TOCA Race Driver 2 is graphically impressive, running at a constant 60 frames per second with no slowdown or pop-up in sight. The cars themselves feel reassuringly solid, aside from when they are getting crunched into smithereens in the pack, when the damage model shows off its technical excellence. Wheels fly off, windscreens shatter and cars can now flip when hammered hard enough.
What does stand out for me though, is the fact that I could race in any one of the different motoring disciplines on offer and after just a few short laps, feel like I’ve completely mastered the nuances of the vehicle in question. This isn’t to say that TRD2 is a pushover – far from it – its just that even though the control system is pretty standard, the difference in the vehicles is great enough to emphasise that there is a difference, but not so great that you feel like you’re learning to play the game again. Had this been any different, players would have stuck to one car and one championship as much as possible, but as it stands, you’ll want to master them all.
Add Xbox Live online play for up to 12 contenders and you have a package that excels in single player, rocks the house in multiplayer and extends its reach further when taken online. Some will be waiting for Gran Turismo 4 to rear its head on the PS2, but those petrolheads who have any modicum of sense about them will take TOCA Race Driver 2 for a test spin and learn to love it. Those who don’t, deserve to miss out on an essential title.
