TOCA Race Driver 2 Review

By Kristan Reed Published 15 July, 2004

The racing game to end them all? Codemasters' latest certainly has enough in it to fill several...

Version tested: Xbox

Order yours now from Simply Games.

Making serious racing games fun is a discipline Codemasters has doggedly been plugging away at for over half a decade now. Whether via Colin McRae Rally, IndyCar Series or the often po-faced TOCA series, it hasn't always been the smoothest ride for the Warwickshire publisher - getting off to a flying start in the latter days of the PSone, and then coming off the track in trying to get to grips with current technology - but all that seems to have changed recently.

Last year's Colin McRae Rally 04 surprised many by making amends for the alarming technological deficiencies of the previous version just a year afterwards, and TOCA Race Driver 2 manages to go even further. Not only does it raise the game in terms of vastly improving on 2002's TOCA Race Driver in technical terms, but it provides a pot pourri racing game that hits that sweet spot between being both a great simulation and almost the perfect arcade racer. It provides a convincing handling model across all 15 of its racing disciplines, some of the best CPU AI ever seen (with often over 20 cars racing against you at once) and a level of fun that ought to come as standard in racing games, but is so often bizarrely sacrifice for some alleged stab at realism.

More than the sum of its parts

'TOCA Race Driver 2' Screenshot 1

TOCA Race Driver 2 is an odd game to behold. Break it down into its constituent parts and it's worth noting that some individual elements have been done better elsewhere. The graphics, for example - as good as they are - can't touch the benchmark splendour of the cruelly underperforming RalliSport Challenge 2. The damage modelling does a fair job, but isn't anywhere near as exact as Colin 04, while the race days can appear to be oddly restrictive, only allowing the player to race a prescribed vehicle, with no control over where you appear on the grid. But somehow the overall package is so well constructed that every doubt you have seems to be erased, and replaced by the simple joy that only a few really great games every year deliver. The truth is, the further you progress into TRD2, the more you feel compelled to carry on.

Codemasters evidently believes in the idea of giving the player the feel of being a rookie driver with Something To Prove. Its initial attempts in this area in the past have felt forced, hamfisted and - to be blunt - a bit rubbish. With lessons of the past learned, TRD2 takes the whole concept forward, reworks it and does a damn fine job of injecting personality and even humour into what could so easily be a straight procession through a myriad of races. Instead you've got the dour pragmatist Scotty doing his bit to kick you up the arse, while agents, media types and fellow racers get in on the act on your rise through the ranks.

As is the norm for heavyweight racing games, it's essential to head straight for the Career mode to stand a chance of getting anything out of TOCA Race Driver 2, and throughout the season you'll be fighting for your racing survival. Ingeniously, TRD2 doesn't expect you to necessarily win everything straight away in order to catch the eye. As the season progresses through 15 different racing disciplines - everything from NASCAR, to truck driving, street racing to super charged circuit racing - you're often merely tasked with finishing ahead of a specific rival. The chances are you'll still have to make a podium finish to be sure of success, but should you happen to cause your rival to utterly spin out thanks to a well-timed shunt, you might well find yourself capable of progressing through a relatively low placed finish.

Sanity prevails

'TOCA Race Driver 2' Screenshot 2

It's this saner, more lifelike approach to the racing structure that really appeals, making success a more unpredictable and more exciting experience. Rather than do what many games do and force the player to race the perfect race in order to scrape through, TRD2 makes it feasible for you to carry on even when things aren't going as well as you'd hope them to. And even when it does all go wrong, being able to go back to the second of a four race series and retrace your steps cuts out a huge chunk of frustration. Most games would ask the player to do the whole damned series again, no matter how time consuming and pointless an exercise that may be, but TRD2 keeps you fired up - and that's what matters.

Even when performing hopelessly, the time it takes to do a pause/restart is so quick you're never wasting time, hindered by poor loading times or bad menu design. It's simple things like this that eliminate any annoyance, and all you're left to reflect on is your own bad luck or judgement when things go wrong. TRD2 is not a game you'll ever be cursing for bad design. You may well regularly wish you were better at the game - and eventually your wishes do come true - but you're never left pontificating on stupid AI or inaccurate handling. In both areas TRD2 is a master class of what games of this nature should feel like.

Stood next to much-loved games like Project Gotham Racing 2, TRD2 beats it hands down when it comes to the feeling of being in a race. PGR2's relentless drone behaviour, with AI cars never budging from their racing line is never more exposed once you've spent time with Codemasters' epic. Cars don't try and slam into you for a start, and might end up worse off if they get their manoeuvre wrong. In TRD2, defending your position is perfectly possible with a degree of skill and anticipation, while the game gives the player a certain advantage while slamming their way to the front of the pack, allowing you to use other cars as slide shields, which is not only great fun, but a very pleasant change to the usual CPU tactic of making everyone but you vulnerable. Some have argued that this is a demonstration of bad physics, and that may well be true in real life, but in the context of a videogame, it suited us just fine.

Too hot to handle?

'TOCA Race Driver 2' Screenshot 3

The handling, meanwhile, is almost beyond compare in any other driving game to date. To build in so many radically different handling models into one game is frankly astonishing. Most games get by with variations on one style of handling, but TRD2 is practically a compendium of different games it changes so much. Jump in a Rally race, and follow it up with a street race, then a truck race and so on, and it's sometimes hard to believe you're still playing the same game. And it's not just the convincing feel that's heart-warming, but the fact that all of this takes place at contrasting speeds on a decent number of tracks. If variety is what you're after, consider TRD2 the Now That's What I Call Driving compilation.

The audio is another area which never fails to deliver, with possibly the best engine noises ever to find their way into a driving game, with a punch that really tests the very best surround set-up and almost worth the asking price on its own. Add to that voiceovers from Scotty that actually bother to vary their instructions subtly to avoid endless repetition, while the between race interludes are nowhere near as cringe-worthily cheesy as you'd expect. At times they're, dare we say it, actually quite amusing, which is definitely a first in a racing game.

Visually it's almost as good as we've seen on the Xbox. Okay, it doesn't quite match the awesome splendour present in Rallisport Challenge 2, but remember that in TRD2 is almost always circuit-based (with the odd Rally track being the exception) and you're competing against as many as 20-odd other drivers at the same time. Something had to give, but you'd be hard pressed to find much to complain about. Even going for it at full pelt, there's never any hint of frame rate loss, pop up, fogging, or any of the usual compromises we're forced to accept as inevitable. It always feels smooth, often insanely fast, has some excellent vehicle models and the familiar tracks that it does include are as well represented as you've ever seen. Obviously, including tracks like Brands Hatch is never going to make the game look as good as it could, but throwing in the odd street-based track more than makes up for it. To be frank you really won't even care after a while. It looks great, it feels great, and while the damage modelling has been bettered elsewhere, it's not exactly something that detracts from the game for more than a few seconds. After that you're simply locked into one of the most engaging racing games ever seen.

Faff no more

'TOCA Race Driver 2' Screenshot 4

Some players might bleat that the race structure in itself is flawed, in that putting the driver into a prescribed car and dumping you on the grid seemingly at random without allowing you to qualify is annoying, and they may have a point. Part of you occasionally hungers for more control over the race days - being able to choose your car and set it up - but in a sense just getting thrown into a scenario or a challenge and being forced to get on with it is very refreshing. It actually takes a lot of the faffing out of the game, and forces you to get on with the meat of the game - the racing. There are, of course, other means of playing TRD2 as more of a true simulation, and those who really desire to tinker around can do so - so there shouldn't really be any complaints.

One area we haven't even mentioned, of course, is multiplayer - one of the most celebrated elements of the whole package. Wrapped up in the beautifully intuitive Xbox Live design, it works a treat, allowing for races for up to 12 players at the same time, with the ubiquitous Optimatch and quick match options allowing drivers to leap into some superbly entertaining races. The premise hinges around a winning or losing points based on your racing performance. Everyone starts off with 1500 points, and it's basically then up to you to attempt to boost your ranking as you see fit. Some players report occasional lag issues, but from our experiences it's no worse than any other Xbox Live game - and everyone's connection status is rated beforehand - with the host capable of kicking laggers off if they wish.

As an added bonus, the Live element is an outstanding part of the experience, and arguably worth it for this alone. Throw in the stupendously entertaining and exceptionally challenging campaign mode into the equation, which is easily twenty, thirty hours on its own (some of the races can take half an hour each to master), with some 31 championships on offer in total, and, well...

Bottom line? Buy it.

It's often hard to get excited about the arrival of yet another racing game when the market is so saturated by them. In fact, the general apathy of there being another racing game to review is part of the reason we've taken so long to get around to devoting serious time to this one, but we're glad our preconceptions have been categorically blown out of the water. TOCA Race Driver 2 is ace, and if you see it going cheap in the summer sales it would be foolish to pass it by. In fact, we'd probably go so far as to say it's the most fun we've had with a racing game for years. Codies continues to nail "seriously fun".

Order yours now from Simply Games.

9 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (33) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • #1 8 years ago

    Played it, finished it, traded it in, how quickly the magic fades. Especially cos online it is completely ruined by how the majority of people play.

    Ah well....................

  • brokenkey #2 8 years ago

    Why has EG started illustrating their reviews with promotional screenshots provided by the publisher, and not their own?

  • TipTop #3 8 years ago

    I love the tarmac and hate the rally sections. Pity there are no ways to skip the rally section in the 1P. As a racing experience on tarmac, it takes some beating!

  • Tiger_Walts #4 8 years ago

    One thin I do like is that the AI is well behaved. It doesn't bash into you just because you are on the racing line. You can take a corner badly but expect not to get rear shunted and fish-tailed off the track.

    /glares at PGR2 platinum AI

  • mugwump #5 8 years ago

    sooo where's Harry? He's going to LOVE this!

    Is there really a 60hz mode in the game? When I owned it I couldn't make it switch out of 50hz :(

  • Shinzou #6 8 years ago

    This was 15 quid on amazon but they seem to have run out.
    Bummer.

  • Monkey #7 8 years ago

    Very nice game indeed!
    Love the AI, its perfectly balanced.
    All the races featuring Touring Cars are the best, I prefer to follow the computer controlled leader until the last lap then blast past him! (Usually by any means necessary)
    Definately 9/10, spot on!
    :)

  • Killerbee #8 8 years ago

    "TRD2"

    I keep reading that as "turd 2"

    Sounds good though. When's the PS2 version due out?

  • markypants #9 8 years ago

    Bloody Hell, been waiting for this review for AGES (why is it when I write AGES I think of SEGA still? how sad my life is...).

    I thought there was an EG boycott... But no.

    M

  • p3rks #10 8 years ago

    "In fact, we'd probably go so far as to say it's the most fun we've had with a racing game for years."

    no way this is more fun than PGR2. It *is* a really good game though, def grab it from a bargin bin or second-hand if you havent already.

  • Lord Chalfont III #11 8 years ago

    This game has been out for weeks. Why bother reviewing it now? Why not review something new like SpiderMan 2? I don't understand this site.

  • oneiros #12 8 years ago

    Pretty good (if belated) review Kristan; I must make a passing remark about the Rally handling which is just not up to the same standard as the rest of the game.

    Also echoing Jiz Mopper's (!) comment above, sometimes the game does present some ridiculous requirements - go from 15th on the grid to a podium position in just two laps, in an identical car to everyone else? Not without some *very* aggressive driving and more than a small amount of luck.

  • OnlyMe #13 8 years ago

    I bought the game for the PC after having a the game on the Xbox harddrive illegally for a while. I thought it would be more fun to play online and with a decent wheel (I use the Logitech Driving Force). It was of course. But I wouldn't give it a 9/10. For a review to come out this late I was expecting you to look a bit more critical at it, because the magic really has faded, like Mapster said.

    I didn't even bother completing it. It's fun for a while, but then it just get's boring and tedious. The physics aren't very... realistic. The best game which tried to be a bit of both is still Need For Speed Porsche Unleashed on the PC (and DAMN, I wish they hadn't closed the server down. Best game I've ever played online. Not too many idiots either).

    Toca Race Driver 2 deserves a 7/10. Maybe even 6/10. Because the replay-value is close to none. Once you grow tired of the mediocre (yet highly praised for some odd reason), it's back on the shelf collecting dust.

  • Eighthours #14 8 years ago

    And for next week's well-timed review.......Sonic 3 on the Megadrive. ;)

    TOCA2's great but I haven't played it for a while. I still think I prefer PGR2 online.....some people on TOCA2 get so angry during the races (admittedly I've done the same since you lose those hard-won ranking points if you have a crap finish) that the atmosphere isn't anywhere near as cordial, and you can sometimes come out of an online sesh not having had much fun at all.....

  • tiddles #15 8 years ago

    I've not played it online, but I'd imagine that the tracks are not particularly tard-friendly - there's just way too many opportunities to cut corner/cheat, so unless you're playing a bunch of mates/honourable players I can imagine it's hell. PGR2 is much better in this respect, as the tracks have barriers all the way around.

    Seems a bit of an oversight not to mention the poor rally sections - for some reason the handling of the Lancer (and possibly the Impreza, I don't remember) is just broken - it's so bad it feels like a bug that somehow got through testing. Oddly the Landrover Bowler sections are fine, if a bit bouncy.

    I loved it when I first started playing, and it's definitely worth it as a sub £20 purchase. But it's just too easy to cheat (even in singleplayer) by cutting corners/using AI cars to brake, and when later levels start to actually demand this to win you lose interest pretty quickly, which is a shame.

  • Corben_Dallas #16 8 years ago

    Good review EG! what is this coming out on budget or something? it was released so long ago :D :p

    Very good, the XBL part (code) can be a bit ropey(unstable) but thats mainly a lagg issue ( theres much more lag on this than PGR2) and why didnt Codies plyatest the XBL tracks? putting a collisions off mode just doesnt cut it. Plus theyre are GLARING shortcuts on all open circuit tracks and unless yur with a trusted group of regular racers anyone who brakes and follows the racing line loses incredible amounts of time to the guys who just 'never takes my finger off the power' straightlines the corner.

    Hardly teachs the 'kids' about braking, using the racing line etc. + the collisions (which are essetnial in any online racer) with twelve cars on the grid, the regs/pros remind the guys to brake for the first corner and what happens 10 car pile up as the 11/12 place guys just barrell into ppl getting thru the 1st corner.

    GT4 will have a much better system that if u dont brake and barrel in using the other cars as brakes then a collision detection code decides u hit them too hard and gives yur car a 10sec 50mph limit while the guys u hit races away.

    Truck racing and Land rovers were fun new sections to the normal circuit racing section, but my gawd the rallying section is bad. Poor from a company that makes Colin McRae Rally.

  • Pots #17 8 years ago

    Never a 9/10! The handling on the rally cars is laughable, ditto the land rovers and big rigs. I traded it in before I finished it because the racing was so unsatisfying. The courses are pretty uninspired, nowhere near the variety of, say, PGR2. The story elements are the only thing that kept me playing.

  • krudster #18 8 years ago

    Would you rather a late review than no review at all? There's a myriad of boring reasons why it's taken a long time to get around to reviewing this. It's not as if 99 per cent of its audience bought it on day one, and between now and the end of August there's sod all of interest out.

    Summer actually allows us to catch up on a few things, and this was the top priority of those that we missed out on. We *do* have a Spiderman 2 review planned, but Activision didn't send us any code so we've only just started playing it. Some publishers don't want to work with us, some do. That's just the way it goes in this business.

    And for those who didn't like this, I'm sorry about that. Its balance between being a sim and just being fun really worked for me. That's the way I like my racing games. Putting me in 15th place and *not* making it possible for me to barge my way to 2nd wouldn't make for a very fun experience. It's obviously unrealistic in many ways, but since when was it a requirement for a game to have to match real life in order to be fun. Normally that just makes it very dull in my experience.

  • Piggy #19 8 years ago

    Have SCi sent you Richard Burns Rally yet?

  • Lord Chalfont III #20 8 years ago

    > Have SCi sent you Richard Burns Rally yet?

    Yes, expect a review in December.

  • oneiros #21 8 years ago

    Pots wrote: "The story elements are the only thing that kept me playing."

    Really...?

  • CHAKA #22 8 years ago

    remember that in TRD2 is almost always circuit-based

    Grammatical objections aside, this fact will probably keep me from buying it. That's a restriction real life racing has to put up with, for obvious reasons (rally and illegal NFS-underground-type city night racing being exceptions), but part of the attraction of racing games is that you can drive fast and carelessly in places where you normally drive with care (e g rally and Burnout/NFSU/PGR-type games). Also, keeping mostly to racing circuits seems to me to limit visual and atmospheric variation - something that also is a great part of the attraction of the best racing games.

  • gizmo #23 8 years ago

    Really enjoying this on xbox. Had it ages, still play it. top stuff.

  • bungalooBunny #24 8 years ago

    I hated the 90 degree turns in PGR1 & 2. It's a trade off between great visuals and annoying circuits I guess. It's still my favourite racing game but I really would like them to create more driveable tracks. Even if they're slightly made up I'm sure no-one would miss the corner lamp post of some obscure street in Florence.

    TOCA is more of a GT3 competitor so realistic tracks is the sort of thing you should expect. And it sounds great that opponents respect you, as opposed to ram you (as in PGR2).

  • Feanor #25 8 years ago

    There a few idots in this thread who have crazy expectations for something (Eurogamer) they get for free. TOCA 2 was reviewed late because krudster obviously didn't have time to do it earlier what with E3 and everything. It's not f**king complicated and it it's not anything readers of the site have the right to feel aggrieved over. Disappointed maybe, but not aggrieved.
    Edited by 1 at 15/07/04 @ 19:41

  • meepster2312 #26 8 years ago

    Talking of 'late' reviews, did anyone read the observer on Sunday?
    They got round to reviewing Everything or Nothing at last.
    Gave it a glowing review as well (but I dont want to start that thread off again)

  • Virvel #27 8 years ago

    Nice review! As a PS2-owner, I am starting to look forward to this game. It might just be able to compete a little with GT4 this Fall. It looks like it is a must-buy for racing fans no the PS2! PS2 isnt excatly spoiled with good online simulator-like racing games. But I think Codemasters should think things through regarding the online-issues discussed in this thread. Fix it for the PS2 to make sure TOCA2 will keep afloat alongside GT4!!

    I recently had the pleasure of playing TOCA2 on an XBox at the store. First impression is : Great game! Only tested the game a little, unfortunately the box was not hooked up to the internet.. BUT, something was bugging me when I played it, where are the highscore lists? Perhaps I just didnt find them when playing. IMO it is essential for a racer to have some sort of 'arcadish ' highscore list where you can enter your name and get ranked.

  • Razz #28 8 years ago

    I might have to buy an Xbox on the strength and passion shown in this review.

  • Pots #29 8 years ago

    oneiros:
    "Pots wrote: "The story elements are the only thing that kept me playing."

    Really...?"

    Well, in a kind of 'so cliched its funny' way. The race-hardened Jock, the nubile TV woman, the professional modern woman, the fiery argentinian, yadda yadda. The FMV were a nice reward i thought. Although not as nice as seeing a full set of spinning platinum medals on PGR2 ;)

  • pylon #30 8 years ago

    or buy it for Ninja Gaiden. This game isn't the IS, it's piss.

  • Frank #31 8 years ago

    Yo Midian.
    We gots to get this and have another weekend at monkey's.
    Better than PGR2?!?!
    Fek.

  • Midian #32 8 years ago

    Frank, your on. Having finally clocked PGR2, I need a new challenge.

  • bzzct #33 7 years ago

    I'm amazed so few people have mentioned the AI behaviour in the corners. It's not even just that they're ridiciulously slow in slow corners (which they are, to the point that you coming into a corner at optimal speed and find everyone else is sitting virtually stationary on the apex), but they also slow down far too much for for mid-speed corners, it's only the ones you can take flat out they seem to get right. Coupled with the 'opponents as brakes' thing that games generally fail to avoid, but in this one seems to be positively encouraged, means you either end up crawling round the corners at the AI's pace, or slamming into them every time just because they're all driving round with the brakes half on.

  • paullondon #34 7 years ago

    the second best racing game ever PGR2 being the 1st