by:	May 19, 2004

Following on the heels of Colin McRae 04, Codemasters has released their other crown jewel of racing, TOCA Race Driver 2, for just $29.99. At this price one tends to expect less than from most games. However, TOCA delivers more than you could ask for, although not without flaws.

TOCA is, without question, a sim racer. Moving past the real tracks and cars, the physics and handling are brutally realistic. As such, this game may frustrate many gamers who aren’t prepared to learn. TOCA is a game that insists you be gentle when using gas or brake; using the analog controls is essential here. Also important is braking in a straight line. Whatever you do, don’t go off the track. Most of the vehicles have absolutely no traction in dirt or grass and you will find yourself spinning endlessly trying to get back on the track. This is one point where I both question the reality and think a lack of reality would be nice - the punishment for going off the track is just too severe.

The ultimate example of taking reality a bit too far is the option to assign the clutch to a button. I consider a manual transmission a bit too much to think of (in games and in life), and having no clutch is fairly realistic in the modern age of auto-sticks. That’s why I think that any gamer who feels the need to play with a clutch has my respect, but also should be sent to a mental hospital. Unfortunately, the game seems to penalize using an automatic heavily. For the life of me, I cannot figure out the key to getting off the line. Every race, without fail, the car fails to accelerate smoothly and multiple cars pass me. The problems are severe after the start as well. Often after turns, the car simply revs with no acceleration. Suffice it to say, these are serious problems that make it very hard to compete considering they already give you an equal speed car and yet place you in the middle to back of the pack.

The damage system in TOCA is one of the most detailed I’ve seen. Crashing is no laughing matter as even a slight bump can cause damage that hinders performance. A harder lick, especially for some of the more fragile cars can end your race. There is a good chance you will need to use the pits in this game for more than just gas and tires. Unfortunately, there are some collision detection issues on the tracks as, especially on the street tracks, some corners actually have invisible extensions that will wreck you just as bad. It is a bad feeling when you work your butt off to have a nice lead, about to beat the chapter, when suddenly you make a clean turn but still get punished like you hit the wall.