Lives Up To It's Name...
User Rating: 9.2 | TOCA Race Driver 2: The Ultimate Racing Simulator PS2
Any game that has a subtitle 'The Ultimate Racing Simulator' has gotta make some bold claims. In the world of Gran Turismo, 'The Real-Life Racing Simulator' it needs to take a lot to dethrone GT, but heres the thing about the game that makes TOCA Race Driver (or V8 Supercars 2, as it's known in Australia), it's actually everything that GT isn't, and then some.. GT is all about customising cars, earning licenses, and winning races. TRD2 is all about racing, which takes some time off play (especially for the second option) and actually delivers a solid racing engine, which is no surprise as this is a Codemasters (the developers of the Colin McRae games) game, and with that...it can spell either brilliance or trouble for some. Also, this game is a port of the Xbox game, but with less pretty graphics. But the PS2 version makes up for it in the fact that it not only gets online play, but a new track and the ability to use any car on any track (this I need to confirm) GAMEPLAY: I can't really say much, seeing as it's my first time reviewing a racing game. The game handles well for all the different types of cars that the game holds, and the range is good, including Formula Ford cars, V8 Supercars, and so on. All the cars in the game are real, and are the Supercars that you see in GT, so theres no need to buy them. Being a Codemasters game, expect a damage engine which is more than just for show, in fact, damage in this game can affect whether or not you make it to the checkered flag. If you take light damage, you'll finish the race, but if you continually smash up cars, or smash into the barriers, all without pitting, your car will be unable to move, as tyres and other parts DO fly off...leaving you feeling crippled or naked... The games main mode isn't just a standard mode where you race cars against the CPU, theres actually a plot to the game, told in First Person in the cut-scenes. The whole story is to be the one of the best racers in the world, and while it might not seem much, it's actually a decent mode, not like the completely story-less racing games out there. GRAPHICS: Again, being a Codemasters game, really good-looking. The tracks all look really well detailed, and so do the cars. As I stated earlier, when damaged enough, car parts will start flying. Run into a car, the damage will show, and show nicely. The story mode CGs look good, the characters look nice, but thats pretty much all. SOUND: Pretty good. Codemasters sometimes has some great tunes for the music, and this game doesn't disappoint. While you wait for a track to load, theres this nice little tune which is kinda catchy and grows on you. There isn't any music during races, and only during menus, do you get some music. The story modes voice acting is good, but not in the line of brilliant, so its passable. FINAL COMMENT: "Would I buy this instead of the Xbox version?" I actually can't tell you, seeing as I've only played this version, but we still get online, and we do get a extra track to race around on, so it's all not bad. The racing engine is really good, and complex, so newbies won't just crash into everything in sight. The game sounds good and looks good, and has a good enough story mode to keep you occupied for a while. So is it a buy or a rent? Rent, then make your decision...
