TOCA Race Driver 2 Review

Codemasters returns in triumph with one of the best racing games we have ever played.

Like the previous game, Race Driver 2's career mode serves in many ways as the hors'deuve to the real meat and potatoes of the game. I still play Pro Race Driver occasionally (until RD2 appeared at least) and it was the free race mode that took up most, if not all, of my time. Once a racing series and its cars are unlocked, they can be raced in free race mode. Free race offers much more for the race fan that wants a more in depth experience. There are options to allow car set-ups, a qualifying session and mandatory pit stops.

A time trial mode allows players to practice their times and even save ghosted hot laps. Unfortunately, once again, there's no replay mode for time trials, which is a little disappointing. There are a general lack of replay options throughout the game really. Race replays look okay, but camera options are few and it is not possible to save the replay. It's a shame as this great looking game would benefit from some effects laden replays a la Gran Turismo 3. Or at least the ability to focus on the other cars.

All these options, championships etc. would be for naught if the handling was porked. I'm happy to report that the game plays beautifully. There's a genuine sense of weight to the cars and the handling is convincing thanks to a four-point physics system with no rotation around a central pivot. The game is set-up to be forgiving yet not mollycoddle the player - it's possible to save oneself from too much throttle into a corner, but only if one is quick.

The wide variety of cars in the game highlight the flexibility of the physics modelling. From twitchy open-wheeled racers such as the Formula Ford to the heavyweight big rigs of the Super Trucks, the handling of each type of car is unique and believable. There are few games that manage to successfully manage to be a jack of all trades, yet if one ignores the very short rally section, TOCA Race Driver does just that. The difficulty level is most welcome too, it may be an easy game to pick up, but some of the more powerful cars really do require some practice.

A few of the highlights for me so far have been the GT Lights (single seat le-mans lite), the Super Trucks (big, heavy and with the braking potential of a supertanker) and Formula Ford (light single-seat open-wheeled racers). Each is so good, with a great handling model, that one could image being happy with a game just centered around them. The fictional Formula One substitute that appears later in the game is a case-in-point. It's easily better than most console F1 games yet it is only one part of this collection.

Players searching for even more complexity may want to try to the PC version of the game which has a pro-sim mode aimed at folks with a force-feedback wheel. As I've only tested that mode in the demo I can't tell you how good that actually is. But if you want to complicate things on your Xbox there is the option of manual gears, and for extremists, manual gears with clutch. This is a lot more fun than it sounds, though it does take some getting used to. Newbies to the mode will be wrecking gearboxes left, right and centre - but it does grow on you.

When one has 21 (yes 21) high powered German Touring Cars clattering around Hockenheim at full chat, there's bound to be some argy bargy. It's at this point the player becomes acquainted with another of TOCA RD2's great strengths - that of damage modelling. The curve of destruction is quite interesting in that Codemasters has enabled terminal damage forcing a retirement from the race, but at the same time given a little leeway for the average knocks and scrapes a ham-fisted player may get into. So it's slightly forgiving on one level, such as allowing progress with one front wheel missing, but should the player have a major off, then it's game over.

It's one of those double-edged swords that can delight and infuriate. Sat on a lonely hairpin at Sweden's Manthorp Park, Koenig Competition 2002 (a re-badged Ferrari) lying broken and without its front wheels, I cursed the name of Codemasters - annoyed at the evilness of such automotive cruelty, but at the same time smiling at the brilliance of such a challenging game. The open-wheel cars are very vulnerable to accidents and more than once I found myself limping back to the pits in search of a new front wheel, or having to retire from the race. This is praise, not a criticism.

Terminal damage is a dangerous thing to add to a game if the intelligence of the console controlled opponents isn't up to scratch. I can't find fault with the game in this regard. AI drivers show intelligence, daring and skill but are prone to errors, they provide convincing opposition and tough challenge later in the career mode. There are some knocks and scrapes in races but it's extremely rare to be spun off the track by an AI vehicle, except through braking way too early for a corner - and in that case one deserves to be punted into the kitty litter. As the game progresses one notices different driving styles among the AI cars, from those that stick to the racing line, while others block the inside before darting wide to take the correct route through the corner. Many AI drivers will be firm about taking charge of their part of the road, without being overly aggressive. Compared to games such as Gran Turismo, where the AI cars seem rigidly unaware of the existence of the player, the drivers in this game are smart and fair. I did notice a slight imperfection in that, even later in the game, AI cars tend to go too slowly through very tight or hairpin corners, but apart from that I was very impressed with their behaviour.