Toca Race Driver 2 Ultimate Racing Simulator

by Codemasters

Product Features

• 31 championships covering 15 different motor racing styles including Open Wheel Grand Prix, Super Truck racing, Stockcar Oval Racing, Rally, Rallycross, Ice-Racing, Formula Ford, Classic Racing, Convertible Racing, Street Racing, GT Racing, and Performance
• 35 Aspirational Cars, including Ford GT, Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar XKR, Nissan Skyline and AMG-Mercedes CLK.
• 31 Licensed and Fictional global Race Locations offering 48 tracks including Hockenheim from the German DTM series and Surfers Paradise from the Australian V8 series.
• Up to 21 Cars on track at once, battling for position.
• Highly sophisticated physics and handling engine, which combines the instant rewards of an intuitive racer, with the subtlety and nuances commonly associated with a simulation delivers incredibly playable realism.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001CNRQ6
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: April 14, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,359 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Game Informer Review

Codemasters struck gold when it merged story elements with racing in the first Pro Race Driver. Between now and then, however, the series has gone through much more than a name change, and I'm very disappointed by the transformation. The racing, in fact, has gotten better on several fronts, but TOCA has changed up its story structure and lost all the magic and appeal that once made the franchise stand out.

The story cutscenes are now seen through your eyes instead of Ryan McKane's (the protagonist of the original). That's fine, but the developer has also done away with the hub world with its separate email and garage areas. Sounds like a small thing, but it's better than the simple and boring menu interface now in its place. Worst of all, there is little choice because the original's tier structure (and its pool of races) is gone. At times in TOCA you'll be asked to pick from different circuits. You can go race pick-up trucks at an oval or semis on a road course, for example. I'm glad that the franchise has retained its variety and racing versatility, but without a good story context, the magic of the first Race Driver is lost. Also, because the tier structure and email challenges are gone, the game is more linear. In the end, I felt like the cutscenes were driving the story, and not my choices.

Codemasters has dialed down the difficulty, which is welcome, but has not sacrificed the intricacy of cars' handling. The more high performance cars and rally races are good cases in point. You have to know both when and how to slam on the throttle in order to get the most out of a car. Visually, the details abound and the sensation of speed is good. If you've got a high-def TV, you have to take advantage of the game's support of 480p, as it adds an extra dimension that must be experienced. You can make your car a sight to see by beating the living hell out of it, but I was hoping that TOCA would make vehicle damage a more meaningful aspect than in the first Race Driver.

The game's peripheral importance on being able to damage your car is a good example of why this sequel isn't as fun as the original. It doesn't spur you to do better. If I had to earn money to pay for my wrecked cars or had to purchase and develop new rides, then my ambition would have made this a more engaging title. Add in my disappointment with the new story structure, and this series has lost its driving edge for me.

I think people liked Pro Race Driver because its story produced an allure that was more charming than the stiffness of Gran Turismo. Codemasters has got the racing aspect of the game down – that's not in question. But you aren't going to beat Gran Turismo in the car department, and I don't want TOCA to. Instead, I want to feel that I'm in control of tale worth telling, and I just didn't get that impression here.

Concept:
Codemasters takes a second stab at the "caRPG" and fails where the first succeeded

Graphics:
Everything runs at a good clip and the draw distance is excellent no matter the number of cars. Split-screen is another story

Sound:
The dialogue is fairly well written and all the right car sounds are captured

Playability:
The difficulty balance has been made easier without cheapening the cars' handling

Entertainment:
I never thought I'd miss corny Ryan McKane, but he makes all the difference

Replay:
Moderately High

Rated: 7.5 out of 10
Editor: Matthew Kato
Issue: May 2004

2nd Opinion:
Race Driver 2 is a good example of the key role that choice can play in a game's quality. None of its essential elements are broken—the racing works well, the cars look great, and there are a wide variety of available vehicles and tracks. Even with all of those things working together, I couldn't get over the frustration of being given little or no choice as to the game's difficulty, what race I would undertake next, or even which car I would drive. Though it is impressive on many levels, RD2 just fences you in too much for it to be truly enjoyable.

Rated: 7.5 out of 10
Editor: Joe Juba


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Product Description

ToCA Race Driver 2: The Ultimate Racing Simulator brings you a world of new features and options, for a new spin on racing games! Multiple racing modes from around the world combine with new role-playing elements, bringing you racing action, variety & a solid storyline. It's the most spectacular racing game you've ever seen! As you play, you'll unlock the world's fastest racing machines - Aston Martins, Jaguar XKRs, Nissan Skylines and other prime racing machines are yours for the taking Immersive storyline covers your progression through the racing world -- presented in entertaining reality-TV clips Full Xbox Live support for up to 16 racers -- test your skills against racing fans from across the world!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a real racing experience !, April 23, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Toca Race Driver 2 Ultimate Racing Simulator (Video Game)

First of all, TOCA is the first game that I have seen in Xbox or PS2 that has all the elements needed to offer the gamer a true real life racing experience. The game has most of the racing championship classes of the world. From classics to open wheel Formula One cars you will experience a wide range of driving including hotrods, rally, cross-rally, Super V-8, Formula Ford, and many others. But the ones that really shine are DTM and Formula Ford, although that is only my opinion. The physics and the feeling of the game is incredible. Each car has it's own engine sounds, physics, and speed "feeling".
This game is so good that I have to say I will not be playing Project Gotham Racing 2 anymore. Finally, the storyline of the game is pretty solid and fun. Some scenes will be silly, but be careful, you might become addicted to it. TOCA made sure the storyline was in synch with the racing part of the game so you will be very much involved in the game as a whole. It is also Xbox live compatible but I do not have the kit yet.
My advice : Buy it and become addicted.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This game is great, April 29, 2004

By 

The_Undertaker (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toca Race Driver 2 Ultimate Racing Simulator (Video Game)

Toca Race Driver 2 is a great game. It features so many different racing types and is a real blast to play, especially on Live!

Don't listen to the moron who's moaning down below, how many other games have you played that are completely unlocked out of the box? You start off racing the Ford GT and can pick cool cars such as the Mustang, souped up Ferrari's, Mercs and NASCAR style racers.

This game is graphically stunning and handles great too. If you own an Xbox and are looking for a racing game then get this, you won't be disappointed!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Graphics but controls are lameo!, June 18, 2004

By 

Machine Gun "MnVols" (Minnesota State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toca Race Driver 2 Ultimate Racing Simulator (Video Game)

I got the pc version of this game for my birthday, after downloading the demo. The graphics are stunning and the best I've ever seen in a pc racing game. Rallisport Challenge comes close, but I think this is better. While the depth of this game is tremendous, they don't give you much to start with. I think you have 3 tracks and 5 cars to begin. The controls for this game are horrible! I've adjusted my steering wheel controls many times, and it just sucks. I don't know how to say it any clearer. I own about 10 pc racing games, and I've never had the control problems I have with this one. I thought Moto Gp 2 was hard to learn, well this was harder for me. It is not a true racing simulation, because you don't barely turn your wheel and end up going off the road because of it. Then the cheatcode system is the most disappointing thing about this game. You have to pay $5 on the codemasters website to get the 7 codes of the game. The codes are good for only 1(that's right) profile. If you should ever delete your profile for those codes, then you'd have to create a new profile and need NEW codes. My son has to race under my profile to use my saved codes...understand this?!?!?! They don't work under a separate profile. Like I said earlier, the graphics area the best I've ever seen in pc racing. Yet with the controls and pay to play with cheatcodes, only the true racing fans should try and tackle this game.