Toca Race Driver 2

Description

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 Description ToCA Race Driver 2 is the ultimate racing simulator! Experience 31 championships and 48 tracks spanning 15 different racing styles—Ice Racing to Super Truck racing and everything in between! ToCA 2 features an incredibly accurate physics engine that accurately models each car and road surface. Keep your car on the road though...a devastating crash engine will send body panels flying and axles snapping! 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 10Editor: Matthew KatoIssue: May 20042nd 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—th

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UPC Number: 76764940076

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