TOCA any good ?

Hi, I just found that one of my local store finally got TOCA ! How's the game ? How good is it ? I heard that it's very realistic, but how about graphics ? Can it be on par with NFS 3 hot pursuit ? Thanks. Oh would anyone point me to some reviews ? Janus

The graphics are kind of low res. The physics engine is just okay, nothing special. NFS3 blows it away. Wait for TOCA2. Check www.codemasters.com for details.

Unless you're after a sim instead of an arcade game. Then the reverse is true, at least as to handling, real tracks and AI (though TOCA has no setup options).

http://www.digitalsports.com/mine/dsports/pc2/toca/review.html -Jan Otto

Randy is one of my favourite reviewers. His article at http://www.digitalsports.com/mine/dsports/pc2/toca/review.html is good but not up to his usual high standard. Where Randy says, "But there is a very sharp peak at which you go from turning and feeling totally in control to snap-spinning the car. Theres little or no chance to catch these kinds of spins, and little sense of understanding what went wrong, or what you did in the cornering sequence that was wrong. Theres no sense of a slide coming on that you can correct for. Control is there one second, and gone the next." I would disagree with this. I can almost always catch the cars, I couldn't to start with but I can now. I would be much more upbeat than Randy about TOCA. I love this game - it's about the only realistic sim of a series where paint is exchanged. The AI drivers are rather aggressive on the straights but about right on the corners. You should watch the real thing if you get the chance - these guys must really hate eachother. The driving model and physics leave NFS for dead in the realism stakes. The sense of speed is alarming. The graphics are a bit of both - the cars have been laser scanned in so are very close in shape and paintwork to the 1997 BTCC, but, yes, the res is not as good as some of the best around. Framerates are, however very good on highend boxes. Network play is a bit of both as well. It is easy to get up and running but there is a lot of warp on internet play though LAN and Modem-Modem is where this title really excels - rubbing door handles down the main straight and into a late breaking corner - wow! This is the nature of Touring Car Racing - F1 is okay but they break too easily, you need closed wheeled cars to get this kind of racing. The damage model is TOCA is completely missing (except for graphically) - this is a serious flaw with TOCA. Setups aren't there either - you have to make do with the factory setups - I don't mind this but of course it's not realistic. The weather model is great - driving Brands in the rain is a real challenge. The championship has a problem in the early stages because it is set on easy mode. Only towards the end do the drivers get any good. I tend to do individual races in hard mode, though I did like Tiff Needell commentary before each race. Many people from across the sim to arcade spectrum enjoy this game, though the simmers oftem complain that it's a setup and damage model short of the real McCoy and the arcaders, that it's too difficult - well you can't please all the people. But all this is just my opinion. I love BTCC and I love TOCA. TOCA2 is out soon and promises to be even better. Paul

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> Hi, > I just found that one of my local store finally got TOCA ! > How's the game ? How good is it ? I heard that it's very > realistic, but how about graphics ? Can it be on par with > NFS 3 hot pursuit ? > Thanks. Oh would anyone point me to some reviews ? > Janus

Love the Need2Pee handle. Paul

>The graphics are kind of low res. The physics engine is just okay, >nothing special. NFS3 blows it away. Wait for TOCA2. Check >www.codemasters.com for details. 's funny... I didn't think NFS3 had a physics engine! Personally, if NFS3 didn't have a Hot Pursuit option (and if the hot pursuit hacks weren't available), I'd have returned the game in three days. TOCA, on the other hand, may not be a full-on simulation but it has a very good driving feel and easy-to-learn (though somewhat easy-to-win) racing. The graphics are nowhere near as slick as NFS3's glass-cars look, but they are plenty good. To sum up, let me use a lame analogy. Playing TOCA will give you the fullness of eating a good hamburger. Playing NFS3 gives you the feeling you get after eating cotton candy. Martin Nigel Mansell RIP!